Bethel
BETHEL
House of God, the name of a city west of Hai, on the confines of the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin, Gen 12:8 28:10-22, and occupying the spot where Jacob slept and had his memorable dream, the name he then gave it superseding the old name Luz, Jdg 1:23 . Thirty years after, he again pitched his tent there, Gen 35:1-15 . It was captured by Joshua, and given to Benjamin, Jos 12:9 18:22. The Ephraimites, however, expelled the Canaanites, Jdg 1:22-26 . Here the ark of the covenant, and probably the tabernacle, long remained, Jdg 20:26 1Sa 10:3 . Samuel held his court here in turn, 1Sa 7:16 . After Solomon, it became a seat of gross idolatry; Jeroboam choosing it as the place for one of his golden calves, from the sacredness previously attached to it, 1Ki 12:29 . The prophets were charged with messages against Bethel, 1Ki 13:1,2 Jer 48:13 1Sa 3:14 7:10. The first of these was fulfilled by Josiah, 2Ki 23:13 ; and the others in the later desolation of Bethel, where nothing but ruins can now be found. Its site was identified by Dr. Robinson, in the place now called Beitin. It is twelve miles from Jerusalem towards Shechem, on the southern side of a hill, with a narrow and fertile valley on the east, and the long-traveled road on the west. At the bottom of the hill are the remains of a vast stone reservoir, of an ancient Hebrew age.
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Bethel
(Hebrew: house of God).
(1) Ancient Chanaanite town formerly called Luza, situated 12 miles north of Jerusalem . Nearby Abraham twice offered sacrifice (Genesis 12 and 13). It was the scene of the vision of Jacob’s Ladder and a sacred place under the Judges where the Israelites “consulted God” (Judges 21), and where the Ark of the Covenant was probably kept for a time.
(2) The name for any dissenting chapel in England , and sometimes used as the name of a Methodist or a Baptist church.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Bethel
(Hebrew word meaning “house of God”).
An ancient Cansanitish town, twelve miles north of Jerusalem, not far from Silo on the way to Sichem. The primitive name was Luza. Abram twice offered sacrifice east of Bethel (Genesis 12:8; 13:3). In these passages the name of Bethel is used by anticipation, as it was given to the town by Jacob after his vision (Genesis 28:19). When the Israelites entered the promised land, Bethel was allotted to the tribe of Benjamin, but it was taken and occupied by the Ephraimites (Judges 1:22-26). It was a place of importance in the subsequent history. Here the Israelites in the days of the Judges were wont to consult the Lord (Judges 20:18, 26; 21:2; the phrase “in Silo” added in these texts by the Vulgate is a mistake) and the Ark of the Covenant was probably here for a time. Samuel was wont to judge in Bethel every year. After the division of the kingdoms Jeroboam desecrated the place by erecting a golden calf and introducing the Egyptian worship of Apis. This continued until Israel was led captive to Assyria (IV K., x, 29) and was frequently denounced by the prophets Osee and Amos. Shortly before his assumption, Elias visited Bethel, where there was a school of prophets (IV K., ii, 2, 3); the boys from the town mocked Eliseus on his return and were destroyed by bears (ibid., 23). One of the priests who had been carried away captive was allowed to return somewhat later and dwelt in Bethel to teach the people (IV K., xvii, 28). Great confusion of idolatrous worship sprang up, until Josias finally destroyed the altar and the high place there (IV K., xxiii, 15). After the Captivity, the Benjaminites returned to Bethel. In the time of the Macchabees, it was fortified by Bacchides. There is no mention of Bethel in the New Testament, but Josephus records that it was taken by Vespasian (Bell. Jud., IV, ix, 9). Eusebius mentions the place as a village. It is commonly identified nowadays with Beitin. The ruins of several Christian churches on the spot would indicate that in the Middle Ages it had again grown to some importance. The name “Bethel” is also read in Jos., xii, 16 and I K., xxx, 27; it is probably another name for Bethul (Joshua 19:4), a city of the tribe of Simeon, the site of which is uncertain.
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HAGER, Lexicon Biblicum, s. v.; SMITH, Hist. Geogr. of the Holy Land, 119, 250f.; 290f., 352; ZANECCHIA, La Palestine d’aujourdæhui (1890), II, 488f.; SCHENZ in Kirchenlex., s. v.
JOHN CORBETT Transcribed by the Cloistered Dominican Nuns, Monastery of the Infant Jesus, Lufkin, Texas Dedicated to the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IICopyright © 1907 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightImprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Bethel
(now Beitin). Of this locality we extract the following additional particulars from Porter’s Handbook, p. 238.
The site is surrounded by higher ground on every side except the south, and yet it is so high that from the upper part of it the dome of the great mosque in Jerusalem can be seen. The ruins of the ancient city cover the whole surface of the ridge, and are three or four acres in extent. They consist of foundations, fragments of walls, and large heaps of stones. On the highest point are the remains of a square tower; and towards the south are the walls of a Greek church, standing within the foundations of a much older edifice. Amid the ruins are about a score of low huts, rudely formed out of ancient materials. In the western valley is a cistern 314 feet by 217, constructed of massive stones. The southern side is entire, but the others are more or less ruinous. The following details are from Conder’s Tent-work in Palestine, 2, 105 sq. Bethel at the present day is one of the most desolatelooking places in Palestine; not from lack of water, for it has four good springs, but from the absence of soft soil on its rocky hills. All the neighborhood is of gray, bare stone, or white chalk. The miserable fields are fenced in with stone walls; the hovels are rudely built of stone; the hill to the east is of hard rock, with only a few scattered fig-gardens; the ancient sepulchres are cut in a low cliff, and a great reservoir south of the village is excavated in rock. The place seems as it were turned to stone, and we can well imagine that the lonely patriarch found nothing softer than a stone for the pillow under his head, when on the bare hill-side he slept, and dreamed of angels.
It is very remarkable that in this narrative the word place’ occurs in a manner which suggests that it is used with a special significance. Jacob came not to any city, but to a certain place’ (Gen 28:11), the stones of which formed his pillow. The word place’ (Makom) occurs five times in the same chapter, and the place called Bethel is distinguished specially from the neighboring city of Luz (ver. 19). The same word (Makom) is used to denote the sacred places of the Canaanites (Deu 12:2), and in the Talmud to denote the shrines held to be lawful for Israel before the Temple was built. It is thus, perhaps, a sacred place that is intended as having been Jacob’s refuge on his way; and we at once recall the altar which Abraham raised between Bethel and Ai towns which, as now identified, were only two miles apart. Abraham’s altar must have been close to the city of Luz, subsequently named from it Bethel, the House of God;’ and it was perhaps from the stones of this ancestral shrine that Jacob’s pillow was made.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Bethel
house of God. (1.) A place in Central Palestine, about 10 miles north of Jerusalem, at the head of the pass of Michmash and Ai. It was originally the royal Canaanite city of Luz (Gen. 28:19). The name Bethel was at first apparently given to the sanctuary in the neighbourhood of Luz, and was not given to the city itself till after its conquest by the tribe of Ephraim. When Abram entered Canaan he formed his second encampment between Bethel and Hai (Gen. 12:8); and on his return from Egypt he came back to it, and again “called upon the name of the Lord” (13:4). Here Jacob, on his way from Beersheba to Haran, had a vision of the angels of God ascending and descending on the ladder whose top reached unto heaven (28:10, 19); and on his return he again visited this place, “where God talked with him” (35:1-15), and there he “built an altar, and called the place El-beth-el” (q.v.). To this second occasion of God’s speaking with Jacob at Bethel, Hosea (12:4,5) makes reference.
In troublous times the people went to Bethel to ask counsel of God (Judg. 20:18, 31; 21:2). Here the ark of the covenant was kept for a long time under the care of Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron (20:26-28). Here also Samuel held in rotation his court of justice (1 Sam. 7:16). It was included in Israel after the kingdom was divided, and it became one of the seats of the worship of the golden calf (1 Kings 12:28-33; 13:1). Hence the prophet Hosea (Hos. 4:15; 5:8; 10:5, 8) calls it in contempt Beth-aven, i.e., “house of idols.” Bethel remained an abode of priests even after the kingdom of Israel was desolated by the king of Assyria (2 Kings 17:28, 29). At length all traces of the idolatries were extirpated by Josiah, king of Judah (2 Kings 23:15-18); and the place was still in existence after the Captivity (Ezra 2:28; Neh. 7:32). It has been identified with the ruins of Beitin, a small village amid extensive ruins some 9 miles south of Shiloh.
(2.) Mount Bethel was a hilly district near Bethel (Josh. 16:1; 1 Sam. 13:2).
(3.) A town in the south of Judah (Josh. 8:17; 12:16).
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Bethel
(“house of God”.)
1. Abram pitched his tent on a mountain E. of Bethel, abounding in pasture (Gen 12:8; Gen 13:3). The city, near the place, then bore the Canaanite name Luz. Bethel is the name given by anticipation to the place; appropriately so, as Abram virtually made it the “house of God.” It was expressly so named by Jacob, when he had the vision of the heavenly ladder, on his way from his father at Beersheba to Harsh (Gen 28:19; Gen 31:13). He set up a pillar, and anointed it with oil, to mark the place where God spoke with him. Bethel, the place, is expressly distinguished from Luz, the old Canaanite city. “Jacob called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of that city was called Luz at the first” (Jos 16:1-2). The naming of Bethel Jacob repeated more publicly on his return home, 20 years later, with his family purified of idols, when God again appeared to him, and confirmed his change of name to Israel (Gen 35:1-15; Gen 32:28).
Bethel belonged by lot to Benjamin, but was falcon by Ephraim (Bethel being on his southern border) through the treachery of an inhabitant (Jdg 1:22-26). It was about 12 miles N. of Jerusalem. In Jdg 20:26 translate for “the house of God” Bethel. During the civil war with Benjamin the tribes took the ark thither to consult God (compare 1Sa 10:3). It was one of Samuel’s towns of circuit for judging (1Sa 7:16). One of Jeroboam’s two sanctuaries for the calf worship, selected doubtless because of its religious associations (1 Kings 12-13). There the prophet from Judah foretold the overthrow of the calf altar by Josiah. Abijah, king of Judah, took Bethel from Jeroboam (2Ch 13:19), but it was soon recovered by Israel. Under Ahab the Baal worship at Samaria and Jezreel drew off attention from the calf worship at Bethel. This accounts for a school of prophets of Jehovah being there in Elijah’s time (2Ki 2:2-3).
The existence of “bears,” two, near the town, implies that Bethel was then less frequented (2Ki 2:23-25). Under Jehu, who restored the calf worship, and Jeroboam II his great grandson, Bethel comes again into prominence (2Ki 10:29). Bethel became the king’s chapel” (sanctuary) “the king’s court” (“house of the kingdom”) (Amo 7:13; Amo 3:14-15). More altars, besides the original one were erected. “Summer and winter houses” too, and “great houses” and “houses of ivory.” After the overthrow of Israel, the king of Assyria sent one of the Israelite priests to settle at Bethel, and teach the new settlers from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, “the manner of the god of the land,” and “how they should fear Jehovah” (2Ki 17:27-28). Josiah, as foretold, defiled the altar with dead men’s bones, but disturbed not the sepulchre of the prophet of Judab when he discerned its title. It was ordered by God that the votaries of the calf worship at Bethel never dared to violate the sepulchre and title of the prophet who denounced their idol. The worship of Jehovah and of the calves had been all along strangely blended. (See BETHAVEN.)
Among those returning from captivity were men of Bethel (Ezr 2:28; Neh 7:32; Neh 11:31.) The ruins, covering three or four acres, still bear a like name, Beitin, on a low bill, between two wadies, which unite in the main valley of es-Suweinit, toward the S.E. Bethel still abounds in stones such as Jacob used for his pillow and afterward for a sanctuary. On the round mount S.E. of Bethel. Abram doubtless built the altar, and afterwards stood with Lot when giving him his choice of the land (Gen 12:7; Gen 13:10). E. of this mount stands the ruin Tel er Rijmah, “the mound of the heap,” answering to Ai or Hai. Ritter makes Medinet Gai answer to Ai.
2. A town in southern Judah (Jos 12:16; 1Sa 30:27). Bethel in Jos 19:4 answers to Chesil in Jos 15:30. Bethuel, 1Ch 4:30. Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho under the curse (1Ki 16:34).
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
BETHEL
When Abraham entered Canaan, one of his main camping places was near Bethel, in the hill country west of the lower Jordan. There he built an altar, and there he later returned after a time in Egypt (Gen 12:8; Gen 13:3).
In those days the town was known by its Canaanite name, Luz. It was renamed Bethel (i.e. house of God) by Jacob, after he had a remarkable dream that made him feel he was in the dwelling place of God. From that time on, God was, to Jacob, the God of Bethel. Many years later he returned to Bethel to fulfil vows he made on the night of his dream (Gen 28:11-22; Gen 31:13; Gen 35:6-7).
Bethel, along with other towns and villages of central Canaan, fell to Israel at the time of Joshuas conquest. When Canaan was divided among Israels tribes, Bethel was on the border between Ephraim and Benjamin. It was allotted to Benjamin, but was occupied by Ephraim (Jos 8:9; Jos 16:1; Jos 18:11-13; Jos 18:21-22; Jdg 1:23; 1Ch 7:20; 1Ch 7:28; for map see BENJAMIN).
For a brief period after the conquest, the ark of the covenant was kept at Bethel (Jdg 20:18; Jdg 20:27-28). Bethel was an important religious and administrative centre in the time of Samuel and a school for prophets was established there. The school was still functioning in the time of Elijah and Elisha (1Sa 7:16; 1Sa 10:3; 2Ki 2:3; 2Ki 2:23).
When the Israelite kingdom split into two, Jeroboam, king of the breakaway northern kingdom, set up golden idols at Dan and Bethel, the northern and southern border towns of his kingdom. The idolatry of Bethel, which Gods prophets repeatedly denounced, was the reason why the altar and the town were eventually destroyed (1Ki 12:28-33; 1Ki 13:1-3; 2Ki 23:15-20; Jer 48:13; Amo 3:14; Amo 4:4; Amo 5:5; Amo 7:10-13).
With the rebuilding of Israel after the captivity, Bethel again became a settlement (Neh 11:31). It still existed in the time of Christ, though it is not mentioned in the New Testament.
Fuente: Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
Bethel
BETHEL.1. On a rocky knoll beside the great road to the north, about 12 miles from Jerusalem, stands the modern Beiln, a village of some 400 inhabitants, which represents the ancient Bethel. Four springs furnish good water, and in ancient times they were supplemented by a reservoir hewn in the rock, south of the town. Luz was the original name of the town. The name Bethel was first applied to the stone which Jacob set up and anointed (Gen 28:22). See Pillar. But the place (Gen 28:11 etc.) was evidently one with holy associations. It was visited by Abraham, who sacrificed here (Gen 12:8). This may have induced Jacob to come hither on his way to the north, and again on his return from Paddan-aram. From an eminence to the east almost the whole extent of the plains of Jericho is visible. This may have been the scene of Lots selfish choice (Gen 13:1-18). Bethel in the end prevailed over Luz, and the town came to be known by the name of the sanctuary, the neighbourhood of which lent it distinction.
Bethel, a royal Canaanite city (Jos 12:16), fell to Benjamin in the division of the land (Jos 18:22), but he failed to make good his possession. It was finally taken by Ephraim (Jdg 1:22, 1Ch 7:28). Hither the ark was brought from Gilgal (Jdg 20:18 LXX [Note: Septuagint.] ), and Bethel was resorted to as a place of sacrifice (1Sa 10:3). The prophetess Deborah dwelt between Bethel and Ramah (Jdg 4:5). In judging Israel, Samuel went from year to year in circuit to Bethel (1Sa 7:10). No doubt the ancient sanctity of the place led Jeroboam to choose Bethel as the site of the rival shrine, which he hoped might counteract the influence of the house of the Lord at Jerusalem (1Ki 12:26 ff.). It became the great sanctuary of the Northern Kingdom, and the centre of the idolatrous priests who served in the high places (1Ki 12:32 ff.). At Bethel, Jeroboam was denounced by the man of God out of Judah (1Ki 13:19). It was one of the towns taken from Jeroboam by Abijah king of Judah (2Ch 13:19). It is noteworthy that Elijah is silent regarding the calf-worship at Bethel; and that a school of the prophets, apparently in sympathy with him, flourished there (2Ki 2:2 f.). But the denunciations of Amos (2Ki 3:14, 2Ki 4:4, 2Ki 5:5 etc.) and Hosea (Hos 4:15; Hos 5:8 etc.) lack nothing in vehemence. The priest resided at Bethel, who was brought by the king of Assyria to teach the mixed peoples, who lived in the country during the Exile, the manner of the God of the land (2Ki 17:29 ff.). Bethel was reoccupied by the returning exiles (Ezr 2:28 etc.). We find it in the hands of Bacchides (1Ma 9:50). It was one of the towns in the mountains taken by Vespasian in his march on Jerusalem (Jos. [Note: Josephus.] BJ IV. ix. 9).
2. A town in Judah, not identified, called in different places, Bethul, Bethel, and Bethuel (Jos 19:4, 1Sa 30:27, 1Ch 4:30).
W. Ewing.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Bethel
bethel (, beth-‘el; , Baithel and , okos theou, literally, house of God):
(1) A town near the place where Abraham halted and offered sacrifice on his way south from Shechem.
1. Identification and Description
It lay West of Ai (Gen 12:8). It is named as on the northern border of Benjamin (the southern of Ephraim, Jos 16:2), at the top of the ascent from the Jordan valley by way of Ai (Jos 18:13). It lay South of Shiloh (Jdg 21:19). Eusebius, Onomasticon places it 12 Roman miles from Jerusalem, on the road to Neapolis. It is represented by the modern Beitn, a village of some 400 inhabitants, which stands on a knoll East of the road to Nablus. There are four springs which yield supplies of good water. In ancient times these were supplemented by a reservoir hewn in the rock South of the town. The surrounding country is bleak and barren, the hills being marked by a succession of stony terraces, which may have suggested the form of the ladder in Jacob’s famous dream.
2. The Sanctuary
The town was originally called Luz (Gen 28:19, etc.). When Jacob came hither on his way to Paddan-aram we are told that he lighted upon the place (Gen 28:11. Hebrew). The Hebrew makom, like the cognate Arabic makam, denotes a sacred place or sanctuary. The makom was doubtless that at which Abraham had sacrificed, East of the town. In the morning Jacob set up for a pillar the stone which had served as his pillow (Gen 28:18; see PILLAR – maccebhah), poured oil upon it and called the name of the place Bethel, house of God; that is, of God whose epiphany was for him associated with the pillar. This spot became a center of great interest, lending growing importance to the town. In process of time the name Luz disappeared, giving place to that of the adjoining sanctuary, town and sanctuary being identified. Jacob revisited the place on his return from Paddan-aram; here Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak (Gen 35:6 f). Probably on rising ground East of Bethel Abraham and Lot stood to view the uninviting highlands and the rich lands of the Jordan valley (Gen 13:9).
3. History
Bethel was a royal city of the Canaanites (Jos 12:16). It appears to have been captured by Joshua (Jos 8:7), and it was allotted to Benjamin (Jos 18:22). In Jdg 1:22 it is represented as held by Canaanites, from whom the house of Joseph took it by treachery (compare 1Ch 7:28). Hither the ark was brought from Gilgal (Jdg 2:1, Septuagint). Israel came to Bethel to consult the Divine oracle (Jdg 20:18), and it became an important center of worship (1Sa 10:3). The home of the prophetess Deborah was not far off (Jdg 4:5). Samuel visited Bethel on circuit, judging Israel (1Sa 7:16).
With the disruption of the kingdom came Bethel’s greatest period of splendor and significance. To counteract the influence of Jerusalem as the national religious center Jeroboam embarked on the policy which won for him the unenviable reputation of having made Israel to sin. Here he erected a temple, set up an image, the golden calf, and established an imposing ritual. It became the royal sanctuary and the religious center of his kingdom (1Ki 12:29; Amo 7:13). He placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made (1Ki 12:32). To Bethel came the man of God from Judah who pronounced doom against Jeroboam (1 Ki 13), and who, having been seduced from duty by an aged prophet in Bethel, was slain by a lion. According to the prophets Amos and Hosea the splendid idolatries of Bethel were accompanied by terrible moral and religious degradation. Against the place they launched the most scathing denunciations, declaring the vengeance such things must entail (Amo 3:14; Amo 4:4; Amo 5:11 m; Amo 9:1; Hos 4:15; Hos 5:8; Hos 10:5, Hos 10:8, 23). With the latter the name Bethel gives place in mockery to Beth-aven. Bethel shared in the downfall of Samaria wrought by the Assyrians; and according to an old tradition, Shalmaneser possessed himself of the golden calf (compare Jer 48:13). The priest, sent by the Assyrians to teach the people whom they had settled in the land how to serve Yahweh, dwelt in Bethel (2Ki 17:28). King Josiah completed the demolition of the sanctuary at Bethel, destroying all the instruments of idolatry, and harr ying the tombs of the idolaters. The monument of the man of God from Judah he allowed to stand (2Ki 23:4, 2Ki 23:25). The men of Bethel were among those who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:28; Neh 7:32), and it is mentioned as reoccupied by the Benjamites (Neh 11:31). Zechariah (Zec 7:2) records the sending of certain men from Jerusalem in the 4th year of King Darius to inquire regarding particular religious practices. Bethel was one of the towns fortified by Bacchides in the time of the Maccabees (1 Macc 9:50; Ant, XIII, i, 3). It is named again as a small town which, along with Ephraim, was taken by Vespasian as he approached Jerusalem (BJ, IV, ix, 9).
(2) A city in Judah which in 1Sa 30:27 is called Bethel; in Jos 19:4 Bethul; and in 1Ch 4:30 Bethuel. The site has not been identified. In Jos 15:30 Septuagint gives Baithel in Judah, where the Hebrew has Kesl – probably a scribal error.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Bethel
Bethel, originally Luz, an ancient town which Eusebius places 12 R. miles north of Jerusalem, on the right hand of the road to Shechem, Jacob rested here one night on his way to Padan Aram, and commemorated the vision with which he was favored by erecting and pouring oil upon the stone which had served him for a pillow, and giving to the place the name of Bethel (place or house of God), which eventually superseded the more ancient designation of Luz (Gen 28:11-19). Under that name it is mentioned proleptically with reference to the earlier time of Abraham (Gen 12:8; Gen 13:3). After his prosperous return, Bethel became a favorite station with Jacob: here he built an altar, buried Deborah, received the name of Israel (for the second time), and promises of blessing; and here also he accomplished the vow which he had made on his going forth (Gen 35:1-15; comp. 32:28, and 28:20-22). It seems not to have been a town in those early times; but at the conquest of the land, Bethel is mentioned as the royal city of the Canaanites (Jos 12:9). It became a boundary town of Benjamin towards Ephraim (Jos 18:22), and was actually conquered by the latter tribe from the Canaanites (Jdg 1:22-26). At this place, already consecrated in the time of the patriarchs, the ark of the covenant was apparently for a long while, deposited [ARK OF THE COVENANT], and probably the tabernacle also (Jdg 20:26; comp. 1Sa 10:3). It was also one of the places at which Samuel held in rotation his court of justice (1Sa 7:16). After the separation of the kingdoms Bethel was included in that of Israel, which seems to show, that although originally in the formal distribution assigned to Benjamin, it had been actually possessed by Ephraim in right of conquest from the Canaaniteswhich might have been held by that somewhat unscrupulous tribe to determine the right of possession to a place of importance close on their own frontier. Jeroboam made it the southern seat (Dan being the northern) of the worship of the golden calves; and it seems to have been the chief seat of that worship (1Ki 12:28-33; 1Ki 13:1). This appropriation, however, completely desecrated Bethel in the estimation of the orthodox Jews; and the prophets name it with abhorrence and contempteven applying to it the name of Bethaven (house of idols) instead Bethel (house of God) (Amo 1:5; Hos 4:15; Hos 5:8; Hos 10:5; Hos 10:8). The town was taken from Jeroboam by Abijah, king of Judah (2Ch 13:19); but it again reverted to Israel (2Ki 10:29). After the Israelites were carried away captive by the Assyrians, all traces of this illegal worship were extirpated by Josiah, king of Judah, who thus fulfilled a prophecy made to Jeroboam 350 years before (2Ki 13:1-2; 2Ki 23:15-18). The place was still in existence after the Captivity, and was in the possession of the Benjamites (Ezr 2:28; Neh 7:32). In the time of the Maccabees Bethel was fortified by Bacchides for the king of Syria. It is not named in the New Testament; but it still existed, and was taken by Vespasian. It is described by Eusebius and Jerome as a small village; and this is the last notice of it as an inhabited place. Bethel and its name were believed to have perished until within these few years; when it has been identified with Beitin, the situation of which corresponds very exactly with the position assigned to the ancient Bethel. The ruins, which are considerable, lie upon the point of a low hill, between the heads of two shallow wadys which unite below, and run off into a deep and rugged valley. The spot is shut in by higher land on every side.
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Bethel
[Beth’-el]
1. Name, signifying ‘house of God,’ given to the place where God first appeared to Jacob in a dream. It led him to say, “Surely the Lord is in this place . . . . this is none other but the house of God . . . . and he called the name of that place Beth-el.” Gen 28:16-19. God thus gave to Jacob the apprehension that the house of God on earth – the gate of heaven – was to be connected with him and his seed, and afterwards God acknowledged the place and the name, saying, “I am the God of Beth-el,” Gen 31:13. To take Jacob out of a false position God bade him go up to Beth-el and dwell there, and Jacob felt he must take no idols there, so he told his household to put away the strange gods from among them, to be clean, and to change their garments. “He built there an altar and called the place El-beth-el; ” and there God met him, revealed His name to him, and confirmed the change of his name to Israel (cf. Gen 32:28-29), blessed him, and renewed His promises. Gen 35:1-16.
It was afterwards conquered and given to Benjamin. Jos 12:9; Jos 18:22; Jdg 1:22. Apparently the tabernacle was pitched at Shiloh near Bethel, for Israel went there to inquire of God, and Samuel told Saul that he should meet three men “going up to God to Beth-el.” Jdg 21:19; 1Sa 10:3. At the division of the kingdom Beth-el fell to Israel, and Jeroboam set up there one of the golden calves to prevent the Israelites going to Jerusalem to worship. An altar was erected and sacrifices offered to the idol; but it was condemned by a man of God, and the altar was rent. 1Ki 12:29-33; 1Ki 13:1-32; Amo 7:10; Amo 7:13. There were sons of the prophets dwelling at Beth-el, 2Ki 2:3, but the idolatrous altar was not destroyed until the days of Josiah. 2Ki 23:4; 2Ki 23:15; 2Ki 23:17; 2Ki 23:19. Among those who returned from exile were men of Beth-el, and the place was again inhabited. Ezr 2:28; Neh 7:32; Neh 11:31. See also Hos 10:15; Hos 12:4; Amo 3:14; Amo 4:4; Amo 5:5-6.
The city had been originally named Luz. It is now identified with Beitin, 31 56′ N, 35 14′ E, some 10 miles north of Jerusalem. It stands on a rocky ridge between two valleys, but has higher ground on each side except the south. Amo 5:5 said it should ‘come to nought,’ and now amid the scattered ruins are about 20 houses roughly formed out of the old materials. ‘MOUNT BETH-EL’ occurs in Jos 16:1; 1Sa 13:2. See BETH-AVEN.
2. This name, found in Jos 12:16 (not that in Jos 12:9) and 1Sa 30:27, is probably a different place from the preceding because of the names associated with it, and was farther south. It is probably the same as Bethul, Bethuel. In the latter reference the LXX (Vat.) read Baethsur.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Bethel
Bethel (bth’l), house of God. Jos 18:13. 1. A town about twelve miles north of Jerusalem. It was visited by Abraham, Gen 12:8; Gen 13:3; marked by Jacob after his vision of the ladder, Gen 28:11-19; Gen 31:13; dwelling-place of Jacob, Gen 35:1-8; name applied to Luz, Jdg 1:22-23. See Jos 16:2; Gen 28:19; Samuel judged there, 1Sa 7:16; a place of calf-worship, 1Ki 12:29; 2Ki 10:29; called Beth-aveni.e., “house of idols,” Hos 10:5 (in verse 8 simply Aven); taken by Judah, 2Ch 13:19; home of prophets, 2Ki 2:2-3; of a priest, 2Ki 17:28; 2Ki 23:15; 2Ki 23:19; was desolate, Amo 3:14; Amo 5:5-6; settled by Benjamites after the captivity, Neh 11:31; named about seventy times in the Old Testament; not noticed in the New Testament; now called Beitin (nine miles south of Shiloh), a village of about 25 Moslem hovels, standing amid ruins which cover about four acres.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Bethel
Beth’el. (the house of God). Well known city and holy place of central Palestine, about 12 mlles north of Jerusalem. If we are to accept the precise definition, Gen 12:8, the name of Bethel would appear to have existed at this spot, even before the arrival of Abram in Canaan. Gen 12:8; Gen 13:3-4. Bethel was the scene of Jacob’s vision. Gen 28:11-19; Gen 31:13. Jacob lived there. Gen 35:1-8. The original name was Luz. Jdg 1:22-23.
After the conquest, Bethel is frequently heard of. In the troubled times, when there was no king in Israel, it was to Bethel that the people went up in their distress, to ask counsel of God. Jdg 20:18; Jdg 20:26; Jdg 20:31; Jdg 21:2. Authorized Version, “house of God”. Here was the Ark of the Covenant. Jdg 20:26-28; Jdg 21:4.
Later, it is named as one of the holy cities to which Samuel went, on circuit. 1Sa 7:16. Here, Jeroboab placed one of the two calves of gold. Toward the end of Jeroboam’s life, Bethel fell into the hands of Judah. 2Ch 13:19. Elijah visited Bethel, and we hear of “sons of the prophets” as resident there. 2Ki 2:2-3.
But, after the destruction of Baal worship by Jehu, Bethel comes once more into view. 2Ki 10:29. After the desolation of the northern kingdom, by the king of Assyria, Bethel still remained an abode of priests. 2Ki 17:27-28. In later times, Bethel is named only once under the scarcely-altered name of Beitin. Its ruins still lie on the righthand side of the road from Jerusalem to Nablus.
1. A town in the south part of Judah, named in Jos 12:16 and 1Sa 30:27. In Jos 15:30; Jos 19:4; 1Ch 4:29-30, the place appears under the name of Chesil, Bethul and Bethuel. Hiel, the Bethelite, is recorded as the rebuilder of Jericho. 1Ki 16:34.
2. In Jos 16:1 and 1Sa 13:2, Mount Bethel, a hilly section near Beth-el, is referred to.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Bethel
a city which lay to the west of Ai, about eight miles to the north of Jerusalem, in the confines of the tribe of Ephraim and Benjamin. Here Jacob slept and had his vision. The name of this city had formerly been Luz, which signifies an almond, and was probably so called from the number of almond trees which grew in those parts. See JACOB.
Fuente: Biblical and Theological Dictionary
Bethel
Gen 28:19 (c) The meaning of the word is “The House of GOD.”
It is used as a type of GOD making Himself known to His people, revealing His loving care, and His mighty power. The Christian should always be dwelling in “Bethel” in the conscious presence of GOD. (See also Gen 31:13).