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Nablus is a Palestinian Arab city occupying much of the narrow
pass between the mountains Ebal and Gerizim. It grew out of the Roman Neapolis.
(Arabic has no "p" sound. It gets sounded as "b.") Titus founded the city in 72
AD after quelling the Jewish revolt. He was reacting to
repeated attempts by the potentially rebellious Samaritans to settle on Gerizim,
their sacred mountain. He wanted a Roman city that would keep them under
control. He attached to it a large territory, bordering the lands of Caesarea,
Sebastia, Scythopolis, Pella in Transjordan and Jerusalem. Pieces of the Roman
theatre, hippodrome, amphitheatre and water system can still be seen amid the
bustle. Third-century mosaics from Neaopolis are on display at the Israel Museum
in Jerusalem.
At the eastern end of the pass, Ebal and Gerizim come within
300 yards of each other, and just beyond this point, somewhat nearer the edge of
Ebal, is Tell Balata, biblical Shechem, lying halfway between Dan and Beersheba.
 A
few references will indicate the importance of Shechem: It was Abram's first
destination in the land (Genesis 12:6). It was also first for his
grandson Jacob (Genesis 33:18 ). Moses appoints it as the place of the
first ceremony after the Israelites cross the Jordan (Deut. 11: 29-31).
Here Joshua renews the covenant between the people and the Lord, and here
Joseph's bones are buried (Joshua 24: 1, 25, 32). Abimelech, son of
Gideon, is crowned king at Shechem (Judges 9:3-6). Rehoboam, son of
Solomon comes here to have his kingship confirmed by the northern tribes;
instead they choose Jeroboam son of Nebat, who makes it his capital (1 Kings
12:1,25). At Jacob's well nearby, Jesus conversed with a Samaritan woman. (John
4: 4-7).
The importance of Shechem derived from its position. The
east-west pass between Ebal and Gerizim cuts through the spine of the central
mountain range. This made possible a link between the Great Trunk Road and the
King's Highway. (There were, in fact, three good links: the one through Beth
Shean north of us, the one through Jericho south of us, and this middle road.)
From Shechem the way continued east through Wadi Fari'ah, forded the Jordan at
Adam, and then ascended through the Jabbok canyon to the King's Highway.
That
link-road is half the story. But suppose you are coming from Galilee, and your
destination is in the hill country: Jerusalem, for example. South of the Jezreel
Plain, two roads skirt the mountains. We took the western one, passing the
ancient city of Samaria. Our way was blocked by the long hulk of Mt. Gerizim, so
we turned east through the pass, arriving at Shechem. The eastern route also
leads to Shechem. From here to the south, via Shiloh, Bethel, Rama, Mizpeh,
Gibeon, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, as far as Hebron, the only good way follows the
watershed. Thus this city occupies a vital junction, where the east-west road
(linking the international highways) joins the north-south road (through the
mountain range).
With respect to international trade, cities like Hazor,
Megiddo and Beth Shean were of course more important, for they lay on the Great
Trunk Road. But the latter was extremely vulnerable. Israelites, hardly a match
for Egyptian or Mesopotamian armies, found greater security in the hills. (An
empire could spread its sway on the horizontal plane like water, but a few
hundred yards up was a different story.) That is why the mountain towns like
Shechem appear in the Bible more often than Hazor, etc.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(r),
(c) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The
Lockman Foundation. (www.Lockman.org)
© 2003 Near East Tourist
Agency (NET)
Text © 2003 Stephen Langfur
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