Joseph's Tomb at Shechem (Nablus)
The domed shrine where tradition says Yosef's bones were buried; never excavated
Found 333 — First recorded by the Bordeaux Pilgrim (333 CE) and Eusebius' Onomasticon; the current shrine dates from an 1868 rebuilding; no archaeological excavation has ever been carried out
Where Balata, at the eastern edge of Nablus, near Tell Balata (ancient Shechem) and Jacob's Well (West Bank (Palestinian Authority, Area A))
Dates from Shrine rebuilt 1868 CE; traditions from c. 333 CE onward · Present building 1868; tradition from the 4th century CE · Burial of Yosef's bones after the conquest (claimed)
Now at Site (shrine in Nablus)
How Joseph's Tomb at Shechem (Nablus) was found
The site has been a place of veneration for Samaritans, Jews, Christians and Muslims since late antiquity. The small domed building was rebuilt in 1868. It was damaged in riots in 2000, again in 2011, and set on fire by rioters in October 2015; it has since been restored and is visited under Israeli military escort.
What it is
A small white-domed room with a courtyard, containing a plastered cenotaph (an empty marker tomb) with a Torah-ark niche. Two low pillars in the courtyard were once believed to mark the graves of Ephraim and Manasseh. The structure has no architectural elements older than 1868, and the ground beneath it has never been dug.
Why it matters for the Bible
Joshua 24:32 says Yosef's (Joseph's) bones, carried out of Egypt, were buried at Shechem on land Yaakov (Jacob) bought. The location next to Tell Balata and Jacob's Well fits that verse, so the tradition is old and geographically sensible. What archaeology can say is limited: the tradition is attested from the 4th century, was Samaritan before it was Jewish or Christian, and the tomb itself has never been examined. Its modern history, including the 2015 arson, shows how contested biblical memory can be.
The Hebrew word: ats-MOHT
עַצְמוֹת
עַצְמוֹת is pronounced ats-MOHT and means bones; Yosef's bones carried up from Egypt (Strong's H6106).
People this discovery connects to
- Joseph — יוֹסֵף (yoh-SEF) — he adds
Places
- Shechem — שְׁכֶם (she-CHEM) — shoulder, ridge
Events
Burial of Yosef's bones at Shechem; Yaakov's purchase of the field
Joseph's Tomb at Shechem (Nablus) in Scripture
Genesis 30:24 First mention of Joseph in Scripture.
Genesis 50:25 Yosef makes Israel swear to carry his bones out of Egypt.
Joshua 24:32 Yosef's bones are buried at Shechem in the plot Yaakov bought; the verse behind the shrine.
Questions people ask
What is Joseph's Tomb at Shechem (Nablus)?
A small white-domed room with a courtyard, containing a plastered cenotaph (an empty marker tomb) with a Torah-ark niche. Two low pillars in the courtyard were once believed to mark the graves of Ephraim and Manasseh. The structure has no architectural elements older than 1868, and the ground beneath it has never been dug.
When was Joseph's Tomb at Shechem (Nablus) discovered?
It was found in 333 by First recorded by the Bordeaux Pilgrim (333 CE) and Eusebius' Onomasticon; the current shrine dates from an 1868 rebuilding; no archaeological excavation has ever been carried out, at Balata, at the eastern edge of Nablus, near Tell Balata (ancient Shechem) and Jacob's Well.
Where is Joseph's Tomb at Shechem (Nablus) today?
Site (shrine in Nablus).
Which Bible verses does Joseph's Tomb at Shechem (Nablus) relate to?
Genesis 30:24, Genesis 50:25, Joshua 24:32.
Is Joseph's Tomb at Shechem (Nablus) authentic?
The tradition is ancient and the location plausible, but the tomb has never been excavated and the building is 19th-century; no archaeological evidence links it to Yosef.
Related discoveries
- מַיִם חַיִּיםJacob's WellA deep well near Shechem tied by tradition to Yaakov
- כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּיםAvaris 'Asiatic Official' Statue and TombA smashed statue of a Semitic dignitary in a striped coat, beside a twelve-pillared house
- רָעָבThe Famine Stela (Sehel Island)A Ptolemaic rock inscription telling of seven years of famine under Djoser
- מִשְׁנֶהHawara 'Labyrinth' and the Faiyum Works of the 12th DynastyAmenemhat III's vast administrative temple and the land reclamation many link to Yosef's era
- עַבְדִּיאֵלTomb of the Vizier Aper-ElA Semitic-named vizier of Egypt under Amenhotep III and Akhenaten
- בָּרSaqqara 'Joseph's Granaries' Claim (Djoser's Step Pyramid Complex)Deep shafts and vaults said to be Yosef's grain stores; Imhotep said to be Yosef
Sources
- Wikipedia: Joseph's Tomb
- Times of Israel, 'At Joseph's Tomb, a microcosm of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict'
- NPR, 'Palestinians Set Fire To Joseph's Tomb In The West Bank' (16 Oct 2015)