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Bible Dictionaries
Sychar
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or SYCHAR . ‘A city of Samaria,’ near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph ( John 4:5 ). Jerome in Onomast . distinguishes Sychar from Shechem , but in Ep. Paul . and Quæst. Gen . he identifies them, saying that the form Sychar is due to a scribal error. Much ingenuity has been exercised to show that the names are really identical, or at least apply to the same city. On the face of it this is unlikely. In a.d. 333 the Itinerary of Jerusalem places Sychar one mile E. of Shechem in this agreeing with other ancient authorities. Canon Williams first suggested Identification with ‘Askar , a village on the skirt of Ebal, about two miles E. of Nâblus. The main objection to this is the presence of a copious spring, more than sufficient to supply the village; while from John 4:15 we learn that the woman of Sychar was accustomed to go ‘all the way’ (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ) to Jacob’s Well for domestic supplies. Further, there is nothing to indicate a pre-Arab settlement at ‘Askar. Mr. Macalister ( PEFSt [Note: Quarterly Statement of the same.] , 1907, p. 92 ff.) draws attention to the mound Tulûl Balâtâ , a little nearer to Nâblus, just N. of the hamlet Balâtâ, which bears evidence of occupation from the period of the Hebrew monarchy to Roman times.
Jacob’s Well , according to unanimous and unbroken tradition, lies about half a mile to the E. of Tulûl Balâtâ, on the S. edge of the plain, at the foot of Gerizim. Formerly of great depth ( John 4:11 ), it is now much filled with rubbish, and is not more than 76 ft. deep. Depending on the percolation of surface water, with the greater depth the supply would be constant; but now it is dry before the summer is far advanced. The sacred associations of the Well, and the ‘lightness’ of the water, compared with the hardness of that from the spring, would form attractions in early, as in modern times. With no other ancient settlement near the Well, we may with some confidence place Sychar at Tulûl Balâtâ . With the ruin of the village the name may have migrated to ‘Askar .
W. Ewing.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Sychar'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/s/sychar.html. 1909.
