Greek word · G4966
Συχέμ
sychem
Shechem
A place name: Shechem, in the central hill country of Samaria near modern Nablus. Some manuscripts read it as a person's name, Shechem son of Hamor (see variants).
Appears 2 times in 1 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
Συχέμ indecl. (Heb. שְׁכֶם),
Shechem;
1. the son of Hamor (Genesis 33:19): Acts 7:16 b, Rec.
2. A city of Samaria (AV, Sychem; in LXX also sometimes Σίκιμα, -ων, as in FlJ): Acts 7:16 a,b.†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
A place name: Shechem, in the central hill country of Samaria near modern Nablus. Some manuscripts read it as a person's name, Shechem son of Hamor (see variants).
- Against the English
KJV and YLT 'Sychem' follow the Greek spelling. Modern versions use the Hebrew form 'Shechem'.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Gen 12:6 (Abraham's first altar in Canaan); 33:18-20 (Jacob buys land and builds an altar); 34 (the Dinah episode); Josh 24 (covenant renewal and Joseph's burial). In the first century the area around it was the Samaritan heartland near Mount Gerizim (compare John 4:5, 'Sychar, near the field Jacob gave to Joseph').
Where it appears
Acts · 2
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Acts 7:16 Συχὲμ Συχέμ. Shechem, Shechem.
Their bones were carried back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver.
Here: The old town in the hill country between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. In Stephen's day it lay in Samaritan territory.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.