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 one hundred pieces of money. ¹  So it became the inheritance of the tribe of Joseph. ² 

Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and is not Zebul the deputy he appointed? ¹  Serve the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem! But why should we serve Abimelech? ² 

So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession ¹  and the rings that were in their ears. ²  Jacob buried them ³  under the oak ⁴  near Shechem

Now Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to see his mother’s relatives. ¹  He said to them and to his mother’s entire extended family, ² 

He sent messengers to Abimelech, who was in Arumah, ¹  reporting, “Beware! ²  Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers are coming ³  to Shechem and inciting the city to rebel against you. ⁴ 

The company of priests is like a gang of robbers, lying in ambush to pounce on a victim. They commit murder on the road to Shechem; they have done heinous crimes!

So they selected ¹  Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

His mother’s relatives ¹  spoke on his behalf to ²  all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal. ³  The leaders were drawn to Abimelech; ⁴  they said, “He is our close relative.” ⁵ 

When Jotham heard the news, ¹  he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He spoke loudly to the people below, ²  “Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you!

However, there is an annual festival to the Lord in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel ¹  (east of the main road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem) and south of Lebonah.”

Their property and settlements included Bethel ¹  and its surrounding towns, Naaran to the east, Gezer and its surrounding towns to the west, and Shechem and its surrounding towns as far as Ayyah and its surrounding towns.

When ¹  Jacob heard that Shechem ²  had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent ³  until they came in.

The rest of Manasseh’s descendants were also assigned land ¹  by their clans, including the descendants of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph by their clans.

“Tell ¹  all the leaders of Shechem this: ‘Why would you want ²  to have seventy men, all Jerub-Baal’s sons, ruling over you, when you can have just one ruler? Recall that I am your own flesh and blood.’” ³ 

So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches ¹  against the stronghold and set fire to it. ²  All the people ³  of the Tower of Shechem died – about a thousand men and women.

He did this so the violent deaths of Jerub-Baal’s seventy sons might be avenged and Abimelech, their half-brother ¹  who murdered them, might have to pay for their spilled blood, along with the leaders of Shechem who helped him murder them. ² 

eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. ¹  They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and cut themselves to show they were mourning. ²  They were carrying grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. ³ 

But you have attacked ¹  my father’s family ²  today. You murdered his seventy legitimate ³  sons on one stone and made Abimelech, the son of his female slave, king over the leaders of Shechem, just because he is your close relative. ⁴ 

When Joseph reached Shechem, ¹  a man found him wandering ²  in the field, so the man asked him, “What are you looking for?”

Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. ¹  They ²  were offended ³  and very angry because Shechem ⁴  had disgraced Israel ⁵  by sexually assaulting ⁶  Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. ⁷