Genesis 12:6

“And Abram passed through the land, etc.] Entering the northern part of it, as appears by his going southward, (<011209>Genesis 12:9) he went on unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh; the place afterwards called Shechem, from a prince of that name in the times of Jacob; and so it was called when Moses wrote, and therefore, by way of anticipation, calls it so here; it was about the middle of the land of Canaan, and the same with Sychar, a city of Samaria, in the times of Christ, (<430405>John 4:5). Moreh was the name of a man, from whence the plain took its name, which was near Sichem; some render it the oak of Moreh f889, perhaps the same with that in (<013504>Genesis 35:4) or a…”

“the place of Sichem--or Shechem, a pastoral valley then unoccupied (compare Gen 33:18). plain of Moreh--rather, the "terebinth tree" of Moreh, very common in Palestine, remarkable for its wide-spreading branches and its dark green foliage. It is probable that in Moreh there was a grove of these trees, whose inviting shade led Abram to choose it for an encampment.”

“- The Call of Abram 6. שׁכם shekem Shekem, “the upper part of the back.” Here it is the name of a person, the owner of this place, where afterward is built the town called at first Shekem, then Flavia Neapolis, and now Nablous. אלון 'ēlôn “the oak;” related: “be lasting, strong.” מורה môreh In Onkelos “plain;” Moreh, “archer, early rain, teacher.” Here the name of a man who owned the oak that marked the spot. In the Septuagint it is rendered ὑψηγήν hupseegeen. 8. בית־אל bēyt-'êl, Bethel, “house of God.” ים yam “sea, great river, west.” עי ‛ay, ‘Ai, “heap.” 9. נגב negeb “south.” The narrative now takes leave of the rest of the Shemites, as well as the other branches of the human…”

“12:6-7 The oak of Moreh was apparently a Canaanite shrine; fertile groves of trees were sacred to the Canaanites (cp. Isa 1:29), and Moreh means “teacher.” Abram proclaimed (Luther: “preached”) the Lord’s name beside a pagan place of worship and instruction (Gen 12:8). • Abram continued to be a blessing when he built an altar to worship God at Shechem and east of Bethel (12:8).”