Shechem (Nablus)

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Kever Yosef: This is the burial site of Joseph, situated on the edge of the ancient city of Shechem. Jacob purchased the land in Shechem, (Genesis 33:19) and when he died he handed it down to his son Joseph (Genesis 48:22). Joseph requested not to be buried in Egypt, so his body was taken to Shechem for burial. Shechem is also the Biblical site at which Dina the daughter of Jacob was raped, and subsequently Jacob's sons avenged the crime by murdering the males of the city (Genesis 34). Some of the ruins of the ancient city of Shechem. Shechem was situated on the north-south ancient highway through Samaria. As such, it happened to be the first stop of Abraham when he came into the Land of Canaan, and the first place in the Land of Canaan in which God appeared to him, promising that the land would be given to his descendants (Genesis 12:6-7).

Much later, the Romans built a town in close proximity to Shechem called Flavia Neapolis, to the west of the ancient city of Shechem situated at Tel Balata. The Arabic name of Shechem, Nablus, is derived from the Roman name, Neapolis.