Shechem

Shechem, Sichem or Shkhem (שְׁכֶם / שְׁכָם "Shoulder", Standard Hebrew Šəḫem / Šəḫam, Tiberian Hebrew Šəḵem / Šəḵām (situated at Tell Balatah {{coor dms|32|12|11|N|35|18|40|E|}}, 2 km east of present-day Nablus) was the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel.

Related Topics:
Standard Hebrew - Tiberian Hebrew - Nablus - Kingdom of Israel

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The old city of Shechem dates back an estimated four thousand years.

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At Shechem, Abram "built an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him . . . and had given that land to his descendants" (Gen 12:6-7). This Biblical account, considered by some to be the first place Abram stopped when Abraham Sarah, Lot and their party entered Canaan. The Bible states that on this occasion, God confirmed the covenant He had first made with Abraham in Ur, regarding the possession of the land of Canaan. Joshua assembled the Israelites in Shechem and encouraged them to reaffirm their adherence to the Torah. During the Judges period, Abimelech was crowned king in Shechem.

Related Topics:
Abraham - Sarah - Lot - Canaan - Covenant - Ur - Torah - Judges - Abimelech

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Shechem was a commercial center due to its position in the middle of vital trade routes through the region. It traded in local grapes, olives, wheat, livestock and pottery between the middle Bronze Age and the late Hellenic Period (1900-100 BCE). Archeological evidence indicates that the city was razed and reconstructed up to 22 times before its final demise in 200 CE. Within the remains of the city can still be found a number of walls and gates built for defense, a government house, a residential quarter and the ruins of a temple raised to Zeus by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, the latter dating to 200 BCE.

Related Topics:
Bronze Age - Hellenic - Zeus - Hadrian

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