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In the Greek Septuagint translation of Genesis, Jacob arrives at Salem near Shechem. In the Samaritan Pentateuch, scribes describe his arrival as peaceful to avoid a link with Jerusalem, the rival to Mount Gerizim as the proper place of worship.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Genesis 33:18
Septuagint
16 And Esau returned on that day on his journey to Seir. 17 And Jacob departs to his tents; and he made for himself there habitations, and for his cattle he made booths; therefore he called the name of that place, Booths. 18 And Jacob came to Salem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he departed out of Mesopotamia of Syria, and took up a position in front of the city. 19 And he bought the portion of the field, where he pitched his tent, of Hamor the father of Shechem, for one hundred lambs. 20 And he set up there an altar, and called on the God of Israel.
Date: 300–201 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Samaritan Genesis 33:18
Samaritan Penteteuch
Samaritan
16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 17 And Jacob journeyed to Sukkoth, and built himself a house, and made booths for his cattle. Therefore the name of the place is called Sukkoth. 18 And Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan Aram, and camped in front of the city. 19 And he bought the plot of ground, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money. 20 And he built an altar there, and called it Eleluwwi-Israel.
Date: 130–120 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... Just as SP goes out of its way to stress the importance of Mount Gerizim, it also removes any hint of Jerusalem. In Gen. 33.18 ‘and Yāqob came in peace (שלום) to the city of Ashkem’, the spelling of ‘in peace’ is altered in such a way as to dispel any possible hint of Jerusalem (שלם; cf. Gen. 14.18: ‘Malki-ṣedeq king of Salem’). ...”
Moshe Florentin and Abraham Tal, The Samaritan Pentateuch: An English Translation with a Parallel Annotated Hebrew Text (Cambridge: Open Book, 2024), 26.
* 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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