Israel came to Bethel to consult the Divine oracle (Jdg 20:18), and it became an important center of worship (1 Sam 10:3). The well of, belonged to Abraham and Isaac Ge 21:25,26 -3. Located in the Hill Country of Ephraim, the city of Shechem played a vital role in the history of Israel. A town in southern Judah (Joshua 12:16; 1 Samuel 30:27). Jacobs Travels| IBible Maps 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). It lay, like all threshing floors, outside the city, upon Mount Moriah, N.E. In the Book of Genesis, Abraham, the patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, describes Aram as . and Zebul his officer? New York: Macmillan. And the ensuing argument about the true place of worshipGerizim or Jerusalemwas in full force (John 4:20). Mount Bethel was a hilly district near Bethel (Josh. 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). 2. The other five further off. Bethuel, 1 Chronicles 4:30. Genesis 12:6-8 Jacob also came to Shechem and found Hivites living in the area. Here also, one thousand years after Abraham, David built an altar and offered sacrifices to God.Mount Moriah in Fausset's Bible Dictionary Genesis 22:2; 2 Chronicles 3:1. That was Joshuas challenge to Israel at Shechem, and it is a good one for us to heed as well. It was here at hebron where Jacob met saw his father Isaac in his old age (Gen. 35:27) and he dwelt here in Hebron. The total distance between Hebron and Egypt is 402 KM (kilometers) and 72.87 meters. Of course, from a historian's point of view, it is more likely that Abraham did not really exist. Probably on rising ground East of Bethel Abraham and Lot stood to view the uninviting highlands and the rich lands of the Jordan valley (Gen 13:9 ff). The ruins, covering three or four acres, still bear a like name, Beitin, on a low bill, between two wadies, which unite in the main valley of es-Suweinit, toward the S.E. of God, and this is the modern name of Hebron. Eusebius, in Onomasticon, here identifies Shechem with Shalem; but see SHALEM. There are some 700 or 800 Christians, chiefly belonging to the Greek Orthodox church. He said to him, "Here I am.". 2Ki 17:27,28 In later times Bethel is named only once under the scarcely-altered name of Beitin. He bought a parcel of ground from Hamor, chief of Shechem, for a "hundred pieces of money." Genesis 12:6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. And the people answered and said, Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 24:32) in land which Jacob had bought from . The family of Hebronites sprang from him. 1837. This was fulfilled at the time of the conquest of Canaan under Joshua (Joshua 8:34). And I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and Egypt pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. History: Bethel was a royal city of the Canaanites (Josh 12:16). A descendant of Manasseh ( Numbers 26:31; Joshua 17:2). The New International Dictionary of the Bible. A town in Asher; spelled in Hebrew differently from the former Hebron. He believed that God would one day return the nation to Canaan, and so he gave the command for his bones to be carried back with them and buried there (Gen 50:25). 4. (a) In Babylonian documents of the period of the Patriarchs, there occur such personal names as Ja-ku-bi, Ja-ku-ub-ilu (the former doubtless an abbreviation of the latter), and Aq-bu-u (compare Aq-bi-a-hu), according to Hilprecht a syncopated form for A-qu(? A city in the south of territory of the tribe of Judah 1Sa 30:27 -3. But the Torah continues by telling us that Joseph's "brothers went - to pasture their father's flock in Shechem" (Genesis 37:12), which was why "[Jacob] sent [Joseph] from the valley . He then set out with his family and property "to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan" (Gen. 31). 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." 7:16). But "Hebron would appear to have been the original name of the city, and it was not till after Abraham's stay there that it received the name Kirjath-arba, who [i.e., Arba] was not the founder but the conqueror of the city, having led thither the tribe of the Anakim, to which he belonged. Bethel nevertheless remains a sacred place in the collective memory of both Jews and Christians. In the first great revolt 1 Chronicles 12:38 - All these men of war, that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel [were] of one heart to make David king.2 Samuel 4:8 - And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.2 Samuel 3:19 - And Abner also spake in the ears of Benjamin: and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and that seemed good to the whole house of Benjamin.1 Chronicles 29:27 - And the time that he reigned over Israel [was] forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three [years] reigned he in Jerusalem.2 Samuel 5:5 - In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.1 Kings 2:11 - And the days that David reigned over Israel [were] forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.Joshua 10:39 - And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that [were] therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king.2 Samuel 3:20 - So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. The city is some 20 miles South of Jerusalem, situated in an open valley, 3,040 ft. above sea-level. Son of Kohath Ex 6:18; Nu 3:19; 1Ch 6:2,18; 23:12,19Hebron in Smiths Bible Dictionary (alliance). may be proved genuine. The children were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, daughter Dinah, Joseph, and Benjamin. Joshua called the nation to Shechem because significant things occurred there before. 2. They built their own temple on Mount Gerizim, which was immediately by Shechem. 1. Here Solomon's temple was built, on the spot that had been the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite (2 Sam. Its Position: Geographically Beersheba marked the southern limit of Judah, though theoretically this extended to the "river of Egypt" (Gen 15:18)--the modern Wady el`Avish--60 miles farther south. The Exodus Route: Travel times, distances, rates of travel - Bible According to Acts they were all buried at Shechem in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor. 1. (Enlarge) (PDF for Print) (Freely Distributed for Personal or Church use). why did Jacob travel to Succoth (the opposite direction of Esau His dealing with Esau, however, showed much mean selfishness and cunning (Gen. 25:29-34). 6:2, 18). Bethel, the place, is expressly distinguished from Luz, the old Canaanite city. It is usually included in Zion, to the north-east of which it lay, and from which it was separated by the Tyropoean valley. Almost every plaque I have seen which quotes this verse says: Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. It always leaves off the part about: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. I think omitting the lines lessens the punch and the point of the statement. Those three verses included God's call to Abram and the covenantal promises that God gave to Abram Remember that God's call was to leave the world that . This study will discuss the significance of Shechem, a city in central Israel. Later a troubling situation came about, the slaughter of the Shechemites by Jacob's sons, and this forced Jacob to move southward (Gen. 34:1-30) 9. Joshua gives us all a good reminder: Remember where youve come from. What made the difference? In ancient times these were supplemented by a reservoir hewn in the rock South of the town. First Century Israel Map - Bethel. It was made a Levite city of refuge (Joshua 21:11-13). Besides the frequent mention of his name in conjunction with the names of the other two patriarchs, there are distinct references to the events in the life of Jacob in four books of the New Testament - Joh 1:51; 4:5,12; Ac 7:12,16; Ro 9:11-13; Heb 11:21; 12:16Jacob in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE I. The first European who was permitted to enter this mosque was the Prince of Wales in 1862. The population is about 8000, of which about 600 are Jews; the remainder Turks and Arabs. It was taken by Joshua and given to Caleb (Josh. When the land of Canaan was conquered and divided among the Israelites, Shechem was allotted to Ephraim, and finally . Jacob served in Laban's house for 20 years before fleeing back to Canaan (Genesis 31:1-21). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob dwelt here, and it was here that Abraham bought a tomb - the Cave of Machpelah. Shechem (Nablus) (Jewish Virtual Library) A lengthy article describing the archaeology and history of the ancient city.