Then came he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
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Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
He came therefore, &c. Sichar, i.e, Sichem. When Jeroboam revolted from Rehoboam, and usurped the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, he made this city his capital. The capital was afterwards transferred by Omri to Samaria. Afterwards, in the time of Alexander the Great, Sichem was again made the capital of the region of Samaria, as Josephus testifies (Ant, ii8), and was called Neapolis. In the time of our Saviour Sichem was corrupted into Sichar. It is now called Naplous This city was the site of many famous deeds mentioned in Scripture. Abraham journeying from Mesopotamia into Canaan, came first to Sichem, and built an altar to the Lord, and received the promise of that land. See Gen. xii. and xiii.
Jacob also returning from Mesopotamia fixed his tent here, and bought a piece of ground from the sons of Emmor (Gen. xxxiii.). Here Dinah, his daughter, was corrupted by the son of the King of Sichem (Gen. xxxiv.). Sichem was appointed one of the cities of refuge (Josh. xx.) Here the ten tribes revolted from Judea through the folly of Rehoboam. The bones of Joseph were buried at Sichem, as is related at the end of the Book of Joshua. S. Jerome (tract. de loc. Hebr.) says that Salem and Sichem were the same. Hence it follows that Melchisedec, the type of Christ, was also king of this city.
Near the parcel of ground, &c. See what I have said on Gen. xlviii22. Wherefore Joseph when he was dying in Egypt commanded his bones to be translated to Sichem, as to his own piece of land, which had been left him by the will of his father.
