10. Shechem is almost exactly half way between Dan on the north and Beersheba on the south. It was therefore not till Abram arrived in the midst of the land that he erected an altar to Jehovah after the Lord had promised that to his seed He would give this land, Gen. 12:7. Various tribes of Canaanites occupied the whole future land of Israel, Gen. 10:19.
11. The plain of Moreh was a mile east of the city, or town, of Shechem. It is evident that both Moreh and Shechem were names of Canaanites, as Shechem is seen in Gen. 33; 34; Num. 26:31; Josh. 17:2, and other places, as a personal name.
12. The word translated “plain” is equally applicable to a grove of trees, and it may be that Abram chose this grove as a shelter from the heat. Twenty-seven miles north of Shechem is probably the hill called in Judg. 7:1, after the same person, the hill of Moreh. The city of Shochen, which exists at the present time, is between the high hills of Gerizim on the south and Ebal on the north.
For the reasons why the word “plain” should be rendered “oak” see Josh. 24:26 and Judg. 9:6, wherein it is evident that a pillar by the oak is meant. Also see that the word “oak” is in the Hebrew exactly the same as that translated “plain” in the text referred to above, Gen. 12:6, and this identical oak seems to have been used for an important purpose many years after. In Deut. 11:30 the name is in the plural, leading us to suppose that it was a grove continuing through many centuries. Groves always were important and sometimes sacred, as it appears from the action of Abraham, for in Gen. 21:33 it is stated that “Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.”
13. The next place visited by Abram was an unknown place between Bethel and Hai.[47] Bethel was not so named until 160 years afterwards, by Jacob, Gen. 28:19.Hai and Ai[48] are the same, and this place was probably a Canaanitish town at this time. The distance south of Shechem was 20 miles to the place occupied by the patriarch, where he seems to have remained only to build an altar and then moved on, evidently seeking pasture for his flocks and herds.
EGYPT FIRST MENTIONED.
14. The name of Egypt occurs now for the first time in Scripture, and we may judge of its importancefrom the fact that the name occurs six hundred and thirteen times, twenty-four of which number are to be found in the New Testament.In this instance the mention is made about 1920 B. C.,[49] and the kingdom is referred to as fully established and well known.
The occasion of Abram’s visit was the famine existing in the land of Canaan. Abram journeys southward with the intention of entering Egypt to provide sustenance for himself and his retinue against this famine.
15. The condition of Egypt at or just before the time of Abram’s first visit was one of great prosperity. The reigning Pharaohs, generally called those of the twelfth dynasty, were most probably the Usertesens and the Amen-emhats. Under this dynasty the sceptres of Upper and Lower Egypt were united. All the kings were powerful and prosperous and art flourished, the Sun temple at Heliopolis (six miles northeast of the present Cairo) was magnificently restored, and in the Fayum on the west of the Nile (about 50 miles southwest of Cairo) the practice of building pyramids was revived. Here was the vast lake or inland sea made by Amen-emhat III., to receive the overplus waters of the annual overflow of the Nile and to distribute them in case of need. This king also built the great labyrinth in the Fayum, the latter name being an alteration of the Egyptian word for “sea,” namely “Piom.”
16. During this period fortifications were erected on the northeastern frontier of Egypt, which appear to have extended across the whole of the present isthmus of Suez (Socin).The term Shur used six times in Scripture is now supposed to refer to this “wall.”[50]