We have come to part 3 of Jacobs Journey, and we continue from the last one where he went from Peniel to Succoth, these areas would have been part of the fruitful lands of Ramses of Egypt (perhaps in the Zambia and Zimbabwe areas today). First, Jacob came to Succoth, which we are going to set as Lusaka on the map strictly for reference, as it creates a nice road in a VERY interesting area - and remember he came from Hebron (Gaborone). Now finding a good location for Succoth is not easy, and no, we do not believe it was the Succoth we find all the way up in Egypt of today. These ancient borders and locations are not the same as the modern ones and rather they are ALL severely colonially influenced borders. They all are different timestamps of wars and a slew of terrible rulers. Ancient Egypt or MIZRAIM as it was called in the Bible - was a World Dominating power even according to contemporary historians. That means African lands were already colonized back then by its then ruler Egypt, just as Romans colonized and took what they desired later on, just as the English have done in modern times. Imposing their laws and dictating what is and what is not. This is nothing new. Just different rulers at different times. Borders change and names change, but the people's culture tends to stay with them. And we might add, their culture tends to give them away. Now we will mention that the Succoth of Egypt (where the tribes rested as they came out of Egypt) and Succoth of Jacob, may not be the same location. Because we will see, in reference to Shechem which we believe also may be in Namibia, that Succoth was between Penuel and Shechem. this means Succoth could have been even further down. So, the inclusion of Lusuka is strictly for educational purposes, for people to look towards these Samarian (Zambian) and ancient lands of Ramses. So, as we said this is likely not what we are looking for as THE location. Still, we will include it for edification and mapping. And distance-wise, it could make sense he was this high up into Southern Africa. So anywhere along this line moving up towards Lusaka, we think Succoth might be a likely location.
Now Goshen and Succoth seem to be very much entangled when it comes to ancient history, and there is a Goshen even in South Africa (Northwest and Mafikeng area), which is/was a Boer Republic. It is however Unlikely that these are the lands of Ramses. But we will entertain it a little further below.
Now at Succoth, Jacob built for himself and his cattle somewhere to stay. He had left Padan-Aram remember, where he had stayed for several years, taking two wives in Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29,16-30). Jacob was on this path headed home, fearing Esau who was chasing him (Genesis 27,41). This ended in forgiveness, and after this Jacob went to Succoth and built BOOTHS /TENT for himself and his livestock. A Temporary dwelling. Now the reason we include Lusaka and Zambia, is because there is a GIDEON there close to Shingela, perhaps so named after Gideon who crossed the Jordan with 300 men, pursuing the Midian kings.
Now if we read Judges 8,4-5:
"4 Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. 5 He said to the men of Sukkoth, “Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
Here we can see some good descriptions of the Jordan (Orange River) and then the lands on the other side of it. Succoth was such a place, east of the Jordan and North of the Jabbok, between Penuel and Shechem.
Now as you can see the location of Succoth quickly becomes somewhat Ambiguous as the scriptural Succoth seems to be used as a boundary of the outer reaches of the Promised Land (Psalm 60,6):
SoNiNi has spoken from his sanctuary: “In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.
So we can see here, we need to set the Borders of the Outer Reaches of the Promised Lands, meaning it would not be too far across the River Jordan that we believe to be the Orange River. Moreover, to support this, we can find something in Joshua describing the lands of Gad (Joshua 13,25-27):
25 The territory of Jazer, all the towns of Gilead and half the Ammonite country as far as Aroer, near Rabbah; 26 and from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the territory of Debir; 27 and in the valley, Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Sukkoth and Zaphon with the rest of the realm of Sihon king of Heshbon (the east side of the Jordan, the territory up to the end of the Sea of Galilee).
And we can see that Succoth did become part of the territory given to The Tribe of Gad (Joshua 13,28), AND we are indeed missing a Sea of Galilee. We can also see that in the area in question will be a valley, as it is called the Valley of Succoth a couple of places in our Bibles.
Now on Gideons Day, the Men of Succoth refused to show Gideons men any hospitality as they were chasing the Midianites (Judges 8,4-6):
4 Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. 5 He said to the men of Sukkoth, “Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
6 But the officials of Sukkoth said, “Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?”
Turning soldiers fighting for your lands, in times of war, would be unthinkable back then. Like turning away a family member at your door in times of need. Very not African, in most southern African cultures there are strict rules for how to treat even strangers at your doorstep. Unless, and this is for this day and age they are paras, then you can use whatever judgment SoNiNi has bestowed upon you. But men fighting for you and your family, you cannot turn down. And this is why Gideon gave them a harsh curse for the People of Succoth (and as we shall see Peniel did the same), for their inhospitable nature (Judges 8,7-9):
7 Then Gideon replied, “Just for that, when SoNiNi has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”
8 From there he went up to Peniel and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth had. 9 So he said to the men of Peniel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.”
So this is what Gideon did to both Succoth and Peniel (Judges 8,15-17):
15 Then Gideon came and said to the men of Sukkoth, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, ‘Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’” 16 He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Sukkoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers. 17 He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.
We can see here times were indeed different. These were men of principle if nothing else, the men of Peniel was ended right then and there. And Gideon made quite the example here for both Succoth and Peniel. Moving on, as another identifying point for Succoth would be its notable clay soil, it was heavy with clay, and the Soil near Succoth was used to make molds for the bronze items needed for King Solomons Temple (I Kings 7,46). We can find in that piece of Scripture lots of bronze items like Giant pillars, basins, stands, 12 Bulls, pots, shovels and bowls (I Kings 7,41-46). Go ahead and check it.
Now the last location on Jacobs journeys in this article, is Shechem. Jacob purchased land at Shechem and made for himself a dwelling. And this was in the land of Kanaan (Genesis 33,18-20):
"18 After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. 19 For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. 20 There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel."
So we can read that Hamor, the father of Shechem, charged 100 pieces of silver for the land. And Jacob called it El Elohe. Now close to Shechem there is supposedly two Biblical mountains very close, Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, which were close to Samaria. Shechem means Shoulder in ancient Hebrew, so this could mean it would be nestled in between two mountains. We have an article called Mountains of Judah coming out, we will look for these two there.
Now Shechem was a place of Promise and commitment, and we can find it first mentioned in Genesis 12,6-9:
6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 SoNiNi appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to SoNiNi, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to SoNiNi and called on the name of SoNiNi.
9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.
We see here that it was the first location Abram stopped at, by the Tree of Moreh, he received SoNiNis Promise. We can also see the short proximity that Egypt did have to these lands, so modern Egypt is just too far away as we can see according to Scripture. Abraham got there rather quickly before he set out for the Desert of the Negev or the Desert of the South (Kalahari).
Now Shechem later became part of Israel, meaning it would likely be on the far side of the River Jordan, it given to the Kohathites and became a city for the Levites (Joshua 21,20-21). Josephs bones are buried here (Joshua 24,32) and for a short time, this was the Capital of the Northern Kingdom (I Kings 21,1). As a place of commitment, this place would remind of SoNiNis promise to Abraham. And if we go to Deuteronomy, we can see that before entering Kanaan, The People were instructed to pronounce blessings and curses of the Law on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal (Deuteronomy 11,26-30).
So, Shechem was a place for commitments, SoNiNi reminded The People of the Covenant, the first one made to Abraham. And later before they even entered Kanaan, as they were given instructions at the two Peaks nearby, Gerizim and Ebal. A Renewal of Promise also happened at Shechem when Joshua gathered the men to go forth and follow SoNiNi (Joshua 24,1 and Chapter 14-15). So we have promise, commitment but also Worship. Remember Abram built an altar there to SoNiNi (Genesis 12,7). Jacob also built an altar at Shechem, which we remember he called El Elohe (Genesis 33,18-20), a holy city that has remained to this day.
So as much as Shechem was called promise and commitment, there was also sin committed there. We know the certain Hivite (Khoekhoe) chieftain named Hamor was the father of Shechem. And this man Shechem raped Jacobs daughter Dinah. This resulted in Jacobs two sons Simon and Levi - avenging her rape by killing ALL the MEN in the city, including the father and son Hamor and Shechem (Genesis 34,1-29).
And if you read through that piece of Scripture, you will have come to the best part at the last, the conversations between Father and sons (Genesis 34,30-31):
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”
31 But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”
What a question to ask your father hey. But we must be moving on. So when it comes to the times of the Judges who ruled back then in the Provinces of the Promised Lands, we can find that later on the People of Shechem sided with King Abimelek, who was a son of one of Gideons concubines (Judges 9,1-6). Now Abimelek, also a black man most likely from the KhoeKhoe peoples (we know its a large epitaf kinda like saying Bantu), this King Abimelek made himself ruler over the people of Sheckehm, killing all but one of Gideons sons. This one son who remained was Jotham, who subsequently called out a curse on Abimelek (Judges 9,16-20). And in response to Shechem rejecting his rulership, Abimelek attacked the city and killed 1000 men and women (Judges 9,48-49).
Lastly in our Scripture, we can find that Shechem, which a good candidate is Seeheim or close to Seeheim in Namibia, is mentioned in The New Testament in Stephen's sermon (Acts 7,16):
16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.
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