Genesis 12:6

the place of Shechem The word "place" is here probably used in the special sense of "sacred place" or "shrine," as also possibly in Genesis 22:4; Genesis 28:11; Genesis 28:16; Joshua 5:15; Jeremiah 7:12. It does not mean the "site" of what was afterwards known as Shechem.

Shechem (modern Nablus), one of the most ancient and important towns in the central hill country of Palestine, at the foot of Mt Gerizim, in a fair and fertile valley on the road leading northward from Bethel. For other passages in which Shechem plays an important part, cf. 34; Judges 1:9; 1 Kings 12:25. On the meaning of Shechem=a "shoulder" or "ridge," see note on Genesis 48:22.

unto the oak of Moreh Better, as marg., terebinth. The terebinth, or turpentine tree, is said at a distance to resemble the oak, but botanically it is of a different species; it does not grow in clumps. It is found in the S. and E. of Palestine in warm and sheltered spots; it often attains very considerable dimensions.

Moreh Cf. Deuteronomy 11:30; Judges 7:1. In all probability Moreh is not a proper name, but the participle of the verb meaning to "teach" or "instruct," whence comes also the substantive Torah, "law" or "instruction." Probably we have here an example of one of the sacred trees under which, in primitive times, a priest, or seer, gave oracles and returned answers to devout questioners. If so, this terebinth may have been the famous tree mentioned elsewhere in connexion with Shechem: cf. Genesis 35:4; Joshua 24:26, and perhaps Judges 9:37. "The terebinth of Moreh" will then mean "The terebinth of the oracle, or of the soothsayer."

And the Canaanite was then in the land i.e. long before the conquest of Palestine. This clause reminds the reader, that the land promised to the seed of Abram was "then" in the possession of the Canaanites. It was not to be taken by merely encamping in it. Perhaps, also, the clause refers to the sacred tree. Abram recognized the sanctity of the spot in the old religious customs of the Canaanites; and here Jehovah manifested Himself. As the Canaanite was to yield to Israel, so the Canaanite religion was to make way for a higher Revelation. The reverence and awe of the unseen Deity were not to be banished, but to be purified and elevated for a higher worship.