Jacob purchased a parcel of a field which contained the well that he had dug there. Abdon is read in many manuscriptsHebron in Hitchcock's Bible Names society; friendshipHebron in Naves Topical Bible 1. may be proved genuine. Shechem (Nablus) (Jewish Virtual Library) A lengthy article describing the archaeology and history of the ancient city. (4.) Joshua 8:30. 12. Ex 32:30-33:23 Depart for Canaan. This location, in the middle of the nation, provided the most important crossroads in central Israel. In the Hebrew Bible he is the son of Isaac and Rebecca, the grandson of Abraham and Sarah and of Bethuel, and the twin brother of Esau. How old was Abram when he traveled from Haran to Canaan? It was the extreme border of the cultivated land. 5. Again Jacob journeyed southward, and at Bethlehem Rachel gave birth to Benjamin, but she died in giving childbirth and was buried there (Gen. 35:16-20). God used this sad turn of events to eventually take the entire family of Israel to Egypt, protecting and multiplying them. From Ur, across the Fertile Crescent and down into Canaan, the Bible mentions Shechem as the first city to which Abram came ( Gen. 12:6 ). This spot became a center of great interest, lending growing importance to the town. The name Bethel was at first apparently given to the sanctuary in the neighbourhood of Luz, and was not given to the city itself till after its conquest by the tribe of Ephraim. Judges 8:31 His concubine who was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. This study will discuss the significance of Shechem, a city in central Israel. There he met with Rachel (29). God confirmed the covenant he had first made with Abraham in Harran, regarding the possession of the land of Canaan. 16:1; 1 Sam. How far was Canaan from Ur? Terah, at the age of 200, decides to move his entire family, which includes his grandson Lot, to Haran (Genesis 11:31). At the end of the conquest Joshua gathered the whole nation to Shechem again, reminding them of their previous pledge and the blessings and curses they themselves pronounced. (2) Joseph was buried at Shechem (Jos. It was the favorite home of Abraham. In Judges 20:26 translate for "the house of God" Bethel. Judges 21:19 They said, "Behold, there is a feast of Yahweh from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.". 20 There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe . Do you want Gods blessing in the land? The masonry which encloses the well extends downward 28 1/2 feet. So thenceforth David sacrificed there, and no longer on the altar at Gibeon where the tabernacle was, separate from the ark, which was at Zion; for he could not go to Gibeon on account of the sword of the Angel, i.e. The two unworthy sons of Samuel were Judges in Beersheba (1 Sam 8:2) and Zibiah, mother of King Jehoash, was born there (2 Ki 12:1; 2 Ch 24:1). Jacob served in Laban's house for 20 years before fleeing back to Canaan (Genesis 31:1-21). Abimelech, whose mother was a native of the city, persuaded the men of Shechem to make him king (Judges 9:1-6), evidently seeking a certain consecration from association with "the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem." Joshua 24:32 They buried the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money. Gerizim (Sirach 50:26; Ant, XI, viii, 6; XII, i, 1; XIII, iii, 4). Jeroboam chose Shechem as the capital for the Northern Kingdom, perhaps because of the significant history there for Ephraim. Ancient Jerusalem - Interactive Study of Jerusalem with Map. 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. . Seir borders on southern Judah, but Jacob could have entered Canaan opposite Shechemand later doeswithout coming anywhere near Seir. 7:8). Near the city the Law was promulgated (Deuteronomy 27:11 Joshua 8:33). Large Map of the Roman Empire in the Early First Century - Click around on the Places. This was fulfilled at the time of the conquest of Canaan under Joshua (Joshua 8:34). Remember how you yourselves shouted the blessings and the curses in this spot? Jacob, now called Israel, sends Joseph to meet his brothers. Esau came up from Seir and met Jacob in peace; Jacob then continued on as far as Shechem (Genesis 33). cult) of Beersheba liveth." That which was promised he would have received in some good way; but Jacob and his mother, distrusting God's promise, sought the promised blessing in a wrong way, and received with it trouble and sorrow. While Jacob was in Haran he married Leah and Rachel and the Lord was with him and blessed him with great riches (Gen. 29:1-30: 43). Camels are very strong and can carry up to 900 pounds for 30 miles a day. 4:15; 5:8; 10:5, 8) calls it in contempt Beth-aven, i.e., "house of idols." Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1995. Jotham's parable was spoken from the cliff of Gerizim overhanging the town (Judges 9:7). Joshua gives us all a good reminder: Remember where youve come from. It lay South of Shiloh (Jdg 21:19). barry mcguigan, daughter funeral; jacob's journey from beersheba to haran distance . 11. Josephus mistakenly places here the dream of Solomon (Ant., VIII, ii, 1) which occurred at Gibeon (1 Ki 3:4). In Jdg 1:22 ff it is represented as held by Canaanites, from whom the house of Joseph took it by treachery (compare 1 Ch 7:28). Two million Jews would gather at Shiloh on the main festivals and would camp on the surrounding hills. Andersen, H. G. Shechem, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. Abraham is called by Mohammedans el-Khulil, "the Friend," i.e. The other well is 5 feet in diameter, and was 42 feet to the water. 1 Chronicles 6:67 They gave to them the cities of refuge, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim with its suburbs; Gezer also with its suburbs. According to the first, the well was dug by Abraham, and the name given to Judah, Jos 15:28 and then to Simeon, Jos 19:2; 1Ch 4:28 In the often-quoted "from Dan even unto Beersheba," Jud 20:1 it represents the southern boundary of Canaan, as Dan the northern. And I think the principle should also apply even to those who grew up under parents who did a good jobparents who taught about Jesus and how He died for our sins. Eastward the valley opens upon the plain of Makhneh. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance (vv. 4. Bethel belonged by lot to Benjamin, but was falcon by Ephraim (Bethel being on his southern border) through the treachery of an inhabitant (Judges 1:22-26). The surrounding country is bleak and barren, the hills being marked by a succession of stony terraces, which may have suggested the form of the ladder in Jacob's famous dream. 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). This rival center would enable the northern tribes to worship without crossing the border into Judah. In today's reading, the words of Moses (Deut. "Shechem," D. Winton Thomas, ed. 24:32). Here Absalom set up the standard of revolt. 8:33). Gods grace shows that none of that matters if you put your faith in Him. Egypt is a Egypt city located at the longitude of 31.237655 and latitude of 30.047655 . Here Abram built an altar to the Lord, and here God confirmed His promise to give the land to Abram. Joshua 17:7 The border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which is before Shechem. It appears in the New Testament only in the speech of Stephen (Acts 7:16, King James Version "Sychem"). Gene 23:19 About a mile from the town, up the valley, is one of the largest oak trees in Israel. However Zerubbabel refused, and the Samaritans developed almost a cultdevoted only to the Pentateuch. Joseph started his journey from Hebron, where Jacob and his family lived (see Genesis 37:14 . It is at this point Joshua stops speaking for the Lord and begins speaking for himself, giving the implications and applications from looking at the past. In his dream, the LORD renewed his covenant promise to give the land of . Shechem is also where Abraham camped when first arriving in Canaan after God called him to enter the land of promise (Genesis 12:6). Abraham, now 75 years old, leaves Haran and takes the family to the land of Canaan (the land of promise . His history is related in the latter half of the book of Genesis. His dealing with Esau, however, showed much mean selfishness and cunning (Gen. 25:29-34). This route appears continuously in the Biblical text. And the LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. It is nearly midway between the southern end of the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean.Beersheba in Fausset's Bible Dictionary Beersheba means "well of the oath". And here God promised him the land was to be his. HOHAM (which see), king of Hebron, was one of the five kings defeated by Joshua at Beth-horon and slain at Makkedah (Josh 10:3 f). But when Abimelech went to Thebez and stormed the tower, a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull (Judges 9:53). After Abram's father Terah died in Haran, God appeared to him again with the same calling: "Go unto the land I will show you.". Joshua 21:21 They gave them Shechem with its suburbs in the hill country of Ephraim, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Gezer with its suburbs. Gottwald held that Israel emerged from within the population of Canaan and not by invasion from outside of it. Like some 50 other Hebrew names of this same form, it has no subject for the verb expressed. The town was situated in a narrow valley - the "Valley of the Eschol; " whose sides are clothed with vineyards, groves of olives, and other fruit trees. 2 Kings 23:8 - And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba, and brake down the high places of the gates that [were] in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which [were] on a man's left hand at the gate of the city.2 Samuel 24:2 - For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which [was] with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people.Amos 5:5 - But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.Nehemiah 11:30 - Zanoah, Adullam, and [in] their villages, at Lachish, and the fields thereof, at Azekah, and [in] the villages thereof. Beersheba. 2. Also Shechem was situated on the essential crossroads along the Way of the Patriarchs. It required cisterns for water supply, which was a major drawback in times of siege. 1. Then Jacob came to Peniel where he wrestled with God (Genesis 31:22-32:31). . Here Abram built an altar to the Lord, and here God confirmed His promise to give the land to Abram. A mountain 1Sa 13:2Bethel in Smiths Bible Dictionary (the house of God) well known city and holy place of central Israel, about 12 mlles north of Jerusalem. When his end was approaching Joshua gathered the tribes of Israel here and addressed to them his final words of counsel and exhortation (chapter 24). Jud 1:22,23 After the conquest Bethel is frequently heard of. Joshua 24:1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 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. Bethel remained an abode of priests even after the kingdom of Israel was desolated by the king of Assyria (2 Kings 17:28, 29). According to Acts they were all buried at Shechem in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor. From Ur, Abraham traveled 700 miles to the borders of present-day Iraq, another 700 miles into Syria, another 800 down to Egypt by the inland road, and then back into Canaan - what is now Israel. Abrams grandson, Jacob, came to Shechem after he returned from Padan-Aram, undoubtedly tracing the traditional same steps of his grandfather. (2.) God would later tell King David: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be ruler over My people Israel (2 Sam. The place is still the market for a wide district, both East and West of Jordan. To this second occasion of God's speaking with Jacob at Bethel, Hosea (12:4,5) makes reference. Like his father, he was of a quiet and gentle disposition, and when he grew up followed the life of a shepherd, while his brother Esau became an enterprising hunter. 1:26). A later king of Israel, Omri, chose Samaria as his capital because it was easy to defend. Wilderness of, Hagar miraculously sees a well in Ge 21:14-19 An angel fed Elijah in 1Ki 19:5,7Beersheba in Smith's Bible Dictionary (well of the oath), the name of one of the old places in Israel which formed the southern limit of the country. Built seven years before Zoan in Egypt (Numbers 13:22). Isn't he the son of Jerubbaal? These wells are in constant use today. A Sacred Shrine: Beersheba was a sacred shrine. Joshua did this, and dividing the nation, Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal (Josh. If we are to accept the precise definition of Ge 12:8 the name of Bethel would appear to have existed at this spot even before the arrival of Abram in Canaan. The Babylonians - Learn about ancient Babylon and the people who lived there. (Ant., XIII, ix, 1; BJ, I, ii, 6). Depending on where we consider the undefined border between Phoenicia and Canaan to be, he was almost there. He was born with Esau, probably at the well of Lahai-roi, about B.C. (3.) His descendants are called Shechemites. He was born probably at Lahai-roi, when his father was fifty-nine and Abraham one hundred and fifty- nine years old. "Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God" Gen (21:33). It had steep slopes all around the high hill on which the city sat. After various vicissitudes it fell into the Moslems' hands in A.D. 1187, and has continued so ever since. 381-385. During the civil war with Benjamin the tribes took the ark thither to consult God (compare 1 Samuel 10:3). One of the largest oaks in Israel is found in the valley of Eshcol, about 3 miles north of the town. The situation is one of great beauty. The city lay along the northern end of The Way of the Patriarchs. This road, also called the Ridge Route (because it followed a key mountain ridge stretching 50 miles south), traveled from Shechem through Shiloh, Bethel/Ai, Ramah, Gibeah, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. The distance between the above mentioned places is 500 miles approximately. There, the brothers conspired to sell . A city in the hill country of Judah, originally Kirjath (the city of) Arba (Joshua 15:13; Joshua 14:15). Khalil er Rahman, "the friend of the Merciful," i.e. He and his family traveled through the Jabbok Valley, crossed the Jordan, camped at Succoth, and ascended through the Wadis Faria and Beidan to Shechem. Hebron now contains about 5000 inhabitants, of whom some fifty families are Jews. His bothers were envious of the preferential treatment Joseph received from Isaac. 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. Jud 20:26- 28; 21:4 Later it is named as one of the holy cities to which Samuel went on circuit. Genesis 37:14 He said to him, "Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers, and well with the flock; and bring me word again." S. of the town in the bottom of the valley is a tank, 130 ft. square by 50 deep. Be it a strategic military position, an abundant water supply, or a convenient traveling location, geography determines, by in large, where historical events occur. 2 Chronicles 10:2 It happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it, (for he was in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of king Solomon), that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt. Abraham was born under the name Abram in the Sumer city of Ur in Mesopotamia (in present day Iraq). Terah dies in Haran five years later. That is a pretty humble beginning. Therefore, he says, in light of the fact that every inch of success has been Gods grace to you, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity. The Hebrew word for sincerity suggests fullness or completeness; it is the idea that one is on the inside what he is on the outside. Amen. Joshua also designated Shechem as a city of refuge. . It also provided room for many people to liveperhaps 40,000as the city covered 20 acres. Shechem. Hebron. The rains run through immovable ravines, and beside that river people cultivate their fields and water their livestock. 6:67). The Angel of Jehovah had stood by Araunah's threshing floor; there David saw Him, and Araunah (Ornan) also, subsequently on turning back, saw Him and hid himself. A town in the north border of Asher (Josh. 1. After the return from the Captivity the phrase is narrowed into "from Beersheba unto the valley of Hinnom" (Neh. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you. However, modern highways may cut the walking distance i. Hebron is one of the most ancient cities in the world still existing; and in this respect it is the rival of Damascus. 67, 113, 98 and 4). Shechem. The proverb "in the Mount of Jehovah it (or He) shall be seen" probably originated in Jerusalem under Melchizedek. The Incredible Bible - First in the BKA Series. After looking for them at Shechem, he found them a short distance north at Dothan. Judges 9:28 Gaal the son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? 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. This is assuming Abram went via Beersheba and walked "The Way to Shur" (an ancient road) into Egypt and that he stopped at Raamses. By Amos (5:5) it is classed with Bethel and Gilgal as one of the rival shrines to the pure worship of Yahweh, and in another place (8:14) he writes "They shall fall, and never rise up again," who sware, "As the way (i.e. Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,Jeremiah 46:28 - Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I [am] with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.Ezekiel 20:5 - And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I [am] the LORD your God;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?Isaiah 60:16 - Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD [am] thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.Genesis 30:31 - And he said, What shall I give thee? After the Israelites blazed a safe trail to central Canaan by defeating Jericho and Ai, they immediately went 34 km north to convene a covenant ceremony in the area of Shechem (Josh 8:30-35). Ge 12:8; 13:3,4 Bethel was the scene of Jacob's vision. He desired to see his father Jacob and invited him to Egypt because of the great famine. . Some contend that Mount Gerizim is meant, but most probably we are to regard this as one of the hills of Jerusalem. When David became king of Judah this was his royal residence, and he resided here for seven and a half years (2 Sam. It made a good choice for a capital. History: Bethel was a royal city of the Canaanites (Josh 12:16). Times of Joshua and Judges: The spies visited Hebron and near there cut the cluster of grapes (Nu 13:22 f). The nation of Israel was divided at Shechem. Judges 9:34 Abimelech rose up, and all the people who were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies. Abram journeyed from Haran to Shechem. of Bethel. He bought the birthright from his brother Esau, and afterward acquired the blessing intended for Esau, by practicing a well-known deceit on Isaac. He then set up another stone in Shechem, saying: Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, lest you deny your God (Josh. It became the residence also of the rebellious Absalom (2 Sam. The maqom was doubtless that at which Abraham had sacrificed, East of the town. The next morning Esau came, and his desire was to be kind to his brother (Gen. 33:1-16). A few years after this, a new city, Flavia Neapolis, was built by Vespasian a short distance to the west of the old one. Here was the ark of the covenant. Shechems geography paves the way for a discussion of its historical, and ultimately, its spiritual significance even still today. This accounts for a school of prophets of Jehovah being there in Elijah's time (2 Kings 2:2-3). Come, and I will send you to them." Now El Khalil, the house of "the friend" of God. It is mentioned as lying to the West of Michmethath (el-Makhneh) on the boundary of Manasseh (Joshua 17:7). Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God (Josh.