THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
are termed Canaanites by J (Gen. xii. 6, xxxiv. 30),
Amorites by E (Gen. xlviii. 22), and Hivites by P
(Gen. xxxiv. 2) ; and many contests for
3. Shechem its possession seem to have been waged and Neigh- between Israel and the Canaanites.
boring Cities. The religious importance of Shechem is implied by Gen. xxxiii. 19-20, according to which Jacob there purchased ground and erected an altar to Yahweh; it was also the place of Joseph's burial (Josh. xxiv. 32). Another sacred place at Shechem seems to have been the oak mentioned in Gen. xii. 6-7, xxxv. 4; Deut. xi. 30; Josh. xxiv. 26 (possibly also Judges ix. 6, 37); while assemblies of the people gathered in its sanctuary (Josh. xxiv. 1; I Kings xii. 1; II Chron. x. 1). In the vicinity of the city was the well of Jacob (John iv. 6), the modern Bir Ya'kub at the foot of Gerizim, almost south of the village of Balata. In the beginning of the historical period Shechem, though dependent on Gideon, was not occupied by Israel (Judges viii. 31, ix. 1-2). When it revolted against Abimelech, it was destroyed (Judges ix. 23 sqq.). The city then came under the control of Manasseh (Num. xxvi. 31; Josh. xvii. 2). Jeroboam I. fortified it and made it the royal seat (I Kings xii. 25), thus the city could justly be reckoned to Ephraim (Josh. xx. 7, xxi. 21; I Chron. vii. 28). The successor of the Biblical Shechem was Flavia Neapolis, founded by Vespasian in 72 a.d., the modern Nablus in the valley between Ebal and Gerizim. Sychar, the city nearest to the well of Jacob (John iv. 5-6), is usually identified with the modern village of 'Askar, a mile or two east of Xablus and over half a mile north of Jacob's well. The Gilgal of Deut. xi. 30; II Kings ii. 1, iv. 38, is frequently identified with the small ruin Hirbat al- Julaijil on the southern edge of the plain of al-Mahnah, but without sufficient reason. On the road to 'Akrabah, two hours southeast of Nablus, lies the lofty village of al-'Aurma, perhaps identical with the Arumah of Judges ix. 41; while the little village of Far'ata, six miles west of Nablus, is doubts less the Pirathon of Judges xii. 13 sqq.; II Sam. xxiii. 30; I Chron. xxvii. 14, though scarcely the Pharathoni fortified by Bacchides c. 160 b.c. (I Mace. ix. 50). The village of Karyat Jitt, three miles further north, is plainly synonymous with the Gitto (I Apol. xxvi., Eng. transl., ANF, i. 171) designated by Justin Martyr as the home of Simon Magus, though the name also occurs at the foot of the mountain district. About nine miles distant, on the road to Jaffa, is the site of Kafr Tilt, which has been identified with the Shalisha of I Sam. ix. 4 and II Kings iv. 42.
In the region north of Shechem the city of Samaria first deserves notice. The hill on which the city lay was connected to the northeast with the opposite heights by a narrow ridge, but was separated on all other sides by wide val-
4. The City leys (Isa. xxviii. 1). It had easy ac- Samaria. cess to all important points, such as
Shechem in the southeast and the plain of Jezreel in the north. The city contained altars of Yahweh (Micah i. 5) and — after the reign of Ahab — of Baal (I Kings xvi. 32; cf. II Kings xiii. 6) ; and as early as Omri the Arameans of Damas-
cus had their own quarter for trade there (I Kings xx. 34). During the reign of Ahab the city was beleaguered by the Arameans (I Kings xx. 1 sqq.; cf. II Kings vi. 24-vii. 20). Jehu, after his entry into Samaria, had the prophets and priests of Baal slain, and the idolatrous sites destroyed and desecrated (II Kings x. 1-7, 18-27; II Chron. xxii. 8-9). The last king, Hoshea, was shut up in Samaria by Shalmaneser IV in 724 b.c. (II Kings xvii. 5, xviii. 9), though the city was reduced under Sargon. On his return from Egypt in 331, Alexander the Great Hellenized the city, but Ptolemy Lagos razed it in 312, and Demetrius Poliorcetes again destroyed it in 296. In 27 b.c. Samaria was rebuilt by Herod, who named it Sebaste, and it was the scene of the preaching of Philip (Acts viii. 5-7). Under Septimius Severus the city became a Roman colony, but it became second in importance to Neapolis, though having its own bishops. The Crusaders erected a magnificent church there in honor of John the Baptist.
The road to Janin cuts through the plain of Dothan (Gen. xxxvii. 14-17; Judith iv. 6-7, vii. 3), which is now represented by Tell Dautan. The
name of Ibleam (Judges i. 27 ; II Kings
5. Other ix. 27; located in Issachar in Josh.
Inland xvii. 11), to which corresponds the
Cities. Bileam of I Chron. vi. 70 (the Belmaim
of Judith vii. 3), is preserved in the Hirbat and Wadi Bal'amah two miles south of Janin. On the road from Shechem to Scythopolis, in the upper part of the Wadi Far'ah, four miles northeast of Nablus, is Talluzah, identified by Robinson with Tirzah, the residence of the kings of Israel to the time of Omri, though Conder seeks this ancient capital in Tayasir, about twelve miles from Nablus on the road to Beth-shean. The pilgrim Brocardus (1332) mentions a Thersa three hours east of Samaria, thus pointing to noteworthy ruins in the vicinity of 'Ain al-Far'ah on the road to Bethshean northeast of Talluzah. About six miles beyond Talluzah lies the ancient village of Tubas, which apparently corresponds to the Biblical Thebez (Judges ix. 50; II Sam. xi. 21). To the north lie the Ras Ibzik and Hirbat Ibzik, corresponding to the Bezek of I Sam. xi. 8 (cf. Judges i. 4). In the Jordan valley, 285 feet lower than the surface of the Mediterranean, is the flourishing village of Baisan, representing the Biblical Beth-shean, a city long independent of Israel, and reckoned to Manasseh, though lying in the district of Issachar (Josh, xvii. 11-13; Judges i. 27; I Chron. vii. 29). After the death of Saul, the city was taken by the Philistines (I Sam. xxxi. 7-13), but with David's subjugation of the Philistines, it came under Israelitic control, and formed part of one of the tributary districts of Solomon (I Kings iv. 12). During the Maccabean wars, Tryphon here sought to capture Jonathan (I Mace. xii. 40). In the Greco-Roman period the city was known as Scythopolis. It was one of the cities of the federation of Decapolis, was rebuilt by Gabinius, and contained many pagan inhabitants (Josephus, War, III., vi. 7; .4?^., XIN ., v. 3). The " iEnon near to Salim," where John baptized (John iii. 23), was located, according to the Onomasticon of Eusebius, in the plain of Beth-