Meaning of SHECHEM

"shoulder".
Important fortified city (Gen. 33:18; cf. Gen. 34:20) near Mount Gerizim (Judg. 9:7) in the rugged region of Ephraim (Josh. 20:7). Abraham camped near Shechem (Gen. 12:6).

The Canaanites then occupied the country, but the Lord revealed to Abraham that this was the land promised to him and his descendants. Jacob, returning to Canaan, found a tribe of Hivites settled in Shechem (Gen. 34:2).

He purchased land from this tribe (Gen. 33:18, 19), where Joseph's mortal remains would later be buried (Josh. 24:32). The current text of Acts. 7:16 attributes this purchase to Abraham, when he acquired the cave of Machpelah.

Simeon and Levi, to avenge the insult done to Dinah, their sister, broke the agreement made with the inhabitants of Shechem, and committed a massacre, subsequently sacking the city (Gen. 34:25-29; 48:22).

His father strongly disapproved of this course (Gen. 34:30; 49:5-7). Jacob's sons grazed their flocks near Shechem (Gen. 37:12, 13).

The tribes of Israel gathered solemnly in the Valley of Shechem to hear the reading of Jehovah's Law (Josh. 8:30). The borders of Ephraim and Manasseh were close to Shechem (Joshua 17:7), which became a city of refuge, assigned to the Levites (Joshua 20:7; 21:21).

At Shechem Joshua summoned all Israel to give them his last exhortations (Josh. 24:1).
In the time of the Judges, a temple erected at Shechem perpetuated the cult of Baal-berit (Judges 8:33; 9:4).

Abimelech, son of Gideon and his concubine from Shechem, dominated Israel for three years, thanks to the support of the inhabitants of Shechem (Judges 9:1, 3, 6), who soon, however, rose up against him (Judg. 9:23).

Abimelech then destroyed the city, razing it to the ground (Judg. 9:45). At Shechem the ten tribes rejected Rehoboam and proclaimed Jeroboam king over Israel (1 Kings 12:1-19).

This ruler fortified Shechem, which was his capital for a certain time (1 Kings 12:25). It survived the fall of the northern kingdom (Jer. 41:5), and became the chief city of the Samaritans (Eccl. 50:26; Ant. 11:8, 6). John Hyrcanus seized it (Ant. 13:9, 1).

Shechem, which is currently called Nablus, is located about 50 km north of Jerusalem, and 9 km southeast of Samaria, in a valley limited to the north by Mount Ebal and to the south by Mount Gerizim.

The valley was called Mabatha, parade. It is a gorge that connects the coastline with the Jordan basin. Vespasian camped one night at Shechem, while leading his army from Emmaus to Jericho (Wars 4:8, 1).

Rebuilt after the war against the Jews, Shechem was named Flavia Neápolis, in honor of Flavius Vespasian, then emperor. The name of Neápolis subsists in the form of Nablus.

The early colony was probably at the eastern end of the valley, at Tell Balãta, where there are solid, thick walls. The modern town is located at the western end of the gorge, at 570 m. above sea level.

Nablus occupies the bottom of the valley, at its narrowest point, where it is only 91 m. between both mountains. The city climbs the slope of Gerizim to the base of the rocky wall. A small Samaritan community continues to live in and around Nablus.