Sichem

Shechem

Sichem
Shown within the West Bank
Alternate name	Nablus
Location	West Bank
Coordinates	32°12′49″N 35°16′55″E / 32.213618°N 35.281993°E / 32.213618; 35.281993
Type	City
History
Founded	c. 2100 BC (mentioned in Ebla tablets)
Abandoned	67 AD (destroyed)

Shechem /ˈʃɛkəm/, also spelled Sichem (/ˈsɪkəm/; Hebrew: שְׁכֶם / שְׁכָם, Standard Š(ə)ḫem Tiberian Šəḵem, "shoulder"), was a Canaanite city mentioned in the Amarna letters, and is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as an Israelite city of the tribe of Manasseh and the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel. Traditionally associated with Nablus, it is now identified with the nearby site of Tell Balata in Balata al-Balad in the West Bank.

Shechem's position is indicated in the Hebrew Bible: it lay north of Bethel and Shiloh, on the high road going from Jerusalem to the northern districts (Judges xxi, 19), at a short distance from Michmethath (Joshua 17:7) and of Dothain (Genesis 37:12-17); it was in the hill-country of Ephraim (Joshua 20:7; 21:21; 1 Kings 12:25; 1 Chronicles 6:67; 7:28), immediately below Mount Gerizim (Judges 9:6-7). These indications are substantiated by Josephus, who says that the city lay between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, and by the Madaba map, which places Sychem, also called Sikima, between the "Tour Gobel" (Ebal) and the "Tour Garizin" (Garizim). The site of Shechem in patristic sources is almost invariably identified with, or located close to, the town of Flavia Neapolis (Nablus).