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Beer – Bezer In The Wilderness
Page 8 of 82
Beer
(a well).
1. One of the latest halting-places of the Israelites, lying beyond the Arnon. () This is possibly the BEER-ELIM of ()
2. A place to which Jotham, the son of Gideon, fled for fear of his brother Abimelech. ()
Beera
(a well), son of Zophah, of the tribe of Asher. () (B.C. after 1450.)
Beerah
prince of the Reubenites, carried away by Tiglath-pileser. () (B.C. 738).
Beerelim
(well of heroes), a spot named in () as on the "border of Moab." () comp.
Beeri
1. The father of Judith, one of the wives of Esau. () [ANAH] (B.C. 1797.)
2. Father of the prophet Hosea. () (B.C. before 725.)
Beerlahairoi
(a well of the living), a living spring, Authorized Version, fountain, comp. () between Kadesh and Bered, in the wilderness. ()
Beeroth
(wells), one of the four cities of the Hivites who deluded Joshua into a treaty of peace with them. () It is now el-Bireh , which stands about 10 miles north of Jerusalem.
Beeroth Of The Children Of Jaakan
the wells of the tribe of Bene-Jaakan, which formed one of the halting-places of the Israelites in the desert. (10:6) In () the name is given as BENE-JAAKAN only.
Beersheba, Or Beersheba
(well of the oath), the name of one of the old places in Palestine which formed the southern limit of the country. There are two accounts of the origin of the name. According to the first, the well was dug by Abraham, and the name given to Judah, () and then to Simeon, (; ) In the often-quoted "from Dan even unto Beersheba," () it represents the southern boundary of Canaan, as Dan the northern. In the time of Jerome it was still a considerable place, and still retains its ancient name --Bir es-Seba . There are at present on the spot two principal wells and five smaller ones. The two principal wells are on or close to the northern bank of the Wady es-Seba . The larger of the two, which lies to the east, is, according to Dr. Robinson, 12 1/2 feet in diameter, and at the time of his visit (April 12) was 44 1/2 feet to the surface of the water. The masonry which encloses the well extends downward 28 1/2 feet. The other well is 5 feet in diameter, and was 42 feet to the water. The curb-stones around the mouth of both wells are worn into deep grooves by the action of the ropes of so many centures. These wells are in constant use today. The five lesser wells are in a group in the bed of the wady. On some low hills north of the large wells are scattered the foundations and ruins of a town of moderate size.
Beeshterah
(house of Ashterah), one of the two cities allotted to the sons of Gershon out of the tribe of Manasseh beyond Jordan. () Probably identical with Ashtaroth. ()
Beetle
[LOCUST]
Beeves
Same as cattle. () [See BULL, BULLOCK]
Beggar, Begging
The poor among the Hebrews were much favored. They were allowed to glean in the fields, and to gather whatever the land produced in the year in which it was not tilled (; ,; ) They were also invited to feasts. (14:29) and The Israelite could not be an absolute pauper. His land was in alienable, except for a certain term, when it reverted to him or his posterity. And if this resource were insufficient, he could pledge the services of himself and family or a valuable sum. Those who were indigent through bodily infirmities were usually taken care of by their kindred. A beggar was sometimes seen, however, and was regarded and abhorred as a vagabond. () In later times beggars were accustomed, it would seem, to have a fixed place at the corners of the streets, () or at the gates of the temple, () or of private houses, ()
Behemoth
(great beasts). There can be little or no doubt that by this word, () the hippopotamus is intended since all the details descriptive of the behemoth accord entirely with the ascertained habits of that animal. The hippopotamus is an immense creature having a thick and square head, a large mouth often two feet broad, small eyes and ears, thick and heavy body, short legs terminated by four toes, a short tail, skin without hair except at the extremity of the tail. It inhabits nearly the whole of Africa, and has been found of the length of 17 feet. It delights in the water, but feeds on herbage on land. It is not found in Palestine, but may at one time have been a native of western Asia.
Bekah
[WEIGHTS AND MEASURES AND MEASURES]
Bel
[BAAL]
Bela
(destruction).
1. One of the five cities of the plain which was spared at the intercession of Lot, and received the name of Zoar, (; ) [ZOAR]
2. Son of Beor, who reigned over Edom in the city of Dinhabah, eight generations before Saul. (; ,)
3. Eldest son of Benjamin, according to () (Authorized Version "Belah"); (,; ; ) and head of the family of the Belaites.
4. Son of Ahaz, a Reubenite. ()
Belah
[BELA, 3]
Belaites, The
() [BELA, 3]
Belial
The meaning of this word as found in the Scriptures is worthlessness , and hence reckless, lawlessness. The expression son or man of Belial must be understood as meaning simply a worthless, lawless fellow. The term as used in () is generally understood as an appellative of Satan, as the personification of all that was bad.
Bellows
The word occurs only in () where it denotes an instrument to heat a smelting furnace. Wilkinson in "Ancient Egypt," iii. 338, says, "They consisted of a leather, secured and fitted into a frame, from which a long pipe extended for carrying the wind to the fire. They were worked by the feet, the operator standing upon them, with one under each foot, and pressing them alternately, while he pulled up each exhausted skin with a string he held in his hand."
Bells
In () the bells alluded to were the golden ones 72 in number, round the hem of the his priest’s ephod. The object of them was so that his sound might be heard." () Ecclus. 45:9. To this day bells are frequently attached, for the sake of their pleasant sound, to the anklets of women. The little girls of Cairo wear strings of them around their feet. In () "bells of the horses" were concave or flat pieces of brass, which were sometimes attached to horses for the sake of ornament.
Belshazzar
(prince of Bel), the last king of Babylon. In () Nebuchadnezzar is called the father of Belshazzar. This, of course, need only mean grandfather or ancestor. According to the well-known narrative Belshazzar gave a splendid feast in his palace during the siege of Babylon (B.C. 538), using the sacred vessels of the temple, which Nebuchadnezzer had brought from Jerusalem. The miraculous appearance of the handwriting on the wall, the calling in of Daniel to interpret its meaning the prophecy of the overthrow of the kingdom, and Belshazsar’s death, accorded in
Belteshazzar
(favored by Bel .) [DANIEL, DANIEL, THE BOOK OF]
Ben
(son), a Levite, one of the porters appointed by David for the ark. ()
Benaiah
(made by the Lord).
1. The son of Jehoiada the chief priest, () of the tribe of Levi, though a native of Kabzeel, () set by David, () over his body-guard. (; ; ; ) One of the mighty men. (,; ; ) The exploits which gave him this rank are narrated in (,; ) He was captain of the host for the third month. () Benaiah remained faithful to Solomon during Adonijah’s attempt on the crown, (,,,,) and was raised unto the place of Joab as commander-in-chief of the whole army. (; ) (B.C. 1005.)
2. Benaiah the Pirathonite, an Ephraimite, one of David’s thirty mighty men, (; ) and the captain of the eleventh monthly course. ()
3. A Levite in the time of David, who "played with a psaltry on Alamoth." (,; )
4. A priest in the time of David, appointed to blow the trumpet before the ark. (; )
5. A Levite of the sons of Asaph. ()
6. A Levite in the time of Hezekiah. ()
7. One of the "princes" of the families of Simeon. ()
8. Four laymen in the time of Ezra who had taken strange wives. (,,,)
9. The father of Pelatiah. (,)
Benammi
(son of my people), the son of the younger daughter of Lot, and progenitor of the Ammonites. () (B.C. 1897.)
Beneberak
(son of lightning), one of the cities of the tribe of Dan, mentioned only in ()
Benejaakan
(sons of Jaakan), a tribe who gave their name to certain wells in the desert which formed one of the halting-places of the Israelites on their journey to Canaan. [BEEROTH OF THE CHILDREN OF JAAKAN BENE-JAAKAN] Also given in () as AKAN.
Benekedem
(the children of the East), an appellation given to a people or to peoples dwelling to the east of Palestine. It occurs in (; ,; ; ; )
Benhadad
(son of Hadad), the name of three kings of Damascus. BENHADAD I., King of Damascus, which in his time was supreme in Syria. He made an alliance with Asa, and conquered a great part of the north of Israel. () His date is B.C. 950. BEN-HADAD II., son of the preceding, and also king of Damascus. Long wars with Israel characterized his reign. Some time after the death of Ahab, Benhadad renewed the war with Israel, attacked Samaria a second time, and pressed the siege so closely that there was a terrible famine in the city. But the Syrians broke up in the night in consequence of a sudden panic. Soon after Ben-hadad fell sick, and sent Hazael to consult Elisha as to the issue of his malady. On the day after Hazael’s return Ben-hadad was murdered, probably by some of his own servants. () Ben-hadad’s death was about B.C. 890, and he must have reigned some 30 years. BEN-HADAD III., son of Hazael, and his successor on the throne of Syria. When he succeeded to the throne, Jehoash recovered the cities which Jehoahaz had lost to the Syrians, and beat him in Aphek. (,) The date of Ben-hadad III is B.C. 840.
Benhail
(son of the host, strong), one of the princes whom King Jehoshaphat sent to teach in the cities of Judah. ()
Benhanan
(son of the gracious), son of Shimon, in the line of Judah. ()
Beninu
(our son), a Levite; one of those who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. (,)
Benjamin
(son of the right hand, fortunate).
1. The youngest of the children of Jacob. His birth took place on the road between Bethel and Bethlehem, near the latter, B.C. 1729. His mother, Rachel, died in the act of giving him birth, naming him with her last breath Ben-oni (son of my sorrow). This was by Jacob changed into Benjamin. (,) Until the journeys of Jacob’s sons and Jacob himself into Egypt we hear nothing of Benjamin. Nothing personal is known of him. Henceforward the history of Benjamin is the history of the tribe.
2. A man of the tribe of Benjamin, son of bilhan, and the head of a family of warriors. ()
3. One of the "sons of Harim," an Israelite in the time of Ezra who had married a foreign wife. ()
Benjamin, High Gate Or Gate Of
(; ; ; ) [JERUSALEM]
Benjamin, The Land Of
The proximity of Benjamin to Ephraim during the march to the promised land was maintained in the territory allotted to each. That given to Benjamin formed almost a parallelogram, of about 26 miles in length by 12 in breadth, lying between Ephraim, the Jordan, Judah and Dan. The general level of this part of Palestine is not less than 2000 feet above the Mediterranean or than 3000 feet above the valley of the Jordan, the surrounding country including a large number of eminences--almost every one of which has borne some part in the history of the tribe--and many torrent beds and deep ravines.
Benjamin, The Tribe Of
The contrast between the warlike character of the tribe and the peaceful image of its progenitor comes out in many scattered notices. Benjamin was the only tribe which seems to have pursued archery to any purpose, and their skill in the bow, (,; 2 Samuel 1:232; ; ; ) and the sling, () is celebrated. The dreadful deed recorded in Judges 19 was defended by Benjamin. Later the tribe seems, however, to assume another position, as Ramah, () etc., Mizpeh, () Bethel and Gibeon, () were all in the land of Benjamin. After the struggles and contests which followed the death of Saul, the history of Benjamin becomes merged in that of the southern kingdom.
Beno
(his son), a Levite of the sons of Merari. (,)
Benon
() [BETH-BAALMEON] Comp. ver. 38.
Benoni
(son of my sorrow). () [BENJAMIN, BENJAMIN, THE TRIBE OF]
Benzoheth
(son of Zoheth), a descendant of Judah. ()
Beor
(burning or torch).
1. The father of Bela, one of the early Edomite kings. (; )
2. Father of Balaam. (; ,; ; ; ; ; ) He is called BOSOR in the New Testament. (B.C. before 1450.)
Bera
(son of evil) king of Sodom. () also (,)
Beraa
(well watered).
1. A city of Macedonia, mentioned in (,) It is now called Verria or Kara-Verria , and is situated on the eastern slope of the Olympian mountain range, and has 15,000 or 20,000 inhabitants.
2. The modern Aleppo , mentioned in 2 Macc. 13:4.
3. A place in Judea, apparently not very far from Jerusalem. 1 Macc. 9:4.
Berachah
(blessing), a Benjamite who attached himself to David at Ziklag. () (B.C. 1054.)
Berachah, Valley Of
a valley in which Jehoshaphat and his people assembled to "bless" Jehovah after the overthrow of the hosts of Moabites. () It is now called Bereikut , and lies between Tekua and the main road from Bethlehem to Hebron.
Berachiah
(blessed of Jehovah), a Gershonite Levite, father of Asaph. () [BERECHIAH]
Beraiah
(created by Jehovah), son of Shimhi, a chief man of Benjamin. ()
Berechiah
(blessed of Jehovah).
1. A descendant of the royal family of Judah. ()
2. A man mentioned as the father of Meshullam, who assisted in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. (,; )
3. A Levite. ()
4. A doorkeeper for the ark. ()
5. One of the tribe of Ephraim in the time of Ahaz. ()
6. Father of Asaph the singer. () [BERACHIAH]
7. Father of Zechariah. (,)
Bered
(hail).
1. A place in the south of Palestine, near the well Lahairoi. ()
2. A son or descendant of Ephraim, () possibly identical with Becher in ()
Berenice
[BERNICE, OR BERENICE]
Beri
(a well), son of Zophah, of the tribe of Asher. ()
Beriah
(in evil, or a gift).
1. A son of Asher. (; ,)
2. A son of Ephraim. ()
3. A Benjamite. (,)
4. A Levite. (,)
Beriites, The
A tribe of people who are named with Abel and Beth-maachah, and who were therefore doubtless situated in the north of Palestine. ()
Berith
() [BAAL-BERITH]
Bernice, Or Berenice
(bringing victory), the eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I. () etc. She was first married to her uncle Herod, king of Chaleis, and after his death (A.D. 48) she lived under circumstances of great suspicion with her own brother, Agrippa II., in connection with whom she is mentioned, (,; ) as having visited Festus on his appointment as procurator of Judea.
Berodachbaladan
() [MERODACH-BALADAN]
Berothah
(toward the wells), Bero’-tha-i (my wells). The first of these two names is given by Ezekiel, () in connection with Hahlath and Damascus as forming part of the northern boundary of the promised land. The second is mentioned, () in the same connection. The well-known city Beirut (Berytus) naturally suggests itself as identical with one at least of the names; but in each instance the circumstances of the case seem to require a position farther east. They were probably in the vicinity of the springs near the present Hasbeya.
Berothite, The
() [BEEROTH OF THE CHILDREN OF JAAKAN]
Beryl
(tarshish) occurs in () It is generally supposed that the tarshish derives its name from the place so called, in Spain. Beryl is a mineral of great hardness, and, when transparent, of much beauty. By tarshish the modern yellow topaz is probably intended, while in () a different stone is perhaps referred to, probably the mineral now called beryl, which is identical with the emerald except in color, being a light green or bluish-green.
Besai
(sword). "Children of Besai" were among the Nethinim who returned to Judea with Zerubbabel. (; )
Besodeiah
(n the secret of the Lord) father of one of the repairers of the wall of Jerusalem. ()
Besom
a brush or broom of twigs for sweeping ()
Besor, The Brook
(cool), a torrent-bed or wady in the extreme south of Judah. (,,)
Betah
(confidence), a city belonging to Hadadezer king of Zobah, mentioned with Berothai. () In the parallel account, () the name is called Tibhath.
Beten
(height), one of the cities on the border of the tribe of Asher. ()
Beth
the most general word for a house or habitation. It has the special meaning of a temple or house of worship Beth is more frequently employed in compound names of places than any other word.
Bethabara
(house of the ford), a place beyond Jordan, in which according to the Received Text of the New Testament, John was baptizing. () If this reading be correct, Bethabara is identical with Beth-barah (fords of Abarah) the ancient ford of Jordan on the road to Gilead; or, which seems more likely, with Beth-nimrah, on the east of the river, nearly opposite Jericho. The Revised Version reads BETHANY, which see below.
Bethanath
(house of echo or reply), one of the "fenced cities" of Naphtali, named with Beth-shemesh, () from neither of them were the Canaanites expelled. ()).
Bethanoth
(house of echo), a town in the mountainous district of Judah, named with Halhul, Beth-zur and others in () only.
Bethany
In the Revised Version for BETHABARA, () where Jesus was baptized by John. It was probably an obscure village near Bethabara, and in time its name faded out and was replaced by the larger and more important Bethabara.
Bethany
(house of dates, or house of misery), a village which, scanty as are the notices of it contained in Scripture, is more intimately associated in our minds than perhaps any other place with the most familiar acts and scenes of the last days of the life of Christ. It was situated "at" the Mount of Olives, (; ) about fifteen stadia (furlongs, i.e. 1 1/2 or 2 miles) from Jerusalem () on or near the usual road From Jericho to the city, () comp. comp. And close by the west(?) of another village called Bethphage, the two being several times mentioned together. Bethany was the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus, and is now known by a name derived from Lazarus--el-Azariyeh or Lazarieh . It lies on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, fully a mile beyond the summit, and not very far from the point at which the road to Jericho begins its more sudden descent towards the Jordan valley. El-’Azariyeh is a ruinous and wretched village, a wild mountain hamlet of some twenty families. Bethany has been commonly explained "house of dates," but it more probably signifies "house of misery." H. Dixon, "Holy Land," ii. 214, foll.
Betharabah
(house of the desert), one of the six cities of Judah which were situated down in the Arabah, the sunk valley of the Jordan and Dead Sea, () on the north border of the tribe. It is also included in the list of the towns of Benjamin. ()
Betharam
(house of the height), accurately BETH-HARAM, one of the towns of Gad on the east of Jordan, described as in "the valley," () and no doubt the same place as that named BETH-HARAN in ()
Bethaven
(house of nothingness , i.e. of idols), a place on the mountains of Benjamin, east of Bethel, (; ) and lying between that place and Michmash. (; ) In (; ; ) the name is transferred to the neighboring Bethel, --once the "house of God" but then the house of idols of "naught."
Bethbaalmaveth
(house of Azmaveth). Under this name is mentioned, in () only, the town of Benjamin which is elsewhere called AZMAVETH and BETH-SAMOS.
Bethbaalmeon
(house of Baalmeon), a place in the possessions of Reuben, on the downs (Authorized Version "plain") east of the Jordan. () At the Israelites’ first approach is name was BAAL-MEON, () or, in its contracted form, BEON () to which the Beth was possibly a Hebrew addition. Later it would seem to have come into possession of Moab, and to be known either as Beth-meon, () or Baal-meon. () The name is still attached to a ruined place of considerable size a short distance to the southwest of Hesban , and bearing the name of "the fortress of Mi’un, " or Makin .
Bethbarah
(house of the ford), named only in () It derived its chief interest in the possibility that its more modern representative may have been Beth-abara, where John baptized. It was probably the chief ford of the district.
Bethbirei
(house of my creation), a town of Simeon, () which by comparison with the parallel list in () appears to have had also the name Of BETH-LEBAOTH. It lay to the extreme south.
Bethcar
(house of the lamb), a place named as the point to which the Israelites pursued the Philistines, () and therefore west of Mizpeh.
Bethdagon
(house of Dagon).
1. A city in the low country of Judah, () and therefore not far from the Philistine territory.
2. A town apparently near the coast, named as one of the landmarks of the boundary of Asher. ()
Bethdiblathaim
(house of fig-cakes), a town of Moab, () apparently the place elsewhere called ALMON-DIBLATHAIM.
Bethel
(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 of () the name of Bethel would appear to have existed at this spot even before the arrival of Abram in Canaan. (; ,) Bethel was the scene of Jacob’s vision. (; ) Jacob lived there. () The original name was Luz. (,) 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. (,,; ) Authorized Version, "house of God." Here was the ark of the covenant. (; ) Later it is named as one of the holy cities to which Samuel went on circuit. () Here Jeroboab placed one of the two calves of gold. Toward the end of Jeroboam’s life Bethel fell into the hands of Judah. () Elijah visited Bethel, and we hear of "sons of the prophets" as resident there. (,) But after the destruction of Baal worship by Jehu Bethel comes once more into view. () After the desolation of the northern kingdom by the king of Assyria, Bethel still remained an abode of priests. (,) 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 () and In (; ; ,) the place appears under the name of CHESIL, BETHUL and BETHUEL. Hiel the Bethelite is recorded as the rebuilder of Jericho. ()
2. In () and Mount Bethel, a hilly section near Beth-el, is referred to.
Bethemek
(house of the valley), a place on or near the border of Asher, on the north side of which was the ravine of Jiphthah-el ()
Bether
(depth), The mountains of. (Solomon 2:17) There is no clue to guide us as to what mountains are intended here.
Bethesda
(house of mercy, or the flowing water), the Hebrew name of a reservoir or tank, with five "porches," close upon the sheep-gate or "market" in Jerusalem. () The largest reservoir - Birket Israil - 360 feet long, 120 feet wide and 80 feet deep, within the walls of the city, close by St. Stephen’s Gate, and under the northeast wall of the Haram area, is generally considered to be the modern representative of Bethesda. Robinson, however, suggests that the ancient Bethesda is identical with what is now called the Pool of the Virgin, an intermittent pool, south of Birket Israil and north of the pool of Siloam.
Bethezel
(neighbor’s house), a place named only in () From the context it was doubtless situated in the plain of Philistia.
Bethgader
(house of the wall), doubtless a place, though it occurs in the genealogies of Judah as if a person. ()
Bethgamul
(camel-house), a town of Moab, in the downs east of Jordan. () comp.
Bethgilgal
Same as Gilgal. ()
Bethhaccerem
(house of the vine). (; ) A beacon station near Tekoa, supposed to be the Frank Mountain , a few miles southeast of Bethlehem.
Bethharan
() It is no doubt the same place as BETH-ARAM. ()
Bethhogla
(partridge-house), and Holg’lah a place on the border of Judah, () and of Benjamin. (,) A magnificent spring and a ruin between Jericho and the Jordan still bear the names of Ainhajala.
Bethhoron
(house of caverns), the name of two towns or villages, an "upper" and a "nether," (,; ) on the road from Gibeon to Azekah, (,) and the Philistine plain. 1 Macc. 3:24. Beth-horon lay on the boundary line between Benjamin and Ephraim, (,) and ,14 Was counted to Ephraim, (; ) and given to the Kohathites. (; ) () The two Beth-horons still survive in the modern villages of Beit-ur, et-tahta and el-foka .
Bethjeshimoth
(house of deserts) or Jes’imoth , a town or place east of Jordan, on the lower level at the south end of the Jordan valley, () and named with Ashdod-pisgah and Beth-peor. It was one of the limits of the encampment of Israel before crossing the Jordan. Later it was allotted to Reuben, (; ) but came at last into the hands of Moab, and formed one of the cities which were "the glory of the country." ()
Bethlebaoth
(house of lionesses), a town in the lot of Simeon, () in the extreme south of Judah. [ () LEBAOTH] In () the name is given BETH-BIREI.
Bethlehem
(house of bread).
1. One of the oldest towns in Palestine, already in existence at the time of Jacob’s return to the country. Its earliest name was EPHRATAH, OR EPHRATH or EPHRATAH. See (,; ) After the conquest Bethlehem appears under its own name, BETHLEHEM-JUDAH. (; ; ,) The book of Ruth is a page from the domestic history of Bethlehem. It was the home of Ruth, () and of David. () It was fortified by Rehoboam. () It was here that our Lord was born, () and here that he was visited by the shepherds, () and the Magi. The modern town of Beit-lahm lies to the east of the main road from Jerusalem to Hebron, six miles from the former. It covers the east and northeast parts of the ridge of a long gray hill of Jura limestone, which stands nearly due east and west, and is about a mile in length. The hill has a deep valley on the north and another on the south. On the top lies the village in a kind of irregular triangle. The population is about 3000 souls, entirely Christians. The Church of the Nativity, built by the empress Helena A.D. 330, is the oldest Christian church in existence. It is built over the grotto where Christ is supposed to have been born.
2. A town in the portion of Zebulun, named nowhere but in () Now known as Beit-lahm .
Bethlomon
1 Esd. 5:17. [BETHLEHEM, 1]
Bethmaachah
(house of oppression), a place named only in (,) In the absence of more information we can only conclude that it is identical with Maachah or Aram-maachah, one of the petty Syrian kingdoms in the north of Palestine. (Comp. ()
Bethmarcaboth
(house of the chariots), one of the towns of Simeon, situated to the extreme south of Judah. (; ) In the parallel list, () MADMANNAH occurs in place of Beth-marcaboth.
Bethmeon
() A contracted form of Beth-baal-meon.
Bethnimrah
(house of leopards) one of the fenced cities on the east of Jordan taken and built by the tribe of Gad () and described as being in the valley beside Beth-haran. () In () it is called simply NIMRAH. The name still survives in the modern Nahr Nimrim, above Jericho on the Jordan.
Bethpalet
(house of flight), a town among those in the extreme south of Judah, named in ()
Bethpazzez
(house of the dispersion), a town of Issachar named with En-haddah () and of which nothing is known.
Bethpeor
(house of Peor), a place on the east of Jordan, opposite Jericho and six miles above Libias or Beth-haran. (; 3:29; 4:46)
Bethphage
(g hard) (house of figs) the name of a place on the Mount of Olives on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem. It was apparently close to Bethany. (; ; )
Bethphelet
() [BETHPALET]
Bethrapha
a name which occurs in the genealogy of Judah as the son of Eshton. ()
Bethrehob
(house of Rehob), place mentioned as having near it the valley in which lay the town of Laish or Dan. () It was one of the little kingdoms of Aram or Syria. () Robinson conjectures that this ancient place is represented by the modern Hunin .
Bethsaida
(house of fish) of Galilee, () a city which was the native place of Andrew, Peter and Philip, (; ) in the land of Gennesareth, () comp. And therefore on the west side of the lake. By comparing the narratives in () and It appears certain that the Bethsaida at which the five thousand were fed must have been a second place of the same name on the east of the lake. (But in reality "there is but one Bethsaida, that known on our maps at Bethsaida Julias." L. Abbot in Biblical and Oriental Journal . The fact is that Bethsaida was a village on both sides of the Jordan as it enters the sea of Galilee on the north, so that the western part of the village was in Galilee and the eastern portion in Gaulonitis, part of the tetrarchy of Philip. This eastern portion was built up into a beautiful city by Herod Philip, and named by him Bethsaida Julias , after Julia the daughter of the Roman emperor Tiberius Caesar. On the plain of Butaiha, a mile or two to the east, the five thousand were fed. The western part of the town remained a small village.--ED.)
Bethshean
(house of rest), or in Samuel, BETHSHAN, a city which belonged to Manasseh, () though within the limits of Issachar () and therefore on the west of Jordan. Comp. 1 Macc. 5:62. In later times it was called Scythopolis. 2 Macc. 12:29. The place is still known as Beisan . It lies in the Ghor or Jordan valley, about twelve miles south of the Sea of Galilee and four miles west of the Jordan.
Bethshemesh
(house of the sun).
1. One of the towns which marked the north boundary of Judah. () It is now ’Ainshems , about two miles from the great Philistine plain, and seven from Ekron.
2. A city on the border of Issachar. ()
3. One of the "fenced cities" of Naphtali. (; )
4. An idolatrous temple, or place in Egypt. () In the middle ages Heliopolis was still called by the Arabs Ain Shems .
Bethshittah
(home of the acacia), one of the spots to which the flight of the host of the Midianites extended after their discomfiture by Gideon. ()
Bethtappuah
(house of apples), one of the towns of Judah in the mountainous district, and near Hebron. () comp. Here it has actually been discovered by Robinson under the modern name of Teffuh , five miles west of Hebron, on a ridge of high table-land.
Bethuel
(dweller in God), the son of Nahor by Milcah; nephew of Abraham, and father of Rebekah, (,; ,,; ) In () and () he is called "Bethuel the Syrian."
Bethul
(dweller in God) a town of Simeon in the south named with Eltolad and Hormah, () called also Chesil and Bethuel. (; )
Bethzur
(house of rock) a town in the mountains of Judah, built by Jeroboam, (; ) now Beit-zur . It commands the road from Beersheba and Hebron, which has always been the main approach to Jerusalem from the south.
Betonim
a town of Gad, apparently on the northern boundary. ()
Betrothing
[MARRIAGE.1]
Beulah
(married), the name which the land of Israel is to bear when "the land shall be married." ()
Bezai
(conqueror). "Children of Bezai," to the number of 328, returned from captivity with Zerubbabel (; ; )
Bezaleel
(in the shadow of God).
1. The son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah and one of the architects of the tabernacle. () His charge was chiefly in all works of metal, wood and stone. (B.C. 1490.)
2. One of the sons of Pahath-moab who had taken a foreign wife. () (B.C. 458.)
Bezek
(lightning).
1. The residence of Adonibezek, () in the lot of Judah. ver. ()
2. Where Saul numbered the forces of Israel and Judah before going to the relief of Jabesh-gilead. () This was doubtless somewhere in the centre of the country, near the Jordan valley. No identification of either place has been made in modern times.
Bezer
(gold ore), son of Zophah, one of the heads of the houses of Asher. ()
Bezer In The Wilderness
a city of refuge in the downs on the east of the Jordan. (4:43; ; ; )
William Smith, A Dictionary of the Bible (1884 edition). Public domain. Text from the CrossWire Bible Society.