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My question is somewhat related to the post, Was the cave of Abraham in Shechem or Hebron?

However, in that post, the question revolved around whether the Patriarchs were buried in Hebron or Shechem. I don't want to argue about that point, and my question, although based on the same text, is on a different matter.

In Acts 7:15-16, Stephen claims that Abraham bought a tomb in Shechem where (at least) the Patriarchs are buried. Now, Genesis 33:19 and Joshua 24:32 make it clear that Jacob bought a piece of land in Shechem, where Joseph's remains were buried. However, the Old Testament has no account of Abraham's buying a tomb in Shechem. This leads me to the specific question: Supposing that the passage quoted from the Acts does reflect Stephen's words, where did Stephen get the information that Abraham bought a tomb at Shechem?

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    – Lee Woofenden
    Commented Sep 26, 2015 at 0:11
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    I understand your argument for why this isn't a duplicate, but any answer to that question will necessitate a certain answer to this one. For instance, if you accept my answer to that question, then the answer to this one is "n/a" (since it means that Stephen didn't actually believe Abraham bought a tomb at Schechem) and if you accept Shem's answer to that one, then it means that he knew from the Samaritan Pentateuch.
    – Mr. Bultitude
    Commented Sep 26, 2015 at 1:25
  • As regards your answer that Stephen was somewhat "telescoping" different events, it doesn't really convince me as an explanation of verse 16. In my opinion, the argument of "telescoping" might make sense for verse 2 or 7 but verse 16 is somewhat different: here, Stephen doesn't successively relate two distant events as if they were simultaneous. He does bring about the idea that Abraham bought a tomb in Shechem, even if it's not his main point. Concerning Shem's answer, as you have commented, the Samaritan Pentateuch doesn't support the claim that Abraham bought a cave in Shechem.
    – Henry Williamson
    Commented Sep 27, 2015 at 22:25

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