Sychar

Sychar is a town mentioned in the New Testament, specifically in the Gospel of John. It is most famously known as the location where Jesus had a profound conversation with a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. This encounter is recorded in John 4:5-6: "So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour."

The town of Sychar is traditionally identified with the ancient city of Shechem, although some scholars suggest it may have been a separate nearby location. The narrative in John 4 highlights the cultural and religious tensions between Jews and Samaritans, as well as Jesus' mission to reach beyond ethnic and social boundaries. The conversation at the well led to many Samaritans from the town believing in Jesus, as noted in John 4:39: "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony, 'He told me everything I ever did.'"

Shechem (Sychem)

Shechem, also referred to as Sychem in some translations, is a significant city in biblical history, located in the hill country of Ephraim. It is first mentioned in Genesis 12:6-7, where Abram (later Abraham) built an altar to the Lord after God appeared to him: "Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, 'To your offspring I will give this land.' So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him."

Shechem holds a prominent place in the narratives of the patriarchs. It is the site where Jacob settled after returning from Paddan Aram and where he purchased a plot of land (Genesis 33:18-19). This land later became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants, as noted in Joshua 24:32: "And the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the plot of ground that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver. So it became an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants."

Shechem was also a city of refuge and a Levitical city, as described in Joshua 21:21. It was a central location for significant events in Israel's history, including the covenant renewal ceremony led by Joshua (Joshua 24) and the coronation of Abimelech as king (Judges 9).

In the New Testament, Shechem is mentioned in Stephen's speech before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7:16, where he recounts the burial of the patriarchs: "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 sum of silver."

Theologically, Shechem represents a place of covenant and decision, a site where God's promises were affirmed and where the people of Israel were called to renew their commitment to the Lord. Its association with both blessing and conflict reflects the complex history of God's people in the land He promised to them.Sychar or Sychem

See SHECHEM.

Samaria. Sychem.
... Its metropolis at that time was Sychem; "A place destined to revenges": and which
the Jews, as it seems, reproached under the name of Sychar, John 4:5, from ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 56 samaria sychem.htm

Appendix D.
... Abraham then, in the first instance, bought Sychem, Shechem, or Sychar; and there
built an altar. To that same spot, long after, his grandson Jacob resorted. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/burgon/inspiration and interpretation/appendix d.htm

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What is the importance of Samaria in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

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