The Journeys of Abraham
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Map of Abram's Journey
from Ur to Haran to Egypt
The Journey
(Abraham Visits 17
Locations)
The land of Canaan would be the inheritance of Abraham's descendants
but Abraham would only be a pilgrim there. On his journey to Canaan
there were seventeen places that Abraham visited recorded in the Old Testament.
Each of these places are important in the history of Israel and
there is evidence of their existence in ancient times through
archaeology.
1. Ur of the Chaldees was the original home of Abraham. It
was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world, and Ur was the
capital of the ancient Chaldean Empire in ancient Mesopotamia.
Sometime around 1900 BC the Lord told Abraham to leave his home and
country and go to a land that He would show him. He obeyed and
departed from Ur with his father Terah and his nephew Lot. (Gen.
11:31; Acts 7:2-4).
2. Haran in Mesopotamia was
the first stopping place recorded inn the Bible. They dwelt here
until after the death of his father Terah, and in Haran the Lord
called Abraham again (Gen. 12:1-4; Acts 7:4). Nahor, Abraham's
brother, had probably settled in Haran before they departed.
3. Damascus was a great city in the ancient world and it was
located in ancient Aram (Syria). Abraham and his nephew Lot had
departed Haran and followed the leading of the Lord. They moved
southward and passed by the city of Damascus along the way and it
might have been at this time that Abraham secured his servant
Eliezer (Gen. 15:2).
4. Shechem or Sichem was the first place where Abraham came
to in Canaan. The Lord appeared to Abraham again and confirmed his
promises, and It was here at Shechem that Abraham built the first
altar to the Lord (Gen. 12:6, 7). There is much history in
this place (Joshua 24:1, Judges 9:6, 1 Kings 12:1).
5. Bethel. Abraham continued his journey southward and came
to a mountain near Bethel, where he built a second altar (Genesis
12:8).
6. Egypt. Abraham and his family journeyed southward through
the land of Canaan and a major famine hit they migrated to Egypt. In
Egypt Abraham deceived the King in order to save his own life and
was expelled from the land of Egypt (Gen. 12:9-20). The king of
Egypt feared Abraham because of a dream and allowed him to leave
with all of his possessions.
7. Bethel. Abraham and his nephew Lot returned to their
former home at Bethel, but on account of strife between their
herdsmen they parted each others company as friends. (Gen. 13:1-9).
8. Hebron. Lot chose the warm climate and lush plains of the
Jordan Valley and pitched his tent toward Sodom, and Abraham left
the desirable Sodom and Gomorrah and sojourned at Hebron in Mamre
where he heard again from the Lord and built an altar (Gen.
13:10-18). An interesting note is that Hebron was one of the oldest
cities in ancient Canaan and Numbers 13:22 says that "it was built
seven years before Zoan in Egypt."
9. Dan. Four kings of the east came to Canaan who were united
under Chedorlaomer of Elam (the territory of ancient Ur) and made
war against the five kings of Canaan. In their conquest of the
Jordan Valley they captured Lot as a prisoner of war, and when
Abraham heard of it he pursued the four kings and overtook them at
Dan and defeated them with the help of the Lord (Gen. 14:1-14),
Abraham had assembled an army of 318 men. The city of Dan was
located in the north between Hazor and Damascus.
10. Hobah. Abraham and his army of servants smote the army of
the 4 kings of Chedorlaomer and chased them to Hobah, which was
located near Damascus. Lot and all the people with them were rescued
including their belongings (Gen. 14:15, 16).
11. Salem. On his return Abraham passed through Salem
(Jerusalem) and was met by a man named Melchizedek whose name means
"king of righteousness". Melchizedek was a mysterious man regarded
in the Bible as the priest and king of Salem. This was the first
mention of the word "priest" in the Bible and he gave to Abraham
bread and wine. The Bible also mentions that Abraham paid him 1/10th
of all his spoils from the war as a "tithe". Hebrews 7:3 gives an
interesting description of Melchizedek and therefore his identity
remains a mystery. The king of Sodom also came out to meet Abraham
at the same place (Gen. 14:17-21).
12. Hebron. When Abraham finally returned to Hebron God
reminded him of his covenant with him and changed his name from
Abram to Abraham (Gen. 15:1-21; 17:1-27). During his stay at this
place Ishmael was born (Gen. 16: 1-16) and the cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah were destroyed (Gen. 18:1 - 19:38)
13. Gerar. Abraham left Hebron and for a time sojourned among
the Philistines in Gerar which was in southern Canaan west of
Beersheba. It was in Gerar that Abraham deceived King Abimelech
(Gen. 20:1-18).
14. Beersheba. Abraham remained at Beersheba for some time.
During this time he made a covenant with king Abimelech. Later he
gave birth to a natural son of him and Sarah in his old age, he
named him Isaac which means "laughter". When Isaac was born Ishmael
was expelled and his mother Hagar fled and was met by "the Angel of
the Lord" which was the Lord Himself (Gen. 21:1-34).
15. Moriah. It was in Beersheba that Abraham received the
command from the Lord to take his only son Isaac to Mount Moriah, a
mountain of Salem, to offer Isaac as a burnt offering (Gen.
22:1-18).
16. Beersheba. Abraham returned to Beersheba and dwelt there
for some time.
17. Hebron. Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah as the
family sepulcher and buried his wife Sarah there (Gen. 23: 1-20). At
the age of 175 Abraham died, and was also buried in the cave at
Machpelah.
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Map of the Journeys of
Abraham
Map of the World of
Abraham
Ur of the Chaldees
Ur in Easton's Bible Dictionary
light, or the
moon city, a city "of the Chaldees," the birthplace of Haran (Gen.
11:28,31), the largest city of Shinar or northern Chaldea, and the
principal commercial centre of the country as well as the centre of
political power. It stood near the mouth of the Euphrates, on its
western bank, and is represented by the mounds (of bricks cemented
by bitumen) of el-Mugheir, i.e., "the bitumined," or "the town of
bitumen," now 150 miles from the sea and some 6 miles from the
Euphrates, a little above the point where it receives the Shat el-Hie,
an affluent from the Tigris. It was formerly a maritime city, as the
waters of the Persian Gulf reached thus far inland. Ur was the port
of Babylonia, whence trade was carried on with the dwellers on the
gulf, and with the distant countries of India, Ethiopia, and Egypt.
It was abandoned about B.C. 500, but long continued, like Erech, to
be a great sacred cemetery city, as is evident from the number of
tombs found there. (See ABRAHAM The oldest king of Ur known to us is
Ur-Ba'u (servant of the goddess Ba'u), as Hommel reads the name, or
Ur-Gur, as others read it. He lived some twenty-eight hundred years
B.C., and took part in building the famous temple of the moon-god
Sin in Ur itself. The illustration here given represents his
cuneiform inscription, written in the Sumerian language, and stamped
upon every brick of the temple in Ur. It reads: "Ur-Ba'u, king of
Ur, who built the temple of the moon-god." "Ur was consecrated to
the worship of Sin, the Babylonian moon-god. It shared this honour,
however, with another city, and this city was Haran, or Harran.
Harran was in Mesopotamia, and took its name from the highroad which
led through it from the east to the west. The name is Babylonian,
and bears witness to its having been founded by a Babylonian king.
The same witness is still more decisively borne by the worship paid
in it to the Babylonian moon-god and by its ancient temple of Sin.
Indeed, the temple of the moon-god at Harran was perhaps even more
famous in the Assyrian and Babylonian world than the temple of the
moon-god at Ur. "Between Ur and Harran there must, consequently,
have been a close connection in early times, the record of which has
not yet been recovered. It may be that Harran owed its foundation to
a king of Ur; at any rate the two cities were bound together by the
worship of the same deity, the closest and most enduring bond of
union that existed in the ancient world. That Terah should have
migrated from Ur to Harran, therefore, ceases to be extraordinary.
If he left Ur at all, it was the most natural place to which to go.
It was like passing from one court of a temple into another. "Such a
remarkable coincidence between the Biblical narrative and the
evidence of archaeological research cannot be the result of chance.
The narrative must be historical; no writer of late date, even if he
were a Babylonian, could have invented a story so exactly in
accordance with what we now know to have been the truth. For a story
of the kind to have been the invention of Palestinian tradition is
equally impossible. To the unprejudiced mind there is no escape from
the conclusion that the history of the migration of Terah from Ur to
Harran is founded on fact" (Sayce).
Ur in Fausset's Bible Dictionary
Of the Chaldees (Genesis 11:28; Genesis 11:31; Genesis 15:7;
Nehemiah 9:7), from which Terah, Abraham, and Lot were called. In
Mesopotamia (Acts 7:2). Now Mugheir (a ruined temple of large
bitumen bricks, which also "mugheir" means, namely, Um Mugheir
"mother of bitumen"), on the right bank of the Euphrates, near its
junction with the Shat el Hie from the Tigris; in Chaldaea proper.
Called Hur by the natives, and on monuments Ur. The most ancient
city of the older Chaldaea. Its bricks bear the name of the earliest
monumental kings, "Urukh king of Ur"; his kingdom extended as far N.
as Niffer. The royal lists on the monuments enumerate Babylonian
kings from Urukh (2230 B.C., possibly the Orchanus of Ovid, Met.
4:212) down to Nabonid (540 B.C.) the last. The temple was sacred to
'Urki, the moon goddess; Ilgi son of Urukh completed it. For two
centuries it was the capital, and always was held sacred. One
district was "Ibra," perhaps related to "Hebrew," Abraham's
designation. Ur was also a cemetery and city of tombs, doubtless
because of its sacred character, from whence the dead were brought
to it from vast distances for 1,800 years. Eupolemos (in Eusebius,
Praep. Ev. 9:17) refers to Ur as "the moon worshipping (kamarine;
kamar being Arabic for moon) city." The derivation from Ur, "fire,"
led to the Koran and Talmud legends that Abraham miraculously
escaped out of the flames into which Nimrod or other idolatrous
persecutors threw him. Ur lies six miles distant from the present
coarse of the Euphrates, and 125 from the sea; though it is thought
it was anciently a maritime town, and that its present inland site
is due to the accumulation of alluvium (?). The buildings are of the
most archaic kind, consisting of low mounds enclosed within an
enceinte, on most sides perfect, an oval space 1,000 yards long by
800 broad. The temple is thoroughly Chaldaean in type, in stages of
which two remain, of brick partly sunburnt, partly baked, cemented
with bitumen.
Ur in Hitchcock's Bible Names
fire
Ur in Naves Topical Bible 1.
Abraham's native place Ge 11:27,28 Abraham leaves Ge 11:31; 15:7; Ne
9:7 -2. Father of one of David's mighty men 1Ch 11:35
Ur in Smiths Bible Dictionary
was the land of Haran's nativity, Ge 11:28 the place from which
Terah and Abraham started "to go into the land of Canaan." Ge 11:31
It is called in Genesis "Ur of the Chaldaeans," while in the Acts
St. Stephen places it, by implication, in Mesopotamia. Ac 7:2,4
These are all the indications which Scripture furnishes as to its
locality. It has been identified by the most ancient traditions with
the city of Orfah in the highlands of Mesopotamia, which unite the
table-land of Armenia to the valley of the Euphrates. In later ages
it was called Edessa, and was celebrated as the capital of Abgarus
or Acbarus who was said to have received the letter and portrait of
our Saviour. "Two, physical features must have secured Orfah, from
the earliest times, as a nucleus for the civilization of those
regions. One is a high-crested crag, the natural fortifications of
the crested citadel....The other is an abundant spring, issuing in a
pool of transparent clearness, and embosomed in a mass of luxuriant
verdure, which, amidst the dull brown desert all around, makes and
must always have made, this spot an oasis, a paradise, in the
Chaldaean wilderness. Round this sacred pool,'the beautiful spring
Callirrhoe,' as it was called by the Greek writers, gather the
modern traditions of the patriarch." --Stanley, Jewish Church, part
i.p.7. A second tradition, which appears in the Talmud, finds Ur in
Warka, 120 miles southeast from Babylon and four east of the
Euphrates. It was the Orchoe of the Greeks, and probably the Ereck
of Holy Scripture. This place bears the name of Huruk in the native
inscriptions, and was in the countries known to the Jews as the land
of the Chaldaeans. But in opposition to the most ancient traditions,
many modern writers have fixed the site of Ur at a very different
position, viz. in the extreme south of Chaldaea, at Mugheir, not
very far above-- and probably in the time of Abraham actually upon--
the head of the Persian Gulf. Among the ruins which are now seen at
the spot are the remains of one of the great temples, of a model
similar to that of Babel, dedicated to the moon, to whom the city
was sacred. (Porter and Rawlinson favor this last place.)
Ur in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE
ur ('ur, "flame"; Codex Vaticanus Sthur; Codex Sinaiticus Ora):
Father of Eliphal, one of David's "mighty men," in 1 Ch 11:35; in
the parallel 2 Sam 23:34 called "Ahasbai."
Ur Scripture - Genesis 11:28
And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity,
in Ur of the Chaldees.
https://free-bible.com/kjv/Genesis/11/
2 Kings
25:13 - And the pillars of brass that [were] in the house of
the LORD, and the bases, and the brasen sea that [was] in the house
of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and
carried the brass of them to Babylon.
2 Kings
24:2 - And the LORD sent against him bands of the
Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the
Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against
Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he
spake by his servants the prophets.
2
Chronicles 36:17 - Therefore he brought upon them the king
of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the
sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon
young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave
[them] all into his hand.
Genesis
11:31 - And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of
Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's
wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees,
to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt
there.
2 Kings
25:4 - And the city was broken up, and all the men of war
[fled] by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which [is]
by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees [were] against
the city round about:) and [the king] went the way toward the plain.
Genesis
15:7 - And he said unto him, I [am] the LORD that brought
thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land
to inherit it.
2 Kings
25:5 - And the army of the Chaldees pursued
after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all
his army were scattered from him.
2 Kings
25:25 - But it came to pass in the seventh month, that
Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed
royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died,
and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at
Mizpah.
2 Kings
25:24 - And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and
said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees:
dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be
well with you.
2 Kings
25:26 - And all the people, both small and great, and the
captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were
afraid of the Chaldees.
Nehemiah
9:7 - Thou [art] the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram,
and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees,
and gavest him the name of Abraham;
Isaiah
13:19 - And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of
the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God
overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
2 Kings
25:10 - And all the army of the Chaldees, that
[were with] the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of
Jerusalem round about.
Genesis
11:28 - And Haran died before his father Terah in the land
of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
Ancient Haran
Haran in Easton's Bible Dictionary
(1.) Heb.
haran; i.e., "mountaineer." The eldest son of Terah, brother of
Abraham and Nahor, and father of Lot, Milcah, and Iscah. He died
before his father (Gen. 11:27), in Ur of the Chaldees. (2.) Heb.
haran, i.e., "parched;" or probably from the Accadian charana,
meaning "a road." A celebrated city of Western Asia, now Harran,
where Abram remained, after he left Ur of the Chaldees, till his
father Terah died (Gen. 11:31, 32), when he continued his journey
into the land of Canaan. It is called "Charran" in the LXX. and in
Acts 7:2. It is called the "city of Nahor" (Gen. 24:10), and Jacob
resided here with Laban (30:43). It stood on the river Belik, an
affluent of the Euphrates, about 70 miles above where it joins that
river in Upper Mesopotamia or Padan-aram, and about 600 miles
northwest of Ur in a direct line. It was on the caravan route
between the east and west. It is afterwards mentioned among the
towns taken by the king of Assyria (2 Kings 19:12; Isa. 37:12). It
was known to the Greeks and Romans under the name Carrhae. (3.) The
son of Caleb of Judah (1 Chr. 2:46) by his concubine Ephah.
Haran in Fausset's Bible Dictionary
HARAN was Terah's firstborn son, oldest brother of Abram (who is
named first in Genesis 11:27, because heir of the promises), father
of Lot, and Milcah who married her uncle Nahor, and Iscah or Sarai
who married her uncle Abram, being "daughter (i.e. granddaughter) of
his father not of his mother" (Genesis 20:12). That Haran was oldest
brother appears from his brothers marrying his daughters, Sarai
being only ten years younger than Abram (Genesis 17:17). Haran died
in Ur, his native place, before his father. In the Hebrew the
country Haran begins with 'ch', the man Haran with 'h', as also the
Haran the Gershonite Levite under David of Shimei's family (1
Chronicles 23:9). Hara begins with 'h'; Caleb's son by Ephah (1
Chronicles 2:46) begins with 'ch'. Jewish tradition makes Haran to
have been cast into Nimrod's furnace for wavering during Abram's
fiery trial.
Haran in Hitchcock's Bible Names
mountainous country
Haran in Naves Topical Bible
1. Father of Lot and brother of Abraham Ge 11:26-31 -2. Son of Caleb
1Ch 2:46 -3. A Levite 1Ch 23:9 -4. Also called CHARRAN A place in
Mesopotamia to which Terah and Abraham migrated Ge 11:31; 12:4,5; Ac
7:4 Death of Terah at Ge 11:32 Abraham leaves, by divine command Ge
12:1-5 Jacob flees to Ge 27:43; 28:7; 29 Returns from, with Rachel
and Leah Ge 31:17-21 Conquest of, king of Assyria 2Ki 19:12
Merchants of Eze 27:23 Idolatry in Jos 24:2,14; Isa 37:12
Haran in Smiths Bible Dictionary
(a mountaineer). 1. The third son of Terah, and therefore youngest
brother of Abram. Ge 11:26 (B.C. 1926.) Three children are ascribed
to him --Lot, vs. Ge 11:27,31 and two daughters, viz., Milcah, who
married her uncle Nahor, ver. Ge 11:29 and Iscah. ver. Ge 11:29
Haran was born in Ur of the Chaldees, and he died there while his
father was still living. ver. Ge 11:28 2. A Gershonite Levite in the
time of David, one of the family of Shimei. 1Ch 23:9 3. A son of the
great Caleb by his concubine Ephah. 1Ch 2:46 4. HARAN or CHARRAN, Ac
7:2,4 name of the place whither Abraham migrated with his family
from Ur of the Chaldees, and where the descendants of his brother
Nahor established themselves. Comp. Ge 24:10 with Gene 27:43 It is
said to be in Mesopotamia, Ge 24:10 or more definitely in Padan-aram,
ch. Ge 25:20 the cultivated district at the foot of the hills, a
name well applying to the beautiful stretch of country which lies
below Mount Masius between the Khabour and the Euphrates. Here,
about midway in this district, is a small village still called
Harran. It was celebrated among the Romans, under the name of
Charrae, as the scene of the defeat of Crassus.
Haran in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE
ha'-ran (charan; Charhran): The city where Terah settled on his
departure from Ur (Gen 11:31 f); whence Abram set out on his
pilgrimage of faith to Canaan (Gen 12:1 ff). It was probably "the
city of Nahor" to which Abraham's servant came to find a wife for
Isaac (Gen 24:10 ff). Hither came Jacob when he fled from Esau's
anger (Gen 27:43). Here he met his bride (Gen 29:4), and in the
neighboring pastures he tended the flocks of Laban. It is one of the
cities named by Rabshakeh as destroyed by the king of Assyria (2 Ki
19:12; Isa 37:12). Ezekiel speaks of the merchants of Haran as
trading with Tyre (27:23). The name appears in Assyro-Babalonian as
Charran, which means "road"; possibly because here the trade route
from Damascus joined that from Nineveh to Carchemish. It is
mentioned in the prism inscription of Tiglath-pileser I. It was a
seat of the worship of Sin, the moon-god, from very ancient times. A
temple was built by Shalmaneser II. Haran seems to have shared in
the rebellion of Assur (763 BC, the year of the solar eclipse, June
15). The privileges then lost were restored by Sargon II. The
temple, which had been destroyed, was rebuilt by Ashurbanipal, who
was here crowned with the crown of Sin. Haran and the temple
suffered much damage in the invasion of the Umman-Manda (the Medes).
Nabuna`id restored temple and city, adorning them on a lavish scale.
Near Haran the Parthians defeated and slew Crassus (53 BC), and here
Caracalla was assassinated (217 AD). In the 4th century it was the
seat of a bishopric; but the cult of the moon persisted far into the
Christian centuries. The chief temple was the scene of heathen
worship until the 11th century, and was destroyed by the Mongols in
the 13th. The ancient city is represented by the modern Charran to
the Southeast of Edessa, on the river Belias, an affluent of the
Euphrates. The ruins lie on both sides of the stream, and include
those of a very ancient castle, built of great basaltic blocks, with
square columns, 8 ft. thick, which support an arched roof some 30
ft. in height. Remains of the old cathedral are also conspicuous. No
inscriptions have yet been found here, but a fragment of an Assyrian
lion has been uncovered. A well nearby is identified as that where
Eliezer met Rebekah. In Acts 7:2,4, the King James Version gives the
name as Charran.
Genesis
11:29 - And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of
Abram's wife [was] Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the
daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the
father of Iscah.
Genesis
12:4 - So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him;
and Lot went with him: and Abram [was] seventy and five years old
when he departed out of Haran.
Genesis
12:5 - And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's
son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls
that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to
go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
Genesis
11:32 - And the days of Terah were two hundred and five
years: and Terah died in Haran.
Ezekiel
27:23 - Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the
merchants of Sheba, Asshur, [and] Chilmad, [were] thy merchants.
2 Kings
19:12 - Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my
fathers have destroyed; [as] Gozan, and Haran, and
Rezeph, and the children of Eden which [were] in Thelasar?
Isaiah
37:12 - Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my
fathers have destroyed, [as] Gozan, and Haran, and
Rezeph, and the children of Eden which [were] in Telassar?
Genesis
11:26 - And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram,
Nahor, and Haran.
Genesis
27:43 - Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise,
flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;
1
Chronicles 23:9 - The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel,
and Haran, three. These [were] the chief of the
fathers of Laadan.
Genesis
11:28 - And Haran died before his father Terah
in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
Genesis
28:10 - And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward
Haran.
Genesis
29:4 - And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence [be]
ye? And they said, Of Haran [are] we.
Genesis
11:27 - Now these [are] the generations of Terah: Terah
begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran
begat Lot.
1
Chronicles 2:46 - And Ephah, Caleb's concubine, bare
Haran, and Moza, and Gazez: and Haran begat
Gazez.
Genesis
11:31 - And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of
Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his
son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the
Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto
Haran, and dwelt there.
Shechem
THE city of Nabulus,
one of the most ancient in Israel, is also one of the most
interesting. It lies in the beautiful Valley of Shechem, which is
about 500 yards wide, between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim. The place was
originally called Shechem, and it was the first spot where Abraham
pitched his tent after entering Canaan. It was a prominent place in
the days of the Patriarchs, and is frequently mentioned in the Book
of Genesis. It became, four centuries later, the first great
gathering place of the Israelites after their occupation of the
Promised Land. (Josh. 8:30-35.) Shechem was assigned to the Levites,
and made a city of refuge. It was the first capital of the kingdom
of Israel. It was called by the Romans Neapolis, and the Arabs have
corrupted this into Nabulus, its modern name. Near the city is the
well at which the Saviour held his discourse with the woman of
Samaria. Jacob's well and the tomb of Joseph are also close by in
the valley. A small remnant of the ancient Samaritans dwell here
still, despised and persecuted by their Mahommedan masters. -
Ancient Geography
Shechem in Easton's Bible Dictionary
shoulder. (1.)
The son of Hamor the Hivite (Gen. 33:19; 34). (2.) A descendant of
Manasseh (Num. 26:31; Josh. 17:2). (3.) A city in Samaria (Gen.
33:18), called also Sichem (12:6), Sychem (Acts 7:16). It stood in
the narrow sheltered valley between Ebal on the north and Gerizim on
the south, these mountains at their base being only some 500 yards
apart. Here Abraham pitched his tent and built his first altar in
the Promised Land, and received the first divine promise (Gen. 12:6,
7). Here also Jacob "bought a parcel of a field at the hands of the
children of Hamor" after his return from Mesopotamia, and settled
with his household, which he purged from idolatry by burying the
teraphim of his followers under an oak tree, which was afterwards
called "the oak of the sorcerer" (Gen. 33:19; 35:4; Judg. 9:37).
(See MEONENIM �T0002483.) Here too, after a while, he dug a well,
which bears his name to this day (John 4:5, 39-42). To Shechem
Joshua gathered all Israel "before God," and delivered to them his
second parting address (Josh. 24:1-15). He "made a covenant with the
people that day" at the very place where, on first entering the
land, they had responded to the law from Ebal and Gerizim (Josh.
24:25), the terms of which were recorded "in the book of the law of
God", i.e., in the roll of the law of Moses; and in memory of this
solemn transaction a great stone was set up "under an oak" (comp.
Gen. 28:18; 31:44-48; Ex. 24:4; Josh. 4:3, 8, 9), possibly the old
"oak of Moreh," as a silent witness of the transaction to all coming
time. Shechem became one of the cities of refuge, the central city
of refuge for Western Israel (Josh. 20:7), and here the bones of
Joseph were buried (24:32). Rehoboam was appointed king in Shechem
(1 Kings 12:1, 19), but Jeroboam afterwards took up his residence
here. This city is mentioned in connection with our Lord's
conversation with the woman of Samaria (John 4:5); and thus,
remaining as it does to the present day, it is one of the oldest
cities of the world. It is the modern Nablus, a contraction for
Neapolis, the name given to it by Vespasian. It lies about a mile
and a half up the valley on its southern slope, and on the north of
Gerizim, which rises about 1,100 feet above it, and is about 34
miles north of Jerusalem. It contains about 10,000 inhabitants, of
whom about 160 are Samaritans and 100 Jews, the rest being
Christians and Mohammedans. The site of Shechem is said to be of
unrivalled beauty. Stanley says it is "the most beautiful, perhaps
the only very beautiful, spot in Central Israel." Gaza, near
Shechem, only mentioned 1 Chr. 7:28, has entirely disappeared. It
was destroyed at the time of the Conquest, and its place was taken
by Shechem. (See SYCHAR �T0003542.)
Shechem in Fausset's Bible Dictionary
("shoulder", or "upper part of the back just below the neck");
explained as if the town were on the shoulder of the heights
dividing the waters that flow toward the Mediterranean on the W. and
to the Jordan on the E.; or on a shoulder or ridge connected with
Mounts Ebal and Gerizim. Also called SICHEM, SYCHEM, and SYCHAR
(John 4:5; Joshua 20:7; Judges 9:9; 1 Kings 12:25). Mount Gerizim is
close by (Judges 9:7) on the southern side, Mount Ebal on the
northern side. These hills at the base are but 500 yards apart.
Vespasian named it Neapolis; coins are extant with its name "Flavia
Neapolis"; now Nablus by corruption. The situation is lovely; the
valley runs W. with a soil of rich, black, vegetable mold, watered
by fountains, sending forth numerous streams flowing W.; orchards of
fruit, olive groves, gardens of vegetables, and verdure on all sides
delight the eye. On the E. of Gerizim and Ebal the flue plain of
Mukhna stretches from N. to S. Here first in Canaan God appeared to
Abraham (Genesis 12:6), and here he pitched his tent and built an
altar under the oak or terebinth (not "plain") of Moreh; here too
Jacob re-entered the promised land (Genesis 33:18- 19), and "bought
a parcel of a field where he had spread his tent," from the children
of Hamor, Shechem's father, and bequeathed it subsequently to Joseph
(Genesis 48:22; Joshua 24:32; John 4:5); a dwelling place, whereas
Abraham's only purchase was a burial place. It lay in the rich plain
of the Mukhna, and its value was increased by the well Jacob dug
there. Joshua made "Shechem in Mount Ephraim" one of the six cities
of refuge (Joshua 20:7). The suburbs in our Lord's days reached
nearer the entrance of the valley between Gerizim and Ebal than now;
for the narrative in John 4:30; John 4:35, implies that the people
could be seen as they came from the town toward Jesus at the well,
whereas Nablus now is more than a mile distant, and cannot be seen
from that point. Josephus (B. J. 3:7, section 32) says that more
than 10,000 of the inhabitants were once destroyed by the Romans,
implying a much larger town and population than at present. (See
DINAH; HAMOR.) frontJACOB on the massacre by Simeon and Levi,
Genesis 34.) Under Abraham's oak at Shechem Jacob buried the family
idols and amulets (Genesis 35:1-4). Probably too "the strange gods"
or "the gods of the stranger" were those carried away by Jacob's
sons from Shechem among the spoils (Genesis 35:2; Genesis 34:26-29).
The charge to "be clean and change garments" may have respect to the
recent slaughter of the Shechemites, which polluted those who took
part in it (Blunt, Undesigned Coincidences). Shechem was for a time
Ephraim's civil capital. as Shiloh was its religious capital (Judges
9:2; Judges 21:19; Joshua 24:1-25-26; 1 Kings 12:1). At the same
"memorial terebinth" at Shechem the Shechemites made Abimelech king
(Judges 9:6). Jotham's parable as to the trees, the vine, the fig,
and the bramble, were most appropriate...
Shechem in Hitchcock's Bible Names
part; portion; back early in the morning
Shechem in Naves Topical Bible
1. Also called SICHEM and SYCHEM, a district in the central part of
the land of Canaan Abraham lives in Ge 12:6 The flocks and herds of
Jacob kept in Ge 37:12-14 Joseph buried in Jos 24:32 Jacob buried in
Ac 7:16; with Ge 50:13 -2. Also called SYCHAR, a city of refuge in
Mount Ephraim Jos 20:7; 21:21; Jud 21:19 Joshua assembled the tribes
of Israel at, with all their elders, chiefs, and judges, and
presented them before the Lord Jos 24:1-28 Joshua buried at Jos
24:30-32 Abimelech made king at Jud 8:31; 9 Rehoboam crowned at 1Ki
12:1 Destroyed by Abimelech Jud 9:45 Rebuilt by Jeroboam 1Ki 12:25
Men of, killed by Ishmael Jer 41:5 Jesus visits; disciples made in
Joh 4:1-42 -3. Son of Hamor; seduces Jacob's daughter; killed by
Jacob's sons Ge 33:19; 34; Jos 24:32; Jud 9:28 Called SYCHEM Ac 7:16
-4. Ancestor of the Shechemites Nu 26:31; Jos 17:2 -5. Son of
Shemidah 1Ch 7:19
Shechem in Smiths Bible Dictionary
(back or shoulder). 1. An important city in central Israel, in the
valley between mounts Ebal and Gerizim, 34 miles north of Jerusalem
and 7 miles southeast of Samaria. Its present name, Nablus, is a
corruption of Neapolis, which succeeded the more ancient Shechem,
and received its new name from Vespasian. On coins still extant it
is called Flavia Neapolis. The situation of the town is one of
surpassing beauty. It lies in a sheltered valley, protected by
Gerizim on the south and Ebal on the north. The feet of these
mountains, where they rise from the town, are not more than five
hundred yards apart. The bottom of the valley is about 1800 feet
above the level of the sea, and the top of Gerizim 800 feet higher
still. The sit of the present city, which was also that of the
Hebrew city, occurs exactly on the water-summit; and streams issuing
from the numerous springs there flow down the opposite slopes of the
valley, spreading verdure and fertility in every direction.
Travellers vie with each other in the language which they employ to
describe the scene that here bursts so suddenly upon them on
arriving in spring or early summer at this paradise of the holy
land. "The whole valley," says Dr. Robinson, "was filled with
gardens of vegetables and orchards of all kinds of fruits, watered
by fountains which burst forth in various parts and flow westward in
refreshing streams. it came upon us suddenly like a scene of fairy
enchantment. We saw nothing to compare with it in all Israel." The
allusions to Shechem in the Bible are numerous, and show how
important the place was in Jewish history. Abraham, on his first
migration to the land of promise, pitched his tent and built an
altar under the oak (or terebinth) of Moreh at Shechem. "The
Canaanite was then in the land;" and it is evident that the region,
if not the city, was already in possession of the aboriginal race.
See Ge 12:6 At the time of Jacob's arrival here, after his sojourn
in Mesopotamia, Ge 33:18; 34 Shechem was a Hivite city, of which
Hamor, the father of Shechem, was the headman. it was at this time
that the patriarch purchased from that chieftain "the parcel of the
field" which he subsequently bequeathed, as a special patrimony, to
his son Joseph. Ge 33:19; Jos 24:32; Joh 4:5 The field lay
undoubtedly on the rich plain of the Mukhna, and its value was the
greater on account of the well which Jacob had dug there, so as not
to be dependent on his neighbors for a supply of water. In the
distribution of the land after its conquest by the Hebrews, Shechem
fell to the lot of Ephraim, Jos 20:7 but was assigned to the
Levites, and became a city of refuge. Jos 21:20,21 It acquired new
importance as the scene of the renewed promulgation of the law, when
its blessings were heard from Gerizim and its curses from Ebal, and
the people bowed their heads and acknowledged Jehovah as their king
and ruler. De 27:11; Jos 24:23-25 it was here Joshua assembled the
people, shortly before his death, and delivered...
Shechem in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE
she'-kem (shekhem, "shoulder"; Suchem, he Sikima, ta Sikima, etc.;
the King James Version gives "Sichem" in Gen 12:6; and "Sychem" in
Acts 7:16): 1. Historical: This place is first mentioned in
connection with Abraham's journey from Haran. At the oak of Moreh in
the vicinity he reared his first altar to the Lord in Israel (Gen
12:6 f). It was doubtless by this oak that Jacob, on his return from
Paddan-aram, buried "the strange (the American Standard Revised
Version "foreign") gods" (Gen 35:4). Hither he had come after his
meeting with Esau (Gen 33:18). Eusebius, in Onomasticon, here
identifies Shechem with Shalem; but see SHALEM. To the East of the
city Jacob pitched his tent in a "parcel of ground" which he had
bought from Hamor, Shechem's father (Gen 33:19). Here also he raised
an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel, "God, the God of Israel"
(Gen 33:20). Then follows the story of Dinah's defilement by
Shechem, son of the city's chief; and of the treacherous and
terrible vengeance exacted by Simeon and Levi (Genesis 34). To the
rich pasture land near Shechem Joseph came to seek his brethren (Gen
37:12 ff). It is mentioned as lying to the West of Michmethath (el-Makhneh)
on the boundary of Manasseh (Josh 17:7). It was in the territory of
Ephraim; it was made a city of refuge, and assigned to the Kohathite
Levites (Josh 20:7; 21:21). Near the city the Law was promulgated (Dt
27:11; Josh 8:33). When his end was approaching Joshua gathered the
tribes of Israel here and addressed to them his final words of
counsel and exhortation (chapter 24). Under the oak in the
neighboring sanctuary he set up the stone of witness (24:26). The
war of conquest being done, Joseph's bones were buried in the parcel
of ground which Jacob had bought, and which fell to the lot of
Joseph's descendants (24:33). Abimelech, whose mother was a native
of the city, persuaded the men of Shechem to make him king (Jdg
9:1-6), evidently seeking a certain consecration from association
with "the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem." Jotham's parable
was spoken from the cliff of Gerizim overhanging the town (Jdg 9:7
ff). After a reign of three years Abimelech was rejected by the
people. He captured the city, razed it to the foundations, and sowed
it with salt. It was then the seat of Canaanite idolatry, the temple
of Baal-berith being here (Jdg 9:4,46). In the time of the kings we
find that the city was once more a gathering-place of the nation. It
was evidently the center, especially for the northern tribes; and
hither Rehoboam came in the hope of getting his succession to the
throne confirmed (1 Ki 12:1; 2 Ch 10:1). At the disruption Jeroboam
fortified the city and made it his residence (2 Ch 10:25; Ant, VIII,
viii, 4). The capital of the Northern Kingdom was moved, however,
first to Tirzah and then to Samaria, and Shechem declined in
political importance. Indeed it is not named again in the history of
the monarchy. Apparently there were Israelites in it after the
captivity, some of whom on their way to the house of the Lord at
Jerusalem met a tragic fate at the hands of Ishmael ben Nethaniah (Jer
41:5 ff). It became the central city of the Samaritans, whose
shrine...
Joshua
17:2 - There was also [a lot] for the rest of the children
of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for
the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the
children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher,
and for the children of Shemida: these [were] the male children of
Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.
1
Chronicles 7:28 - And their possessions and habitations
[were], Bethel and the towns thereof, and eastward Naaran, and
westward Gezer, with the towns thereof; Shechem also
and the towns thereof, unto Gaza and the towns thereof:
Genesis
34:24 - And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his
son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every
male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
1
Chronicles 6:67 - And they gave unto them, [of] the cities
of refuge, Shechem in mount Ephraim with her suburbs;
[they gave] also Gezer with her suburbs,
Judges
21:19 - Then they said, Behold, [there is] a feast of the
LORD in Shiloh yearly [in a place] which [is] on the north side of
Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to
Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
Genesis
34:20 - And Hamor and Shechem his son came
unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their
city, saying,
Numbers
26:31 - And [of] Asriel, the family of the Asrielites: and
[of] Shechem, the family of the Shechemites:
Judges 9:2
- Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem,
Whether [is] better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal,
[which are] threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one
reign over you? remember also that I [am] your bone and your flesh.
Joshua 20:7
- And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and
Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which [is]
Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.
Joshua 24:1
- And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem,
and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for
their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves
before God.
Judges 9:31
- And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, Behold,
Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to Shechem;
and, behold, they fortify the city against thee.
Judges 9:49
- And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and
followed Abimelech, and put [them] to the hold, and set the hold on
fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem
died also, about a thousand men and women.
Judges 9:7
- And when they told [it] to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of
mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto
them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may
hearken unto you.
Genesis
33:18 - And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem,
which [is] in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and
pitched his tent before the city.
Joshua
21:21 - For they gave them Shechem with her
suburbs in mount Ephraim, [to be] a city of refuge for the slayer;
and Gezer with her suburbs,
Judges 9:1
- And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem
unto his mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the
family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
1 Kings
12:25 - Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount
Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built
Penuel.
Genesis
35:4 - And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which
[were] in their hand, and [all their] earrings which [were] in their
ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which [was] by Shechem.
Judges 9:18
- And ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have
slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have
made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of
Shechem, because he [is] your brother;)
Jeremiah
41:5 - That there came certain from Shechem,
from Shiloh, and from Samaria, [even] fourscore men, having their
beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves,
with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring [them] to the
house of the LORD.
Judges 9:24
- That the cruelty [done] to the threescore and ten sons of
Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their
brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem,
which aided him in the killing of his brethren.
Judges 9:3
- And his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men
of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined
to follow Abimelech; for they said, He [is] our brother.
Genesis
34:13 - And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem
and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled
Dinah their sister:
Joshua 17:7
- And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that [lieth]
before Shechem; and the border went along on the right
hand unto the inhabitants of Entappuah.
Genesis
34:8 - And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my
son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give
her him to wife.
Genesis
37:14 - And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it
be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me
word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to
Shechem.
Judges 9:41
- And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his
brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem.
Psalms 60:6
- God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide
Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
Psalms
108:7 - God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I
will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of
Succoth.
Genesis
34:26 - And they slew Hamor and Shechem his
son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's
house, and went out.
Hebron
HEBRON is one of the
most ancient cities in the world still existing, and it is in this
respect the rival of Damascus. It was originally called Kirjath-Arba,
" The city of Arba." It was afterwards known as Mamre. The vicinity
was long the favorite camping-ground of the patriarchs. Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob dwelt here, and it was here that Abraham bought a
tomb - the Cave of Machpelah. After the occupation of the land by
the Israelites, Hebron became one of the cities of refuge. It was
David's first capital. The town was situated in a narrow valley -
the "Valley of the Eschol; " whose sides are clothed with vineyards,
groves of olives, and other fruit trees. The valley runs from north
to south, and the main quarter of the town, surmounted by the lofty
walls of the great mosque, lies partly on the eastern slope. The
houses are stone, solidly built, flat-roofed, and have each one or
two little cupolas, such as are seen in several parts of Israel. The
town has no walls; but the main streets opening on the principal
roads have gates. The population is about 8000, of which about 600
are Jews; the remainder Turks and Arabs. - Ancient Geography
Hebron in Easton's Bible Dictionary
a community;
alliance. (1.) A city in the south end of the valley of Eshcol,
about midway between Jerusalem and Beersheba, from which it is
distant about 20 miles in a straight line. It was built "seven years
before Zoan in Egypt" (Gen. 13:18; Num. 13:22). It still exists
under the same name, and is one of the most ancient cities in the
world. Its earlier name was Kirjath-arba (Gen. 23:2; Josh. 14:15;
15:3). But "Hebron would appear to have been the original name of
the city, and it was not till after Abraham's stay there that it
received the name Kirjath-arba, who [i.e., Arba] was not the founder
but the conqueror of the city, having led thither the tribe of the
Anakim, to which he belonged. It retained this name till it came
into the possession of Caleb, when the Israelites restored the
original name Hebron" (Keil, Com.). The name of this city does not
occur in any of the prophets or in the New Testament. It is found
about forty times in the Old. It was the favorite home of Abraham.
Here he pitched his tent under the oaks of Mamre, by which name it
came afterwards to be known; and here Sarah died, and was buried in
the cave of Machpelah (Gen. 23:17- 20), which he bought from Ephron
the Hittite. From this place the patriarch departed for Egypt by way
of Beersheba (37:14; 46:1). It was taken by Joshua and given to
Caleb (Josh. 10:36, 37; 12:10; 14:13). It became a Levitical city
and a city of refuge (20:7; 21:11). When David became king of Judah
this was his royal residence, and he resided here for seven and a
half years (2 Sam. 5:5); and here he was anointed as king over all
Israel (2 Sam. 2:1-4, 11; 1 Kings 2:11). It became the residence
also of the rebellious Absalom (2 Sam. 15:10), who probably expected
to find his chief support in the tribe of Judah, now called el-Khulil.
In one part of the modern city is a great mosque, which is built
over the grave of Machpelah. The first European who was permitted to
enter this mosque was the Prince of Wales in 1862. It was also
visited by the Marquis of Bute in 1866, and by the late Emperor
Frederick of Germany (then Crown-Prince of Prussia) in 1869. One of
the largest oaks in Israel is found in the valley of Eshcol, about 3
miles north of the town. It is supposed by some to be the tree under
which Abraham pitched his tent, and is called "Abraham's oak." (See
OAK �T0002758.) (2.) The third son of Kohath the Levite (Ex. 6:18; 1
Chr. 6:2, 18). (3.) 1 Chr. 2:42, 43. (4.) A town in the north border
of Asher (Josh. 19:28).
Hebron in Fausset's Bible Dictionary
1. Third son of Kohath; younger brother of Amram, father of Moses
and Aaron (Exodus 6:18). The family of Hebronites sprang from him.
In the 40th year of David's reign 2,700 of them, at Jazer in Gilead,
"mighty men of valor," superintended for the king the two and a half
tribes "in matters pertaining to God and the king" (1 Chronicles
26:30- 32); Jerijah was their chief. Also Hashabiah and 1,700
Hebronites were officers "in all the Lord's business and the king's
service" on the W. of Jordan. 2. 1 Chronicles 2:42-43. 3. A city in
the hill country of Judah, originally Kirjath (the city of) Arba
(Joshua 15:13; Joshua 14:15). "Arba was a great man among the
Anakims, father of Anak." (See Joshua 21:11; Judges 1:10.) Twenty
Roman miles S. of Jerusalem, and twenty N. of Beersheba. Rivaling
Damascus in antiquity. Built seven years before Zoan in Egypt
(Numbers 13:22). Well known at Abram's entrance into Canaan, 3,780
years ago (Genesis 42:18). Hebron was the original name, changed to
Kirjath Arba during Israel's sojourn in Egypt, and restored by
Caleb, to whom it was given at the conquest of Israel (Genesis 23:2;
Joshua 14:13-15). The third resting place of Abram; Shechem was the
first, Bethel the second. Near Hebron was the cave of Machpelah,
where he and Sarah were buried. Now El Khalil, the house of "the
friend" of God. Over the cave is now the mosque El Haran, from which
all but Muslims are excluded jealously (though the Prince of Wales
was admitted), and in which probably lie the remains of Abraham and
Isaac, and possibly Jacob's embalmed body, brought up in state from
Egypt (Genesis 50:13). Near it was the oak or terebinth, a place of
pagan worship. Hebron was called for a time also Mamre, from Abram's
ally (Genesis 23:19; Genesis 35:27). It was made a Levite city of
refuge (Joshua 21:11-13). Still there is an oak bearing Abraham's
name, 23 ft. in girth, and covering 90 ft. space in diameter. In
Hebron, David reigned over Judah first for seven and a half years (2
Samuel 5:5). Here Absalom set up the standard of revolt. On the
return from Babylon some of the children of Judah dwelt in Kirjath
Arba (Nehemiah 11:25). After various vicissitudes it fell into the
Moslems' hands in A.D. 1187, and has continued so ever since. It is
picturesquely situated in a narrow valley running from N. to S.
(probably that of Eshcol, whence the spies got the great cluster of
grapes, Numbers 13:23), surrounded by rocky hills, still famed for
fine grapes. S. of the town in the bottom of the valley is a tank,
130 ft. square by 50 deep. At the western end is another, 85 ft.
long by 55 broad. Over the former probably David hung Ishbosheth's
murderers (2 Samuel 4:12). 4. A town in Asher; spelled in Hebrew
differently from the former Hebron. Abdon is read in many
manuscripts
Hebron in Hitchcock's Bible Names
society; friendship
Hebron in Naves Topical Bible
1. A city of the territory of the tribe of Asher Jos 19:28 -2. A
city of the tribe of Judah, south of Jerusalem When built Nu 13:22
Fortified 2Ch 11:10 Called KIRJATH-ARBA Ge 23:2 ARBA Ge 35:27; Jos
15:13 Abraham lived there and Sarah died at Ge 23:2 Hoham, king of,
confederated with other kings of the Canaanites against Joshua Jos
10:3-39 Descendants of the Anakim live at Nu 13:22; Jos 11:21
Conquest of, by Caleb Jos 14:6-15; Jud 1:10,20 A city of refuge Jos
20:7; 21:11,13 David crowned king of Judah at 2Sa 2:1-11; 3 David
crowned king of Israel at 2Sa 5:1-5 The burial place of Sarah Ge
23:2 The burial place of Abner 2Sa 3:32 The burial place of
Ish-bosheth 2Sa 4:12 The conspirators against Ish-bosheth hanged at
2Sa 4:12 Absalom made king at 2Sa 15:9,10 Jews of the Babylonian
captivity lived at Ne 11:25 Pool of 2Sa 4:12 -3. Son of Kohath Ex
6:18; Nu 3:19; 1Ch 6:2,18; 23:12,19
Hebron in Smiths Bible Dictionary
(alliance). 1. The third son of Kohath, who was the second son of
Levi. Ex 6:18; Nu 3:19; 1Ch 6:2,18; 23:12 He was the founder of a
family of Hebronites, Nu 3:27; 26:58; 1Ch 26:23,30,31, or Bene-Hebron.
1Ch 15:9; 23:19 2. A city of Judah, Jos 15:54 situated among the
mountains, Jos 20:7 20 Roman miles south of Jerusalem, and the same
distance north of Beersheba. Hebron is one of the most ancient
cities in the world still existing; and in this respect it is the
rival of Damascus. It was a well-known town when Abraham entered
Canaan, 3800 years ago. Ge 13:18 Its original name was Kirjath-arba,
Jud 1:10 "the city of Arba;" so called from Arba the father of Anak.
Jos 15:13,14; 21:13 Sarah died at Hebron; and Abraham then bought
from Ephron the Hittite the field and cave of Machpelah, to serve as
a family tomb Ge 23:2-20 The cave is still there, and the massive
walls of the Haram or mosque, within which it lies, form the most
remarkable object in the whole city. Abraham is called by
Mohammedans el-Khulil, "the Friend," i.e. of God, and this is the
modern name of Hebron. Hebron now contains about 5000 inhabitants,
of whom some fifty families are Jews. It is picturesquely situated
in a narrow valley, surrounded by rocky hills. The valley runs from
north to south; and the main quarter of the town, surmounted by the
lofty walls of the venerable Haram, lies partly on the eastern
slope. Ge 37:14 comp. Gene 23:19 About a mile from the town, up the
valley, is one of the largest oak trees in Israel. This, say some,
is the very tree beneath which Abraham pitched his tent, and it
still bears the name of the patriarch. 3. One of the towns in the
territory of Asher, Jos 19:28 probably Ebdon or Abdom.
Hebron in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE
he'-brun (chebhron, "league" or "confederacy"; Chebron): One of the
most ancient and important cities in Southern Israel, now known to
the Moslems as el Khalil (i.e. Khalil er Rahman, "the friend of the
Merciful," i.e. of God, a favorite name for Abraham; compare Jas
2:23). The city is some 20 miles South of Jerusalem, situated in an
open valley, 3,040 ft. above sea-level. I. History of the City.
Hebron is said to have been rounded before Zoan (i.e. Tanis) in
Egypt (Nu 13:22); its ancient name was Kiriath-arba, probably
meaning the "Four Cities," perhaps because divided at one time into
four quarters, but according to Jewish writers so called because
four patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Adam were buried there.
According to Josh 15:13 it was so called after Arba, the father of
Anak. 1. Patriarchal Period: Abram came and dwelt by the oaks of
MAMRE (which see), "which are in Hebron" Gen (13:18); from here he
went to the rescue of Lot and brought him back after the defeat of
Chedorlaomer (14:13 f); here his name was changed to Abraham (17:5);
to this place came the three angels with the promise of a son (18:1
f); Sarah died here (23:2), and for her sepulcher Abraham bought the
cave of Machpelah (23:17); here Isaac and Jacob spent much of their
lives (35:27; 37:14); from here Jacob sent Joseph to seek his
brethren (37:14), and hence, Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt
(46:1). In the cave of Machpelah all the patriarchs and their wives,
except Rachel, were buried (49:30 f; 50:13). 2. Times of Joshua and
Judges: The spies visited Hebron and near there cut the cluster of
grapes (Nu 13:22 f). HOHAM (which see), king of Hebron, was one of
the five kings defeated by Joshua at Beth-horon and slain at
Makkedah (Josh 10:3 f). Caleb drove out from Hebron the "three sons
of Anak" (Josh 14:12; 15:14); it became one of the cities of Judah
(Josh 15:54), but was set apart for the Kohathite Levites (Josh
21:10 f), and became a city of refuge (Josh 20:7). One of Samson's
exploits was the carrying of the gate of Gaza "to the top of the
mountain that is before Hebron" (Jdg 16:3). 3. The Days of the
Monarchy: David, when a fugitive, received kindness from the people
of this city (1 Sam 30:31); here Abner was treacherously slain by
Joab at the gate (2 Sam 3:27), and the sons of Rimmon, after their
hands and feet had been cut off, were hanged "beside the pool" (2
Sam 4:12). After the death of Saul, David was here anointed king (2
Sam 5:3) and reigned here 7 1/2 years, until he captured Jerusalem
and made that his capital (2 Sam 5:5); while here, six sons were
born to him (2 Sam 3:2). In this city Absalom found a center for his
disaffection, and repairing there under pretense of performing a vow
to Yahweh, he raised the standard of revolt (2 Sam 15:7 f). Josephus
mistakenly places here the dream of Solomon (Ant., VIII, ii, 1)
which occurred at Gibeon (1 Ki 3:4). Hebron was fortified by
Rehoboam (2 Ch 11:10). 4. Later History: Probably during the
captivity Hebron came into the hands of Edom, though it appears to
have been colonized by returning Jews (Neh 11:25); it was recovered
from Edom by Simon Maccabeus (1 Macc 5:65; Josephus, Ant, XII, viii,
6). In the first great revolt...
Bethel
Bethel in Easton's Bible Dictionary
house of God.
(1.) A place in Central Israel, about 10 miles north of Jerusalem,
at the head of the pass of Michmash and Ai. It was originally the
royal Canaanite city of Luz (Gen. 28:19). The name Bethel was at
first apparently given to the sanctuary in the neighbourhood of Luz,
and was not given to the city itself till after its conquest by the
tribe of Ephraim. When Abram entered Canaan he formed his second
encampment between Bethel and Hai (Gen. 12:8); and on his return
from Egypt he came back to it, and again "called upon the name of
the Lord" (13:4). Here Jacob, on his way from Beersheba to Haran,
had a vision of the angels of God ascending and descending on the
ladder whose top reached unto heaven (28:10, 19); and on his return
he again visited this place, "where God talked with him" (35:1-15),
and there he "built an altar, and called the place El- beth-el"
(q.v.). To this second occasion of God's speaking with Jacob at
Bethel, Hosea (12:4,5) makes reference. In troublous times the
people went to Bethel to ask counsel of God (Judg. 20:18, 31; 21:2).
Here the ark of the covenant was kept for a long time under the care
of Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron (20:26-28). Here also Samuel held
in rotation his court of justice (1 Sam. 7:16). It was included in
Israel after the kingdom was divided, and it became one of the seats
of the worship of the golden calf (1 Kings 12:28-33; 13:1). Hence
the prophet Hosea (Hos. 4:15; 5:8; 10:5, 8) calls it in contempt
Beth-aven, i.e., "house of idols." Bethel remained an abode of
priests even after the kingdom of Israel was desolated by the king
of Assyria (2 Kings 17:28, 29). At length all traces of the
idolatries were extirpated by Josiah, king of Judah (2 Kings
23:15-18); and the place was still in existence after the Captivity
(Ezra 2:28; Neh. 7:32). It has been identified with the ruins of
Beitin, a small village amid extensive ruins some 9 miles south of
Shiloh. (2.) Mount Bethel was a hilly district near Bethel (Josh.
16:1; 1 Sam. 13:2). (3.) A town in the south of Judah (Josh. 8:17;
12:16).
Bethel in Fausset's Bible Dictionary
("house of God".) 1. Abram pitched his tent on a mountain E. of
Bethel, abounding in pasture (Genesis 12:8; Genesis 13:3). The city,
near the place, then bore the Canaanite name Luz. Bethel is the name
given by anticipation to the place; appropriately so, as Abram
virtually made it the "house of God." It was expressly so named by
Jacob, when he had the vision of the heavenly ladder, on his way
from his father at Beersheba to Harsh (Genesis 28:19; Genesis
31:13). He set up a pillar, and anointed it with oil, to mark the
place where God spoke with him. Bethel, the place, is expressly
distinguished from Luz, the old Canaanite city. "Jacob called the
name of that place Bethel, but the name of that city was called Luz
at the first" (Joshua 16:1-2). The naming of Bethel Jacob repeated
more publicly on his return home, 20 years later, with his family
purified of idols, when God again appeared to him, and confirmed his
change of name to Israel (Genesis 35:1-15; Genesis 32:28). Bethel
belonged by lot to Benjamin, but was falcon by Ephraim (Bethel being
on his southern border) through the treachery of an inhabitant
(Judges 1:22-26). It was about 12 miles N. of Jerusalem. In Judges
20:26 translate for "the house of God" Bethel. During the civil war
with Benjamin the tribes took the ark thither to consult God
(compare 1 Samuel 10:3). It was one of Samuel's towns of circuit for
judging (1 Samuel 7:16). One of Jeroboam's two sanctuaries for the
calf worship, selected doubtless because of its religious
associations (1 Kings 12-13). There the prophet from Judah foretold
the overthrow of the calf altar by Josiah. Abijah, king of Judah,
took Bethel from Jeroboam (2 Chronicles 13:19), but it was soon
recovered by Israel. Under Ahab the Baal worship at Samaria and
Jezreel drew off attention from the calf worship at Bethel. This
accounts for a school of prophets of Jehovah being there in Elijah's
time (2 Kings 2:2-3). The existence of "bears," two, near the town,
implies that Bethel was then less frequented (2 Kings 2:23- 25).
Under Jehu, who restored the calf worship, and Jeroboam II his great
grandson, Bethel comes again into prominence (2 Kings 10:29). Bethel
became the king's chapel" (sanctuary) "the king's court" ("house of
the kingdom") (Amos 7:13; Amos 3:14-15). More altars, besides the
original one were erected. "Summer and winter houses" too, and
"great houses" and "houses of ivory." After the overthrow of Israel,
the king of Assyria sent one of the Israelite priests to settle at
Bethel, and teach the new settlers from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath,
and Sepharvaim, "the manner of the god of the land," and "how they
should fear Jehovah" (2 Kings 17:27- 28). Josiah, as foretold,
defiled the altar with dead men's bones, but disturbed not the
sepulchre of the prophet of Judab when he discerned its title. It
was ordered by God that the votaries of the calf worship at Bethel
never dared to violate the sepulchre and title of the prophet who
denounced their idol. The worship of Jehovah and of the calves had
been all along strangely blended. (See BETHAVEN.) Among those
returning from captivity were men of Bethel (Ezra 2:28; Nehemiah
7:32; Nehemiah 11:31.) The ruins, covering three or four acres,
still bear a like name, Beitin, on a low bill, between two wadies,
which unite in the main valley of es-Suweinit, toward the S.E.
Bethel still abounds in stones such as Jacob used for his pillow and
afterward for a sanctuary. On the round mount S.E. of Bethel. Abram
doubtless built the altar, and afterwards stood with Lot when giving
him his choice of the land (Genesis 12:7; Genesis 13:10). E. of this
mount stands the ruin Tel er Rijmah, "the mound of the heap,"
answering to Ai or Hai. Ritter makes Medinet Gai answer to Ai. 2. A
town in southern Judah (Joshua 12:16; 1 Samuel 30:27). Bethel in
Joshua 19:4 answers to Chesil in Joshua 15:30. Bethuel, 1 Chronicles
4:30. Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho under the curse (1 Kings
16:34).
Bethel in Hitchcock's Bible Names
the house of God
Bethel in Naves Topical Bible
1. A city north of Jerusalem The ancient city adjacent to, and
finally embraced in, was called Luz Jos 18:13; Jud 1:23-26 Abraham
estblishes an altar at Ge 12:8; 13:3,4 The place where Jacob saw the
vision of the ladder Ge 28:10-22; 31:13; Ho 12:4 And builds an altar
at Ge 35:1-15 Deborah dies at Ge 35:8 Conquered by Joshua Jos 8:17;
with 12:16 Conquered by the household of Joseph Jud 1:22-26 Allotted
to Benjamin Jos 18:13,22 Court of justice held at By Deborah Jud 4:5
By Samuel 1Sa 7:16 Tabernacle at, and called HOUSE OF GOD Jud
20:18,31; 21:2 Jeroboam institutes idolatrous worship at 1Ki
12:25-33; 2Ki 10:29 Idolatry at Jer 48:13; Am 4:4 Shalmanezer sends
a priest to 2Ki 17:27,28 Prophecies against the idolatrous altars at
1Ki 13:1-6,32; 2Ki 23:4,15-20; Am 3:14 The school of prophets at 2Ki
2:3 The young men of, mock Elisha 2Ki 2:23,24 People of, return from
Babylon Ezr 2:28; Ne 7:32 Prophecies against Am 5:5 -2. A city in
the south of territory of the tribe of Judah 1Sa 30:27 -3. A
mountain 1Sa 13:2
Bethel in Smiths Bible Dictionary
(the house of God) well known city and holy place of central Israel,
about 12 mlles north of Jerusalem. If we are to accept the precise
definition of Ge 12:8 the name of Bethel would appear to have
existed at this spot even before the arrival of Abram in Canaan. Ge
12:8; 13:3,4 Bethel was the scene of Jacob's vision. Ge 28:11-19;
31:13 Jacob lived there. Ge 35:1-8 The original name was Luz. Jud
1:22,23 After the conquest Bethel is frequently heard of. In the
troubled times when there was no king in Israel, it was to Bethel
that the people went up in their distress to ask counsel of God. Jud
20:18,26,31; 21:2 Authorized Version, "house of God." Here was the
ark of the covenant. Jud 20:26- 28; 21:4 Later it is named as one of
the holy cities to which Samuel went on circuit. 1Sa 7:16 Here
Jeroboab placed one of the two calves of gold. Toward the end of
Jeroboam's life Bethel fell into the hands of Judah. 2Ch 13:19
Elijah visited Bethel, and we hear of "sons of the prophets" as
resident there. 2Ki 2:2,3 But after the destruction of Baal worship
by Jehu Bethel comes once more into view. 2Ki 10:29 After the
desolation of the northern kingdom by the king of Assyria, Bethel
still remained an abode of priests. 2Ki 17:27,28 In later times
Bethel is named only once under the scarcely-altered name of Beitin.
Its ruins still lie on the righthand side of the road from Jerusalem
to Nablus. 2. A town in the south part of Judah, named in Jos 12:16
and 1Sam 30:27 In Jos 15:30; 19:4; 1Ch 4:29,30 the place appears
under the name of CHESIL, BETHUL and BETHUEL. Hiel the Bethelite is
recorded as the rebuilder of Jericho. 1Ki 16:34 3. In Jos 16:1 and
1Sam 13:2 Mount Bethel, a hilly section near Beth-el, is referred
to.
Bethel in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE
beth'-el (beth-'el; Baithel and oikos theou, literally, "house of
God"): (1) A town near the place where Abraham halted and offered
sacrifice on his way south from Shechem. 1. Identification and
Description: It lay West of Ai (Gen 12:8). It is named as on the
northern border of Benjamin (the southern of Ephraim, Josh 16:2), at
the top of the ascent from the Jordan valley by way of Ai (Josh
18:13). It lay South of Shiloh (Jdg 21:19). Eusebius, Onomasticon
places it 12 Roman miles from Jerusalem, on the road to Neapolis. It
is represented by the modern Beitin, a village of some 400
inhabitants, which stands on a knoll East of the road to Nablus.
There are four springs which yield supplies of good water. In
ancient times these were supplemented by a reservoir hewn in the
rock South of the town. The surrounding country is bleak and barren,
the hills being marked by a succession of stony terraces, which may
have suggested the form of the ladder in Jacob's famous dream. 2.
The Sanctuary: The town was originally called Luz (Gen 28:19, etc.).
When Jacob came hither on his way to Paddan-aram we are told that he
lighted upon "the place" (Gen 28:11. Hebrew). The Hebrew maqom, like
the cognate Arabic maqam, denotes a sacred place or sanctuary. The
maqom was doubtless that at which Abraham had sacrificed, East of
the town. In the morning Jacob set up "for a pillar" the stone which
had served as his pillow (Gen 28:18; see PILLAR, matstsebhah),
poured oil upon it and called the name of the place Bethel, "house
of God"; that is, of God whose epiphany was for him associated with
the pillar. This spot became a center of great interest, lending
growing importance to the town. In process of time the name Luz
disappeared, giving place to that of the adjoining sanctuary, town
and sanctuary being identified. Jacob revisited the place on his
return from Paddan-aram; here Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was
buried under "the oak" (Gen 35:6 f). Probably on rising ground East
of Bethel Abraham and Lot stood to view the uninviting highlands and
the rich lands of the Jordan valley (Gen 13:9 ff). 3. History:
Bethel was a royal city of the Canaanites (Josh 12:16). It appears
to have been captured by Joshua (8:7), and it was allotted to
Benjamin (Josh 18:22). In Jdg 1:22 ff it is represented as held by
Canaanites, from whom the house of Joseph took it by treachery
(compare 1 Ch 7:28). Hither the ark was brought from Gilgal (Jdg
2:1, Septuagint). Israel came to Bethel to consult the Divine oracle
(Jdg 20:18), and it became an important center of worship (1 Sam
10:3). The home of the prophetess Deborah was not far off (Jdg 4:5).
Samuel visited Bethel on circuit, judging Israel (1 Sam 7:16). With
the disruption of the kingdom came Bethel's greatest...
2 Kings
23:15 - Moreover the altar that [was] at Bethel,
[and] the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made
Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake
down, and burned the high place, [and] stamped [it] small to powder,
and burned the grove.
1
Chronicles 7:28 - And their possessions and habitations
[were], Bethel and the towns thereof, and eastward
Naaran, and westward Gezer, with the towns thereof; Shechem also and
the towns thereof, unto Gaza and the towns thereof:
2 Kings
2:23 - And he went up from thence unto Bethel:
and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children
out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald
head; go up, thou bald head.
2
Chronicles 13:19 - And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and
took cities from him, Bethel with the towns thereof,
and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephrain with the towns
thereof.
1 Samuel
10:3 - Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou
shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three
men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three
kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another
carrying a bottle of wine:
1 Kings
12:33 - So he offered upon the altar which he had made in
Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, [even] in
the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a
feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar,
and burnt incense.
Joshua 8:17
- And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, that
went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued
after Israel.
1 Samuel
13:2 - Saul chose him three thousand [men] of Israel;
[whereof] two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount
Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of
Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.
2 Kings
23:4 - And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and
the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to
bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were
made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven:
and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and
carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.
Joshua 12:9
- The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which [is] beside
Bethel, one;
Joshua
12:16 - The king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel,
one;
Genesis
31:13 - I [am] the God of Bethel, where thou
anointedst the pillar, [and] where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now
arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy
kindred.
Joshua
18:13 - And the border went over from thence toward Luz, to
the side of Luz, which [is] Bethel, southward; and the
border descended to Atarothadar, near the hill that [lieth] on the
south side of the nether Bethhoron.
1 Kings
13:4 - And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the
saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in
Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar,
saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against
him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
Joshua 16:1
- And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho,
unto the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth
up from Jericho throughout mount Bethel,
Genesis
28:19 - And he called the name of that place Bethel:
but the name of that city [was called] Luz at the first.
Amos 7:10
- Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam
king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the
midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his
words.
Amos 7:13
- But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it
[is] the king's chapel, and it [is] the king's court.
Joshua 8:9
- Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush,
and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of
Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people.
Amos 3:14
- That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel
upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and
the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.
Jeremiah
48:13 - And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house
of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.
1 Samuel
7:16 - And he went from year to year in circuit to
Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all
those places.
2 Kings
23:19 - And all the houses also of the high places that
[were] in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made
to provoke [the LORD] to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them
according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.
Genesis
35:1 - And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel,
and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared
unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
1 Kings
13:32 - For the saying which he cried by the word of the
LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the
houses of the high places which [are] in the cities of Samaria,
shall surely come to pass.
Judges 4:5
- And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and
Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came
up to her for judgment.
2 Kings 2:3
- And the sons of the prophets that [were] at Bethel
came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD
will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I
know [it]; hold ye your peace.
2 Kings
23:17 - Then he said, What title [is] that that I see? And
the men of the city told him, [It is] the sepulchre of the man of
God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou
hast done against the altar of Bethel.
Joshua 7:2
- And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which [is] beside Bethaven,
on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them,
saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed
Ai.
1 Kings
13:1 - And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by
the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood
by the altar to burn incense.
The Ancient Nile River
Nile River in Easton's Bible Dictionary
dark; blue,
not found in Scripture, but frequently referred to in the Old
Testament under the name of Sihor, i.e., "the black stream" (Isa.
23:3; Jer. 2:18) or simply "the river" (Gen. 41:1; Ex. 1:22, etc.)
and the "flood of Egypt" (Amos 8:8). It consists of two rivers, the
White Nile, which takes its rise in the Victoria Nyanza, and the
Blue Nile, which rises in the Abyssinian Mountains. These unite at
the town of Khartoum, whence it pursues its course for 1,800 miles,
and falls into the Mediterranean through its two branches, into
which it is divided a few miles north of Cairo, the Rosetta and the
Damietta branch. (See EGYPT �T0001137.)
Nile River in Fausset's Bible Dictionary
Not so named in the Bible; related to Sanskrit Nilah, "blue." The
Nile has two names: the sacred name Hapi, or Hapi-mu, "the abyss of
waters," Hp-ro-mu, "the waters whose source is hidden"; and the
common name Yeor Aor, Aur (Atur): both Egyptian names. Shihor, "the
black river," is its other Bible name, Greek Melas or Kmelas, Latin
Melo, darkened by the fertilizing soil which it deposits at its
overflow (Jeremiah 2:18). The hieroglyphic name of Egypt is Kam,
"black." Egyptians distinguished between Hapi-res, the "southern
Nile" of Upper Egypt, and Hapi-meheet, the "northern Nile" of Lower
Egypt. Hapi-ur, "the high Nile," fertilizes the land; the Nile low
brought famine. The Nile god is painted red to represent the
inundation, but blue at other times. An impersonation of Noah (Osburn).
Famine and plenty are truly represented as coming up out of the
river in Pharaoh's dream (Genesis 41). Therefore they worshipped it,
and the plague on its waters, was a judgment on that idolatry
(Exodus 7:21; Psalm 105:29). (See EGYPT; EXODUS.) The rise begins at
the summer solstice; the flood is two months later, after the
autumnal equinox, at its height pouring through cuttings in the
banks which are higher than the rest of the soil and covering the
valley, and lasting three months. (Amos 8:8; Amos 9:5; Isaiah 23:3).
The appointed S.W. bound of Israel (Joshua 13:3; 1 Chronicles 13:5;
2 Chronicles 9:26; Genesis 15:18). 1 Kings 8:65 "stream" (nachal,
not "river".) Its confluent is still called the Blue river; so Nilah
means "darkblue," or "black." The plural "rivers" is used for the
different mouths, branches, and canals of the Nile. The tributaries
are further up than Egypt (Psalm 78:44; Exodus 7:18-20; Isaiah 7:18;
Isaiah 19:6; Ezekiel 29:3; Ezekiel 30:12). "The stream (nachal) of
Egypt" seems distinct (Isaiah 27:12), now "wady el Arish" (where was
the frontier city Rhino-corura) on the confines of Israel and Egypt
(Joshua 15:4; Joshua 15:47, where for "river" should stand "stream,"
nachal)). Smith's Bible Dictionary suggests that nachal) is related
to the Nile and is that river; but the distinctness with which
nachal) is mentioned, and not as elsewhere Sihor, or "river," Ye'or,
forbids the identification. "The rivers of Ethiopia" (Isaiah
18:1-2), Cush, are the Atbara, the Astapus or Blue river, between
which two rivers Meroe (the Ethiopia meant in Isaiah 18) lies, and
the Astaboras or White Nile; these rivers conjoin in the one Nile,
and wash down the soil along their banks from Upper Egypt, and
deposit it on Lower Egypt; compare "whose land (Upper Egypt) the
rivers have spoiled" or "cut up" or "divided." The Nile is called
"the sea" (Isaiah 19:5), for it looks a sea at the overflow; the
Egyptians still call it El Bahr "the sea" (Nahum 3:8). Its length
measured by its course is probably 3,700 miles, the longest in the
world. Its bed is cut through layers of nummulitic limestone (of
which the pyramids of Ghizeh are built, full of nummulites, which
the Arabs call "Pharaoh's beans"), sandstone under that, breccia
verde under that, azoic rocks still lower, with red granite and
syenite rising through all the upper strata...
Nile River in Naves Topical Bible
Called THE RIVER Isa 11:15; 19:5-10; Eze 29:4; Am 8:8 -Called SIHOR
Isa 23:3; Jer 2:18
Nile River in Smiths Bible Dictionary
(blue, dark), the great river of Egypt. The word Nile nowhere occurs
in the Authorized Version but it is spoken of under the names of
Sihor [SIHOR] and the "river of Egypt." Ge 15:18 We cannot as yet
determine the length of the Nile, although recent discoveries have
narrowed the question. There is scarcely a doubt that its largest
confluent is fed by the great lakes on and south of the equator. It
has been traced upward for about 2700 miles, measured by its course,
not in a direct line, and its extent is probably over 1000 miles
more. (The course of the river has been traced for 3300 miles. For
the first 1800 miles (McClintock and Strong say 2300) from its mouth
it receives no tributary; but at Kartoom, the capital of Nubia, is
the junction of the two great branches, the White Nile and the Blue
Nile, so called from the color of the clay which tinges their
waters. The Blue Nile rises in the mountains of Abyssinia and is the
chief source of the deposit which the Nile brings to Egypt. The
White Nile is the larger branch. Late travellers have found its
source in Lake Victoria Nyanza, three degrees south of the equator.
From this lake to the mouth of the Nile the distance is 2300 miles
in a straight line --one eleventh the circumference of the globe.
From the First Cataract, at Syene, the river flows smoothly at the
rate of two or three miles an hour with a width of half a mile. to
Cairo. A little north of Cairo it divides into two branches, one
flowing to Rosetta and the other to Damietta, from which place the
mouths are named. See Bartlett's "Egypt and Israel," 1879. The great
peculiarity of the river is its annual overflow, caused by the
periodical tropical rains. "With wonderful clock-like regularity the
river begins to swell about the end of June, rises 24 feet at Cairo
between the 20th and 30th of September and falls as much by the
middle of May. Six feet higher than this is devastation; six feet
lower is destitution." --Bartlett. So that the Nile increases...
Nile River in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE
nil (Neilos, meaning not certainly known; perhaps refers to the
color of the water, as black or blue. This name does not occur in
the Hebrew of the Old Testament or in the English translation): I.
THE NILE IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 1. Description 2. Geological Origin
3. The Making of Egypt 4. The Inundation 5. The Infiltration II. THE
NILE IN HISTORY 1. The Location of Temples 2. The Location of
Cemeteries 3. The Damming of the Nile 4. Egyptian Famines III. THE
NILE IN RELIGION 1. The Nile as a God 2. The Nile in the Osirian
Myth 3. The Celestial Nile A river of North Africa, the great river
of Egypt. The name employed in the Old Testament to designate the
Nile is in the Hebrew ye'or, Egyptian aur, earlier, atur, usually
translated "river," also occasionally "canals" (Ps 78:44; Ezek 29:3
ff). In a general way it means all the water of Egypt. The Nile is
also the principal river included in the phrase nahare kush, "rivers
of Ethiopia" (Isa 18:1). Poetically the Nile is called yam, "sea"
(Job 41:31; Nah 3:8; probably Isa 18:2), but this is not a name of
the river. shichor, not always written fully, has also been
interpreted in a mistaken way of the Nile (see SHIHOR). Likewise
nahar mitsrayim, "brook of Egypt," a border stream in no way
connected with the Nile, has sometimes been mistaken for that river.
See RIVER OF EGYPT. I. The Nile in Physical Geography. 1.
Description: The Nile is formed by the junction of the White Nile
and the Blue Nile in latitude 15 degree 45' North and longitude 32
degree 45' East. The Blue Nile rises in the highlands of Abyssinia,
latitude 12 degree 30' North, long. 35 degree East, and flows
Northwest 850 miles to its junction with the White North. The White
Nile, the principal branch of the North, rises in Victoria Nyanza, a
great lake in Central Africa, a few miles North of the equator,
long. 33 degree East (more exactly the Nile may be said to rise at
the headwaters of the Ragera River, a small stream on the other side
of the lake, 3 degree South of the equator), and flows North in a
tortuous channel, 1,400 miles to its junction with the Blue Nile.
From this junction-point the Niles flows North through Nubia and
Egypt 1,900 miles and empties into the Mediterranean Sea, in
latitude 32 degree North, through 2 mouths, the Rosetta, East of
Alexandria, and the Damietta, West of Port Said. There were formerly
7 mouths scattered along a coast-line of 140 miles. 2. Geological
Origin: The Nile originated...
Ancient Memphis
\Hosea 9:6
- For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather
them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant
[places] for their silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns [shall
be] in their tabernacles.
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Bible Study Questions
- The Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV): Historical Significance, Translation Methodology, and Lasting Impact
- Exploring the English Standard Version (ESV): Its Aspects, Comparisons, Impact on Biblical Studies, and Church Use
- A Detailed Historical Analysis of Language Updates in the KJ21: Comparison with Other Versions
- A Detailed Historical Analysis of the American Standard Version (ASV): Comparison to the King James Version, Influence on Later Translations, and Evaluation of Strengths and Weaknesses
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