"And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him." ~ Genesis 12:6-7 (See also Abraham 2:18-19)

This is the first mention in the Bible of the place named Shechem (Sichem/Sechem) which was on the plain of Moreh near Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. This is the immediate land given unto Abraham, though to all of Israel, this land would expand and included all about the Dead Sea to Galilee expanse, or as stated to Joshua, 'Everywhere thou settest foot' (Joshua 1:3).

Now from the Jewish perspective, everything takes on a 'Jewish Perspective' and is centered about Jerusalem, the city of the Jebusites. Yet, despite the long promoted Jewish slant of the Jewish compiled Old Testament, there is enough remaining information to be found therein to consider a differing perspective, the perspective from the heirs of the covenant, Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh.

Shechem upon the plains of Moreh and perhaps Mount Gerizim, according to the Bible Dictionary, is the probable of likely site where Isaac was offered in sacrifice in similitude of the sacrifice of God the Father and His Son in fulfillment of the everlasting covenant set forth in the preexistent heavens as the basis of the eternal plan before the foundation of the world. Jewish tradition does not record the 'changing' notion of this site to being that of Jerusalem's Temple of Solomon until Josephus records it as such well after the death of Christ. This was the period when many changes where being made to the Jewish scriptures and traditions which were designed and meant to hide Jesus from the scriptural word and traditions of the Jews.

Shechem is where Jacob committed his family unto God, removing all the strange gods which were in their hands, which would have included those of Rachel taken from Laban (Genesis 35;4). As recorded in item 29, it is Rachel, the mother of Joseph, who was one of the first 'prophetess' and she was shown and did prophesy that the Messiah would come of her seed. This would have been after or in conjunction with Jacob's house and Rachel turning to the Lord at Shechem and prior to her death associated with Benjamin's birth. All this occured in a short matter of time as it was in the latter phases of Rachel's expecting of her second son Benjamin.