Shechem

This article is about the biblical city of Shechem. For the modern-day city in the West Bank, see Nablus. For Shechem, a son of Manasseh, see Shechem (son of Manasseh).
For Shechem, the biblical figure who raped Dinah, see Dinah or Shechem (biblical figure).

Shechem
שְׁכֶם‎
Archaeological site of Tell Balata, identified with ancient Shechem
Shechem is located in the West Bank
Shechem
Shechem
Location within the West Bank
Shechem is located in Eastern Mediterranean
Shechem
Shechem
Location within the Eastern Mediterranean
Alternative nameSichem
LocationTell Balatah, West Bank
RegionSouthern Levant
Coordinates32°12′49″N 35°16′55″E / 32.213618°N 35.281993°E / 32.213618; 35.281993
TypeCapital city
History
Foundedc. 1900 BCE
Abandoned67 CE (destroyed)
Associated withCanaanites, Israelites, Samaritans

Shechem (/ˈʃɛkəm/ SHEK-əm; Hebrew: שְׁכֶם, romanized: Šəḵem; Samaritan Hebrew: ࠔࠬࠥࠊࠝࠌ, romanized: Šăkēm), also spelled Sichem (/ˈsɪkəm/ SIK-əm; Ancient Greek: Συχέμ, romanized: Sykhém)[1] was an ancient city in the southern Levant. Mentioned as a Canaanite city in the Amarna Letters, it later appears in the Hebrew Bible as the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel following the split of the United Monarchy.[2] According to Joshua 21:20–21, it was located in the tribal territorial allotment of the tribe of Ephraim. Shechem declined after the fall of the northern Kingdom of Israel. The city later regained its importance as a prominent Samaritan center during the Hellenistic period.[3]

Traditionally associated with the city of Nablus,[4] Shechem is now identified with the nearby site of Tell Balata in the Balata al-Balad suburb of the West Bank.

  1. ^ LXX.
  2. ^ "I Book of Kings 12:25". Archived from the original on 12 November 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  3. ^ "Shechem | Israel, Mountains, & History | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  4. ^ ' The present Nābulus is a corruption merely of Neapolis; and Neapolis succeeded the more ancient Shechem. All the early writers who touch on the topography of Palestine, testify to this identity of the two.' William Smith (ed.) Dictionary of the Bible,, rev. and edited by H.B.Hackett and Ezra Abbot, Hurd & Houghton New York 1870, vol.IV, "Shechem"' pp.2952–2958, p.2953.