Bethel
Bethel (בית אל)—also written as Beth El or Beth-El—was an ancient Israelite town famous for its shrine, about ten miles north of Jerusalem.
Biblical History
Patriarchal times
Located on the boundary between Ephraim and Judea, Bethel was known as Luz in pre-Israelite times (Gen. 28:19). Traditionally, it was named Bethel (Beit El—the house of God) by Abraham after the patriarch arrived in Canaan from Haran. According to Gen. 7:8, Abraham—then called Abram—built an altar east of Bethel. Later, Jacob, believing the place to be the "gate of heaven" is said to have erected a sacred pillar at or near the same location shortly after having the dream of "Jacob's Ladder." (Gen. 28:18; compare Gen. 35:6, 14) The early shrine was appearently outside of the city Luz, probably at a "high place." The exact location remains unlocated by archaeologists.
When God called Jacob to return to Canaan from exile in Haran, He is reported to have said: "I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me." (Genesis 31:13) Later, after Jacob's family had settled near Schechem but had ran afoul of the local population, God commanded him to move to Bethel and (re)build an altar there. Here, the direction to build an altar is specifically associated with commandment to "put away foreign gods." The town nearby is still identified as Luz at this point, and Jacob called the place "El Bethel." When the Deborah, the nurse of Jacob's mother Rebekah, died and was buried beneath an oak there, the site also became known as Allon Bacuth—Weeping Oak. (Genesis 35:8)
Joshua and Judges
In the Book of Joshua, Bethel is temporarily abandoned by the Canaanites when Joshua's forces encamp between Ai and Bethel and draw the residents out. "Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit." (Joshua 8:17) The King of Bethel is listed among 31 monarchs reportedly conquered by Joshua and Israelites . (Joshua 12) The fate of the residents of Bethel is not mentioned, but the citizens of Ai were reported to be completely slaughtered by the Israelites. It may be notable that, in renewing the covenant between God and His people in Canaan, Joshua apparently bypassed the ancient altar at Bethel in favor of constructing a new shrine at Mount Ebal, opposite Mount Gerezim, near Shechem.
Bethel was of particular importance in the period of the judges. The Book of Judges (1:22-26)shows that in fact the town was not in Israelite hands as the narrative opens. Still apparently known as Luz, it thus had to be captured by the Tribe of Joseph. The Judge Deborah held court near Bethel in territory of Ephraim. (Judges 4) During a time of bitter warfare between the Tribe of Benjamin and the tribes, Bethel was known as a holy place where oracles from Yahweh could be recieved. The Ark of the Covenant resided there, and the priest Phinehas, a grandson of Aaron, was its minister. Thus:
- The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, "Who of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?" The Lord replied, "Judah shall go first." (Judge 20:18)
When the Israelites suffered a terrible defeat at the hands of Benjamin, the returned to Bethel to weep, fast, and pray "before the Lord." Directed again by Yahweh to attack, this time they won a mighty victory.
still more so after the division of the kingdoms, when Jeroboam made it the chief Ephraimitic shrine (I Kings xii. 29 et seq.; compare II Kings x. 29), "the king's chapel," as it is called in Amos vii. 13. At the time of Elisha there was a community of prophets at Beth-el (II Kings ii. 3). The oldest prophets name Beth-el as one of the centers of degenerate Israelite cult (Amos iii. 14, iv. 4, v. 5; compare Hosea iv. 15, v. 8, x. 5). Amos came into the city at a great feast, and raised a storm of indignation among the priesthood and the people by his merciless condemnation of Israel (Amos vii. 10 et seq.) When the tribes were given there allotments of land (Joshua 16), the territory of Bethel was designated at the border of the tribe of Josepah (which included both Ephraim and Manasseh). However, in Joshua 18, the Tribe of Benmamin was assigned the city of Bethel itself.
Even after the conquest of Ephraim the shrine of Beth-el retained its importance (II Kings xvii. 28). When Josiah took possession of this old part of the Ephraimitic dominions he uprooted the illegitimate cult (II Kings xxiii. 15). After the Exile, Beth-el belonged to Judea (Ezra ii. 28). At the time of the Maccabees it is sometimes named as the seat of Syrian garrisons (I Macc. ix. 50). Otherwise, the place is only mentioned by the first Christian topographer, the Pilgrim of Bordeaux, and by Eusebius, as a small country town. In Lam. R. ii. 3 it is stated that Hadrian placed a guard at Beth-el to capture Jewish fugitives.
Hebrew
In this Semitic language of the Jewish people, bethel means "house of El"
- See: Temple Beth-El
Bible
Bethel (Israel) was a city in ancient Israel, about 10 miles north of Jerusalem. Its location is generally identified with the modern Palestinian village of Beitun in the West Bank. Its name is preserved in the adjacent Israeli settlement of Beit El.
- Bethel was also a town in southern Judah (Joshua. 8:17; 12:16). It seems to be the same as the place called Bethul or Bethuel, a city of the tribe of Simeon.
According to Biblical scripture, running from the wrath of his brother Esau, the patriarch Jacob rests and falls asleep on a stone for a pillow in this exact spot. In the dream that follows, Jacob sees a ladder leading up to Heaven, with angels going up and down on the ladder to and from Heaven. Jacob awakes, and realizes that God's presence is in this exact spot. He anoints his "Pillar Stone" here and later God commands him to build an altar here. Much later, the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Jeroboam) set up a Golden Calf here, (and another one in Dan), along with changing the Feast of Tabernacles to the eighth month instead of the seventh, and appointed non-Levites (or at least not the elder Levites) as priests in an attempt to keep Israelites from moving back down south to Jerusalem, thus losing tax money. A Bethel is the name given to the meeting place as well as the local group that meets in each city. The name Beth-El, though assumed to have originated from Jacob, is deemed by Biblical critics and scholars to have originated from an older source. The element El in Bethel is that of an ancient Canaanite deity. This etymology is much more likely than the source given by Jacob. In Job's Daughters it refers to the group and the meeting place of individual groups within a larger organization.
Sources and references
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 196, vol. 2
- Biblaridion magazine: Genesis 27-36: The purpose of the various forms of repetition in the Beth-el accounts
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:
The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.
Hebrew
In this Semitic language of the Jewish people, bethel means "house of El"
- See: Temple Beth-El
Bible
Bethel (Israel) was a city in ancient Israel, about 10 miles north of Jerusalem. Its location is generally identified with the modern Palestinian village of Beitun in the West Bank. Its name is preserved in the adjacent Israeli settlement of Beit El.
- Bethel was also a town in southern Judah (Joshua. 8:17; 12:16). It seems to be the same as the place called Bethul or Bethuel, a city of the tribe of Simeon.
According to Biblical scripture, running from the wrath of his brother Esau, the patriarch Jacob rests and falls asleep on a stone for a pillow in this exact spot. In the dream that follows, Jacob sees a ladder leading up to Heaven, with angels going up and down on the ladder to and from Heaven. Jacob awakes, and realizes that God's presence is in this exact spot. He anoints his "Pillar Stone" here and later God commands him to build an altar here. Much later, the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Jeroboam) set up a Golden Calf here, (and another one in Dan), along with changing the Feast of Tabernacles to the eighth month instead of the seventh, and appointed non-Levites (or at least not the elder Levites) as priests in an attempt to keep Israelites from moving back down south to Jerusalem, thus losing tax money. A Bethel is the name given to the meeting place as well as the local group that meets in each city. The name Beth-El, though assumed to have originated from Jacob, is deemed by Biblical critics and scholars to have originated from an older source. The element El in Bethel is that of an ancient Canaanite deity. This etymology is much more likely than the source given by Jacob. In Job's Daughters it refers to the group and the meeting place of individual groups within a larger organization.
Sources and references
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 196, vol. 2
- Biblaridion magazine: Genesis 27-36: The purpose of the various forms of repetition in the Beth-el accounts
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:
The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.
