Shechem
שְׁכֶם
Where was biblical Shechem? At Tell Balata, eastern edge of Nablus, about 50 km north of Jerusalem. I mark it certain.
Joshua gathered all the tribes here to renew the covenant, and Israel buried Joseph's bones in the field Jacob had bought. The people promised to serve G-d alone, and Joshua set up a great stone under the oak as a witness.
By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker
- Site today
- Tell Balata, eastern edge of Nablus
- How sure
- Certain The name, the sources and the finds all agree.
- Other names
- Sh'chem, Sychem, Tell Balata, Neapolis, Nablus
- Location
- 32.2136° N, 35.2821° E (Google Maps)
How we know where it was
Shechem runs through the whole Bible. Abraham's first stop in the Land was the place of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. Jacob camped before the city, bought a field and built an altar. Joseph was sent here to check on his brothers. Centuries later all Israel came to Shechem to crown Rehoboam. His harsh answer split the kingdom in two.
The clue in the text is the mountains. Jotham stood on top of Mount Gerizim and shouted his fable down to the men of Shechem. So the city sat at the foot of Gerizim, in the pass it shares with Eival.
Ancient writers put it right there. Josephus places Shechem in the narrow pass between the two mountains. The Madaba Map shows Sychem beside the Roman city of Neapolis, the "new city" the Romans founded next to the old one. Arabic wore Neapolis down to Nablus. The traditional Jacob's Well and Joseph's Tomb lie right next to Tell Balata, the mound of the old city at the eastern end of the pass.
The ground matches the power the Bible gives the city. Excavators uncovered massive Middle Bronze Age walls of huge stones, monumental gates and a huge fortress temple. That temple is often linked to the house of El-berith in the Book of Judges, where Abimelech burned about a thousand men and women who had taken refuge in its stronghold. Even before Israel had kings, Egyptian records knew the place. The Amarna letters of the 14th century BCE mention a powerful city called Shakmu, ruled by a man named Labayu.
Why here? The pass is the crossroads of the hill country. The road north from Jerusalem and the roads down to the coast and the Jordan all meet between Eival and Gerizim. Whoever held Shechem held the middle of the Land. It makes sense that Abraham stopped here first, that Joshua chose it for the covenant, and that the tribes came here to choose a king.
Nothing competes with it. The mountains, the ancient witnesses and the excavated city all point to the same mound.
Visiting today
Tell Balata Archaeological Park in Nablus shows the restored Bronze Age gates, walls and temple platform. Israelis may not enter without military coordination.
Read it in the Bible
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In a handful of chapters English Bibles count one verse off.
See Shechem on the interactive map →
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Get the print + free ebookNearby places
- Mount Gerizim 2 km southwest
- Mount Ebal (Eival) 2 km north
- Tirzah 10 km northeast
- Samaria (Shomron), the City 11 km northwest
- Tappuah 11 km south
- Timnath Serah 16 km southwest