Genesis 33:18

Jacob came to Shalem. In considering shalem a place name the KJV follows the LXX, the Vulgate, and other later versions. The word is, however, an adverb signifying “peacefully” or “safely,” and is equivalent to the phrase “in peace” of ch. 28:21, to which it seems to be an allusion. What Jacob had requested as he made his vow at Bethel 20 years before was now fulfilled (PP 204). He had returned to the land of his nativity.

A city of Shechem. If shalem is taken as the name of a place, then Shechem would refer to the person of v. 19 and ch. 34:2, the son of Hamor the Hivite. But if shalem means “whole,” or “safe and sound,” the clause should be rendered, “Jacob came safely [safe and sound] to the city of Shechem.” It is not necessary to assume that Shechem received its name from Shechem, the son of Hamor, since it was already in existence as a town in Abraham’s time (ch. 12:6). An Egyptian inscription describes a military campaign against the city in the 19th century B.C. It is more likely that Shechem, the son of Hamor, was named after the city.