Shechem
A place in the Bible
A very old city in the middle of Canaan, between two mountains. Abraham came as far as there when he entered Canaan.
What happened here
- Abraham: he came as far as Shechem. There the Lord appeared to him, and Abraham built an altar.
- Joseph and his brothers: Jacob sent his son Joseph to look for his brothers, who were tending the flocks at Shechem.
- Joshua: at the end of his life he gathered all the tribes at Shechem and renewed the covenant with the Lord there.
- Joseph’s bones: the Israelites brought Joseph’s bones up from Egypt and buried them at Shechem.
Today
It was between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, next to the present-day city of Nablus, in the West Bank.
Where it appears in the Bible
Genesis 12:6-7; Genesis 37:12-14; Joshua 24:1; Joshua 24:25; Joshua 24:32
What the Bible says
Genesis 12:6-7
6Abram passed through the country into the place of Sichem, as far as the noble vale: now the Chanaanite was at that time in the land. 7And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him: To thy seed will I give this land. And he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
Genesis 37:12-14
12And when his brethren abode in Sichem feeding their father’s flocks, 13Israel said to him: Thy brethren feed the sheep in Sichem: come, I will send thee to them. And when he answered: 14I am ready: he said to him: Go, and see if all things be well with thy brethren, and the cattle: and bring me word again what is doing. So being sent from the vale of Hebron, he came to Sichem:
Joshua 24:1
And Josue gathered together all the tribes of Israel in Sichem, and called for the ancients, and the princes, and the judges, and the masters: and they stood in the sight of the Lord:
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), “Sichem”; Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), “Shechem”