SYCHAR

(Syʹchar).

A city of Samaria and the site of Jacob’s fountain. It was “near the field that Jacob gave to Joseph his son” in the vicinity of Shechem. (Joh 4:5, 6; compare Jos 24:32.) The Syriac Sinaitic codex has “Sychem” instead of “Sychar.” However, the best Greek manuscripts support the reading “Sychar.” Certain early non-Biblical writers distinguish between Shechem and Sychar; others do not. Recent excavations have led some to identify Sychar tentatively with the village of ʽAskar, 0.7 km (0.4 mi) NNE of Jacob’s fountain and about 1 km (0.6 mi) NE of Shechem.