What was Shechem known for?

What was Shechem known for?

During the rule of the Hyksos kings of Egypt (16th–17th century bce), Shechem was a strong walled city with a triple gate, a fortress-temple, and an acropolis. Some of the sites specifically mentioned in the Book of Judges have tentatively been identified by archaeologists.

What city is Shechem today?

Traditionally associated with the city of Nablus, Shechem is now identified with the nearby site of Tell Balata in the Balata al-Balad suburb of the West Bank.

What does the word Shechem mean?

/ ˈʃi kəm, -kɛm, ˈʃɛk əm, -ɛm / PHONETIC RESPELLING. noun. a town of ancient Palestine, near the city of Samaria; occupied by Israel 1967–96; since 1996 under Palestinian self-rule: first capital of the northern kingdom of Israel.

Why was Joseph buried in Shechem?

The rabbis also suggest that Joseph instructed his brothers to bury him in Shechem since it was from there he was taken and sold into slavery. Other Jewish sources have him buried either in Safed, or, according to an aggadic tradition, have him interred at Hebron according to his own wishes.

Who killed Shechem?

After the operations, while the men were still weakened, Simeon and Levi attacked the city, killed all the males, including Shechem and Hamor, and freed Dinah. They then joined in plundering the city.

Was the body of Joseph ever found?

There is no archaeological evidence establishing the tomb as Joseph’s, and modern scholarship has yet to determine whether or not the present cenotaph is to be identified with the ancient biblical gravesite….Joseph’s Tomb.

Type tomb
History
Material local stone
Associated with Joseph (son of Jacob)
Site notes

What happened to Joseph Jesus’s father?

The circumstances of Joseph’s death are not known, but it is likely that he died before Jesus’s ministry began, and it is implied that he was dead before the Crucifixion (John 19:26-27).

Who destroyed Shechem in the Bible?

Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left.

Why was Shechem killed?

Thus, after Hamor came into the city, and while he was encouraging his subjects to be circumcised, one of the sons of Jacob named Simeon decided to kill both Hamor and Shechem since he was unwilling to endure civilly the outrage to his sister.

What is the meaning of Sichem?

Portion, shoulder
In Biblical Names the meaning of the name Sichem is: Portion, shoulder.

Who killed Shechem in the Bible?

What is the history of Shechem in the Bible?

Early history. Shechem had been a Canaanite settlement, first mentioned in Egyptian texts on the Sebek-khu Stele, an Egyptian stele of a noble at the court of Senusret III (c. 1880–1840 BC). In the Amarna Letters of about 1350 BC, Šakmu (i.e. Shechem) was the center of a kingdom carved out by Labaya (or Labayu),…

Where is Shechem located today?

Today, the area of Shechem is known as Tell Balata, an archaeological site near Nablus in the West Bank. The town was located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim in central Israel, just southeast of Samaria.

What happened to Abimelek and the Shechemites?

Jotham, the surviving son, pronounced a curse on Abimelek and the Shechemites, and after three years the city of Shechem turned against the would-be king ( Judges 9:16–20 ). In response to Shechem’s rejection, Abimelek attacked the city and killed a thousand men and women ( Judges 9:48–49; 57 ).

When was the first settlement in Shechem?

The oldest settlement in Shechem goes back to about six thousand years ago, during the Chalcolithic period (4000-3500 BCE). At that time agriculture was already practiced. Subsequently, during the Early Bronze Age, activity seems to have moved to the nearby area of Khirbet Makhneh el-Fauqa.