Lexical Definition

‎שְׁכֶם‎ Shᵉkem (shek-em') Shechem ^N:N--L
the same as ‎שְׁכֶם‎; ridge

Shechem.

• § Shechem = "back" or "shoulder"
• Shekem, a place in Palestine

n pr m
1) son of Hamor, the chieftain of the Hivites at Shechem at the time of Jacob's arrival
n pr loc
2) a city in Manasseh; located in a valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, 34 miles (54 km) north of Jerusalem and 7 miles (10.5 km) south- east of Samaria

See Greek: Συχέμ

Extended Information

• A man living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.33.19
• son of: Hamor (חֲמוֹר)

Brown-Driver-Briggs

II. ‎שְׁכֶם‎ proper name, of a location₄₉ and masculine₁₄ (Συξεμ; ᵐ5^L often Σίκιμα Lag BN 57):

1. district in Northern Palestine (probably shoulder (saddle ?) of mountain); — ‎׳‎‎מְקוֺם שׁ‎ Gen 12:6, ‎שְׁכֶ֑מָךְ‎ Gen 37:14 = city (‎שְׁכֶ֑מָה שְֶׁכֶם‎, Hos 6:9 ‎שֶׁ֑כְמָךְ‎) Josh 24:1 ‎׳‎‎עִיר שׁ‎ Gen 33:18 + 20 t. Judg 9 (‎׳‎‎בַּעֲלֵי שׁ‎ vGen 33:2 + 12 t., ‎׳‎‎מִגְדַּלשֿׁ‎ ‎׳‎‎ב‎ vGen 33:46 vGen 33:47), Hos 6:9 + 21 t. (‎׳‎‎עִיר שׁ‎ Gen 33:18); city of refuge Josh 20:7; Josh 21:21; 1Chr 6:52*. — WMM^As.u.Eur.394, compare Egyptian Sa-ka-ma; (compare Jen^{ZA x (1895) 356}); modern Nablûs (from Roman name Neapolis); see Buhl^{G 200 f.} GASm^{G 332 ff. 345} Wilsons^{Hast. DB SHECHEM.}

2. proper name, masculine (on connection with 1 compare Judg 9:28), 'son' of Hamor, also Gen 33:19; Gen 34:2 + 10 t. 34, Josh 24:3.

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Male • Son of Hamor • Founded the city where Dinah was raped

Man living at the time of the Patriarchs

Shechem, founder of a Hivite city where Jacob's daughter Dinah was raped.

• A man living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.33.19;
• only referred to as Shechem שְׁכֶם;
• a son of Hamor חֲמוֹר.

Shechem was the founder of a city of the same name located in Canaan, inhabited by the Hivites. Israel (or 'Jacob') camped near Shechem upon returning to Canaan and bought a piece of land there (Genesis 33:19).

In Genesis 34, Shechem is the setting of a tragic incident. Shechem, the son of the city's ruler Hamor, raped Jacob's daughter Dinah. Shechem wanted to marry Dinah, so Hamor proposed intermarriage between their people and Jacob's family. Jacob's sons deceitfully agreed on the condition that the men of Shechem be circumcised. While the men were recovering, Simeon and Levi attacked the city, killing all the males and plundering it. Jacob rebuked them for this, fearing retaliation from the Canaanites.

All entries for Shechem: שְׁכֶם

Related Profiles:

• Hamor (father)