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Genesis 33 describes Jacob buying land at Shechem for 100 pieces of money, a detail that appears again in Joshua 24 when that same plot becomes the burial site of Joseph. The repetition of the specific payment suggests a deliberate literary pattern, depicting Joshua in continuity with the Torah and Israel’s claim to the land.
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Genesis 33:19
Hebrew Bible
17 But Jacob traveled to Sukkoth where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called Sukkoth. 18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near the city. 19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for 100 pieces of money. 20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.”
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Joshua 24:32
Hebrew Bible
30 They buried him in his allotted territory in Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men who outlived him remained alive. These men had experienced firsthand everything the Lord had done for Israel. 32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the part of the field that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of money. So it became the inheritance of the tribe of Joseph. 33 Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him in Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim, where his son Phinehas had been assigned land.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... It is common to hear that the chronological setting for the narrative frame is as early as the patriarchal period or even earlier. The actual evidence for this conclusion, however, is slight ... Wealth measured by cattle and flocks ... Patriarch serving as priest for the family ... Longevity (Job’s 140-year lifespan) ... No reference to covenant, Torah, exodus, etc. ... Roving Sabaean and Chaldean tribesmen ... Job 42:11 refers to a unit of money known elsewhere only in Genesis 33:19; Joshua 24:32 (both referring to money paid to the Shechemites for land) Most of these, however, can be explained by the non-Israelite setting. Job’s longevity is striking, but also it could simply be exceptional. The Chaldeans’ early history is too little known (they first appear in the first millennium BC), and the Sabeans are not identified with confidence, though as a North Arabian tribe they are more at home in the first millennium BC as well. The unit of money is obscure. None of these provide very convincing evidence, though little circumstantial evidence from the content would offer support of a later setting for the events either ..."
Longman, Tremper, and Peter Enns
Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings
(p. 344) Inter-Varsity Press, 2008
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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