Bethlehem. 2. Moreover, a Pharaoh of the Hyksos period bears a name that looks like ya`aqobh-'el (Spiegelberg, Orientalische Literaturzeitung, VII, 130). 21:17); (3) the priestly office in the family (Num. Shechem. The main center of interest in the town is the synagogue of the Samaritans, with their ancient manuscript of the Pentateuch.3. There might be slight difference . Abijah, king of Judah, took Bethel from Jeroboam (2 Chronicles 13:19), but it was soon recovered by Israel. 19:2; 1 Chr. New York: Macmillan. "Summer and winter houses" too, and "great houses" and "houses of ivory." Shechem itself became a city of refuge and was given to the . On the slope of the mountain beyond is the village of `Askar; see SYCHAR. 3. 23). Jacob (Heb. 13. There the prophet from Judah foretold the overthrow of the calf altar by Josiah. At the oak of Moreh in the vicinity he reared his first altar to the Lord in Palestine (Genesis 12:6 f). New Jersey: Hammond, Inc., 1984. The areas in Canaan which Abram spent most of his life were along the Route of the Patriarchs, namely in Shechem (Gen 12:6), Bethel and Ai (12:8; 13:2), Hebron (13:18; 14:13), and in the Negev (13:1; 20:1, notably Gerar). 16:1; 1 Sam. Here Solomon's temple was built, on the spot that had been the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite (2 Sam. Called so from the oath of peace between Abraham and Abimelech, king of the Philistines (Genesis 21:31), else from the seven (sheba' ) ewe lambs slain there: indeed sheba', an oath, is from the custom of binding one's self by seven things, as Abraham made the seven ewe lambs a pledge of his covenant with Abimelech. As Wood suggests, the military outpost there, visible . 14:15; 15:3). Jeroboam chose Shechem as the capital for the Northern Kingdom, perhaps because of the significant history there for Ephraim. A city north of Jerusalem The ancient city adjacent to, and finally embraced in, was called Luz Jos 18:13; Jud 1:23-26 Abraham estblishes an altar at Ge 12:8; 13:3,4 The place where Jacob saw the vision of the ladder Ge 28:10-22; 31:13; Ho 12:4 And builds an altar at Ge 35:1-15 Deborah dies at Ge 35:8 Conquered by Joshua Jos 8:17; with 12:16 Conquered by the household of Joseph Jud 1:22-26 Allotted to Benjamin Jos 18:13,22 Court of justice held at By Deborah Jud 4:5 By Samuel 1Sa 7:16 Tabernacle at, and called HOUSE OF GOD Jud 20:18,31; 21:2 Jeroboam institutes idolatrous worship at 1Ki 12:25-33; 2Ki 10:29 Idolatry at Jer 48:13; Am 4:4 Shalmanezer sends a priest to 2Ki 17:27,28 Prophecies against the idolatrous altars at 1Ki 13:1-6,32; 2Ki 23:4,15-20; Am 3:14 The school of prophets at 2Ki 2:3 The young men of, mock Elisha 2Ki 2:23,24 People of, return from Babylon Ezr 2:28; Ne 7:32 Prophecies against Am 5:5 -2. The well dug by Abraham and secured to him by oath had been covered and lost. History of the City. It is succinctly described: "Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem." . After much recrimination and reproach directed against Jacob, Laban is at length pacified, and taking an affectionate farewell of his daughters, returns to his home in Padanaram. Historical:This place is first mentioned in connection with Abraham's journey from Haran. It was taken by Joshua and given to Caleb (Josh. The Hebrew maqom, like the cognate Arabic maqam, denotes a sacred place or sanctuary. --ED.) the longest distance you ever "walk" in your life is from your . Joshua called them together again to this historically significant site, because what he had to tell them preached louder in Shechem that it could anywhere else: And Joshua said to all the people, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, from ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods (v 2). HEBRON is one of the most ancient cities in the world still existing, and it is in this respect the rival of Damascus. He bought the birthright from his brother Esau, and afterward acquired the blessing intended for Esau, by practicing a well-known deceit on Isaac. 16-18). How long does it take to get from Hebron to Shechem? Jacob in Easton's Bible Dictionary one who follows on another's heels; supplanter, (Gen. 25:26; 27:36; Hos. The fruitful and well-wooded valley winds westward among the hills. While living here in Hebron he made the multi-colored coat for his son Joseph, and later Joseph's brother became jealous of this and Joseph's ability to interpret dreams and Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold to the Midianites who took him to Egypt to be sold as a slave (Gen. 37:1-36). Jacob lived out his last years in Egypt with his sons until his death. Jacob served in Laban's house for 20 years before fleeing back to Canaan (Genesis 31:1-21). Ge 13:18 Its original name was Kirjath-arba, Jud 1:10 "the city of Arba;" so called from Arba the father of Anak. Terah, at the age of 200, decides to move his entire family, which includes his grandson Lot, to Haran (Genesis 11:31). Its ruins still lie on the righthand side of the road from Jerusalem to Nablus. Shechem. 3. 1 Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.. 2 These are the records of the generations of Jacob. Jacob purchased a parcel of land here in Shechem and actually made for himself a dwelling place in the land of Canaan (Gen. 33:18-20). Another account is given (Gen 26:23-33), where Isaac takes an oath and just afterward, "the same day Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged (dug), and said unto him, We have found water. A later king of Israel, Omri, chose Samaria as his capital because it was easy to defend. We too, as we live the lives God has given us, should remember from where God, in His grace, took usfrom a down-hill slide to destruction into a relationship with His Son. The tribes were divided into two groups, each standing in front of one . Beersheba. Over the former probably David hung Ishbosheth's murderers (2 Samuel 4:12). Cleave, Richard. In process of time the name Luz disappeared, giving place to that of the adjoining sanctuary, town and sanctuary being identified. The series of events recalls to Isaac's mind the original name and that which gave rise to the name; so he restores both the well itself and the name. In old times the slopes of Ebal were covered with vineyards; but these formed a source of temptation to the "faithful." A Harmony of the Life of Jesus - Four gospel accounts in harmony. 2. State/Province level distance calculator: And his mother's name [was] Zibiah of Beersheba.Genesis 21:32 - Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.2 Samuel 17:11 - Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that [is] by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle in thine own person.2 Samuel 24:15 - So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.2 Chronicles 19:4 - And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again through the people from Beersheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the LORD God of their fathers.Judges 20:1 - Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh.2 Samuel 3:10 - To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba.2 Samuel 24:7 - And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites: and they went out to the south of Judah, [even] to Beersheba.1 Kings 4:25 - And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.Genesis 21:33 - And [Abraham] planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.Genesis 46:1 - And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.1 Samuel 3:20 - And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel [was] established [to be] a prophet of the LORD.1 Kings 19:3 - And when he saw [that], he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which [belongeth] to Judah, and left his servant there.Genesis 21:31 - Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.1 Samuel 8:2 - Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: [they were] judges in Beersheba.Genesis 26:33 - And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city [is] Beersheba unto this day.Joshua 19:2 - And they had in their inheritance Beersheba, or Sheba, and Moladah,1 Chronicles 4:28 - And they dwelt at Beersheba, and Moladah, and Hazarshual,Nehemiah 11:27 - And at Hazarshual, and at Beersheba, and [in] the villages thereof,Genesis 28:10 - And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. Bethel in Easton's Bible Dictionary house of God. And I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant (vv. Josephs last memories of Israel, before his brothers sold him, was of Shechem and Dothan. Bethel. DISTANCE: It was a long and difficult journey of more than fourhundred miles (about 600km) from Canaan (Bethel) to Haran. First Century Israel Map - Probably because of its ease of access in a time of possible flight, a manslayer could take refuge from his avenger in Shechem, one of the three cities of refuge on the west side of the Jordan (Josh. A walk with God (literally, for about 100 miles) And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city. It was about 12 miles N. of Jerusalem. S hechem is the name of 2 biblical men and a city where important Biblical events took place.. People. More details . It has been supposed that the highest point of the temple hill, which is now covered by the Mohammedan Kubbetes-Sakhrah, or "Dome of the Rock," is the actual site of Araunah's threshing- floor. (Ant., XIII, ix, 1; BJ, I, ii, 6). The existence of "bears," two, near the town, implies that Bethel was then less frequented (2 Kings 2:23- 25). He found Canaan ites living there. But this time, the command to move to Canaan came with a blessing explicitly stated in Genesis 12:2-3. Deborah and Rachel died before he reached Hebron; Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, was sold into Egypt eleven years before the death of Isaac; and Jacob had probably exceeded his 130th year when he went tither. A town in the south of Judah (Josh. 7:32). Jeremiah 41:5 that there came men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even eighty men, having their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and having cut themselves, with meal offerings and frankincense in their hand, to bring them to the house of Yahweh. Jacob died there 17 years later, and Joseph carried Jacob's remains to the land of Canaan, where he gave them stately burial in the same Cave of Machpelah as were buried Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca and Jacob's wife Leah (Genesis 49:29- 50:14 ) Genesis 26:18 - And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.Leviticus 26:42 - Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.Deuteronomy 30:20 - That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, [and] that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he [is] thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.Genesis 25:21 - And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she [was] barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.Genesis 35:12 - And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.Genesis 27:46 - And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these [which are] of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?Genesis 24:14 - And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: [let the same be] she [that] thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.Joshua 24:4 - And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.Genesis 49:31 - There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.Genesis 22:9 - And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.2 Chronicles 30:6 - So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria.Deuteronomy 29:13 - That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and [that] he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.Jeremiah 33:26 - Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, [so] that I will not take [any] of his seed [to be] rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.Deuteronomy 9:5 - Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.Genesis 27:22 - And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice [is] Jacob's voice, but the hands [are] the hands of Esau.Exodus 33:1 - And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, [and] go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:Amos 7:16 - Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not [thy word] against the house of Isaac.Genesis 28:6 - When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;Exodus 32:13 - Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit [it] for ever.Deuteronomy 6:10 - And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,1 Kings 18:36 - And it came to pass at [the time of] the offering of the [evening] sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou [art] God in Israel, and [that] I [am] thy servant, and [that] I have done all these things at thy word.Genesis 22:3 - And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.Genesis 28:13 - And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I [am] the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;Romans 9:7 - Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, [are they] all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.Genesis 17:19 - And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, [and] with his seed after him.Genesis 22:2 - And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.Genesis 25:20 - And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.Genesis 32:9 - And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:Deuteronomy 1:8 - Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.1 Chronicles 29:18 - O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee: Beersheba in Easton's Bible Dictionary well of the oath, or well of seven, a well dug by Abraham, and so named because he and Abimelech here entered into a compact (Gen. 21:31). The total straight line distance between Ur and Canaan is 5570 KM (kilometers) and 217.72 meters. The war of conquest being done, Joseph's bones were buried in the parcel of ground which Jacob had bought, and which fell to the lot of Joseph's descendants (24:33). "Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God" Gen (21:33). It was the extreme border of the cultivated land. This accounts for a school of prophets of Jehovah being there in Elijah's time (2 Kings 2:2-3). Andersen, H. G. Shechem, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. And now all connection of the Israelites with Mesopotamia is at an endJacob in Hitchcock's Bible Names that supplantsJacob in Naves Topical Bible -Son of Isaac, and the twin brother of Esau Ge 25:24-26; Jos 24:4; 1Ch 1:34; Ac 7:8 -Ancestor of Jesus Mt 1:2 -Given in answer to prayer Ge 25:21 -Obtains Esau's birthright for just one bowl of stew Ge 25:29-34; Heb 12:16 -Fradulently obtains his father's blessing Ge 27:1-29; Heb 11:20 -Esau seeks to kill, escapes to Padan-aram Ge 27:41-46; 28:1-5; Ho 12:12 -His vision of the ladder Ge 28:10-22 -God confirms the covenant of Abraham to Ge 28:13-22; 35:9-15; 1Ch 16:13-18 -Sojourns in Haran with his uncle, Laban Ge 29:30; Ho 12:12 -Serves fourteen years for Leah and Rachel Ge 29:15-30; Ho 12:12 -Sharp practice of, with the flocks and herds of Laban Ge 30:32-43 -Dissatisfied with Laban's treatment and returns to the land of Canaan Ge 31 -Meets angels of God on the journey, and calls the place "Mahanaim," Ge 32:1,2 -Dreads to meet Esau; sends him presents; wrestles with an angel Ge 32Jacob in Smiths Bible Dictionary (supplanter), the second son of Isaac and Rebekah. Some 50 years later Hadrian reportedly restored the Samaritan temple of . Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. The town has no walls; but the main streets opening on the principal roads have gates. Jacob's children fulfilled their promise and carried the coffin all the way to Canaan. The Days of the Monarchy: David, when a fugitive, received kindness from the people of this city (1 Sam 30:31); here Abner was treacherously slain by Joab at the gate (2 Sam 3:27), and the sons of Rimmon, after their hands and feet had been cut off, were hanged "beside the pool" (2 Sam 4:12). (Jacob did not obtain the blessing because of his deceit, but in spite of it. Israel came to Bethel to consult the Divine oracle (Jdg 20:18), and it became an important center of worship (1 Sam 10:3). Abrams grandson, Jacob, came to Shechem after he returned from Padan-Aram, undoubtedly tracing the traditional same steps of his grandfather. Large Map of the Roman Empire in the Early First Century - Click around on the Places. However Zerubbabel refused, and the Samaritans developed almost a cultdevoted only to the Pentateuch. The people traveled more than 25 miles from Ai to the beautiful valley of Shechem surrounded by mountains, two of which were Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. Later Joseph was buried there (Josh 24:32). A city of Judah, Jos 15:54 situated among the mountains, Jos 20:7 20 Roman miles south of Jerusalem, and the same distance north of Beersheba. To the Southwest of the city is a small mosque on the spot where Jacob is said to have mourned over the blood-stained coat of Joseph. Yahweh) in its common abbreviated form. His brothers, filled with hatred, sold Joseph to some Ishmaelite traders who, coming through the Dothan pass, were headed for Egypt along the Via Maris. Josiah, as foretold, defiled the altar with dead men's bones, but disturbed not the sepulchre of the prophet of Judab when he discerned its title. S. of the town in the bottom of the valley is a tank, 130 ft. square by 50 deep. Ebal with half the tribes on each of the two mountain sides. At the western end is another, 85 ft. long by 55 broad. In 107 BC, John Hyrcanus further widened the rift between the Jews and Samaritans by destroying the Samaritans temple on Mount Gerizim. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997. Come, and I will send you to them." Hebron. And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, he bought for a hundred pieces of . 1Ki 16:34 3. Judges 9:39 Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. There are at present on the spot two principal wells and five smaller ones. Answer (1 of 8): Not all Bible scholars agree because the modern city of Harran,Turkey may not be the same settlement of Haran that Abraham's family stayed in, (c.2000 BCE) when his father Terah died there, according to Genesis 11:31--32. And there on Mount Ebal, Joshua built an altar to God, and on a pillar of stones he wrote a copy of the law (Josh. Later Jacob settled here, and dug a well. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you. The curb-stones around the mouth of both wells are worn into deep grooves by the action of the ropes of so many centures. It was ordered by God that the votaries of the calf worship at Bethel never dared to violate the sepulchre and title of the prophet who denounced their idol. The miles based distance from Ur to Canaan is 3461.2 miles. Shechem first steps on the pages of Scripture as Abram enters the land of Canaan. Still there is an oak bearing Abraham's name, 23 ft. in girth, and covering 90 ft. space in diameter. Calm our fears and strengthen our faith that we may never doubt his presence among us but proclaim that he is your Son, risen from the dead, living for ever and ever. But when they cried out to the LORD, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt.