was known as Livias, a name given it by Herod Antipas, and later changed to Julias.

BETH-HOGLAH

(Beth-hogʹlah) [house or place of the partridge].

A Benjamite border town situated in the southeastern corner of this tribe’s territory and on the boundary between Benjamin and Judah. (Josh. 15:1, 6; 18:11, 19, 21) Evidence of the name is still preserved at ‘Ain Hajla, located about four miles (6.4 kilometers) SE of modern Jericho.

BETH-HORON

(Beth-hoʹron) [house or place of the hollow].

Two towns, Upper and Lower Beth-horon, were strategically situated on the ancient route leading from Joppa and the maritime plain up the Valley of Aijalon to Bethel or to Gibeon and Jerusalem. The original names are preserved in those of the modern villages of Beit ʽUr el-Foqa (“the upper”) and Beit ʽUr et-Tahta (“the lower”). Upper Beth-horon thus lies about ten miles (16 kilometers) NW of Jerusalem, with Lower Beth-horon a couple of miles (3.2 kilometers) beyond, both sites occupying hilltops.

The building (or founding) of these places is credited originally to Sheerah, a daughter or granddaughter of Ephraim. (1 Chron. 7:22-24) The towns formed part of the southern boundary of the tribe of Ephraim (Josh. 16:3, 5), while the boundary of the tribe of Benjamin is stated to have come to “the mountain that is on the south of Lower Beth-horon.” (Josh. 18:13, 14) This appears to place both towns fittingly as within the inheritance of Ephraim. Beth-horon, perhaps just one of the towns, thereafter was given to the Levites of the sons of Kohath.—Josh. 21:22; 1 Chron. 6:68.

Situated as they were on a principal route from the maritime plain up into the hill country, these towns frequently saw the passing of warring forces. At the time of the Israelite conquest, Joshua defeated five Amorite kings who had combined to war against Gibeon, “pursuing them by way of the ascent of Beth-horon.” Here Jehovah caused great hailstones to strike down many of the Amorites as they fled along “the descent of Beth-horon.” (Josh. 10:6-12) The “descent of Beth-horon” is considered by some to refer to the descent from Upper Beth-horon to Lower Beth-horon, there being about eight hundred feet (244 meters) difference in altitude between the two places.

Later, during King Saul’s reign, “the road of Beth-horon” was one of three routes used by pillaging bands of Philistines making raids from Michmash. (1 Sam. 13:16-18) King Solomon built or fortified both towns, strengthening them with walls, doors and bar, doubtless considering that they served as a block to invading forces from Egypt or Philistia. (2 Chron. 8:5) Shishak of Egypt, who invaded Judah during Rehoboam’s reign, listed “Beth-horon” as one of the towns on his list of cities claimed as conquered or under his domination. (1 Ki. 14:25; 2 Chron. 12:2-9) When King Amaziah of Judah dismissed Ephraimite mercenary troops before engaging in battle with the Edomites, these soldiers from the northern kingdom with its capital in Samaria expressed their hot anger over their dismissal by raiding Judean cities as far as Beth-horon.—2 Chron. 25:5-13.

During the Maccabean period, Beth-horon was the scene of two defeats of the Syrians by Judas Maccabaeus. (1 Maccabees 3:23, 24; 7:39) The Jewish historian Josephus claims that in the year 66 C.E. the retreating forces of Roman General Cestius Gallus were nearly annihilated at Beth-horon by the pursuing Jewish forces.—Wars of the Jews, Book II, chap. XIX, pars. 7-9.

BETH-JESHIMOTH

(Beth-jeshʹi·moth) [place of the desert or house of the wastes].

The southernmost point to which the encampment of the Israelites reached as they camped on the Plains of Moab before crossing the Jordan into Canaan. (Num. 33:48, 49) The camp reached from Beth-jeshimoth to Abel-shittim, a distance of about five miles (8 kilometers) according to the suggested sites for these places. Beth-jeshimoth is presently identified with Tell elʽAzeimeh near the NE corner of the Dead Sea and about eleven miles (18 kilometers) SE of Jericho. Nearby is Khirbet Sweimeh, which, as a Roman settlement, was known by the Greek name of Besimoth. A strong spring is also found in the vicinity. Tell el-ʽAzeimeh is situated on a “platform” of land overlooking the plains below, and is in position to guard the exit from one of the torrent valleys leading down from the mountains to the E.

Beth-jeshimoth formed part of the realm of King Sihon of the Amorites and, after the Israelite conquest of that region, was assigned to the tribe of Reuben. (Josh. 12:1-3; 13:15-21; compare Judges 11:13-27.) In the time of the prophet Ezekiel it is included with certain cities of Moab located on the slope of his frontier and described as “the decoration of the land.” (Ezek. 25:8-10) The prophecy indicates that Jehovah would cause these frontier cities to be opened up, exposing Moab to attack by the “Orientals” or “sons of the East,” the nomadic tribes living in the Arabian Desert. (Compare Judges 6:3; 8:10.) If not earlier, Moab likely took over Beth-jeshimoth and other cities of Reuben following the deportation of that tribe to Assyria.—1 Chron. 5:26.

BETH-LEBAOTH

(Beth-le·baʹoth) [house or place of lionesses].

A city listed among the places given to the tribe of Simeon as enclave cities within the territory of Judah. (Josh. 19:1, 6) It is named between Hazar-susah and Sharuhen, and this indicates a location in the Negeb region, evidently to the W or SW of Beer-sheba. At Joshua 15:32 it evidently appears simply as Lebaoth, while at 1 Chronicles 4:31 Beth-lebaoth is replaced by the name “Beth-biri.” This latter name could be a postexilic name for the same location.—See BETH-BIRI.

BETHLEHEM

(Bethʹle·hem) [house of bread].

1. A town in the Judean highlands located about five miles (8 kilometers) S of Jerusalem, overlooking the principal highway leading from Jerusalem down to Beer-sheba. It is situated at an altitude of some 2,550 feet (777 meters) above sea level and hence at a higher elevation than Jerusalem itself. The countryside, though rocky, produces olives, grapes and different cereals.—Ruth 1:22.

The earlier name of Bethlehem appears to have been Ephrath, meaning “fruitfulness; fertility.” Jacob buried Rachel “on the way to Ephrath, that is to say, Bethlehem.” (Gen. 35:19; 48:7) Among the early descendants of Jacob’s son Judah are mentioned “Salma the father of Bethlehem” (1 Chron 2:51, 54) and “Hur the first-born of Ephrathah the father of Bethlehem.” (1 Chron. 4:4) This expression may point to these men as forefathers of the Israelites who later occupied Bethlehem. (See ATROTH-BETH-JOAB; EPHRATHAH No. 2.) When the Israelites entered Canaan, Bethlehem fell within the territory of Judah, though it is not specifically mentioned in any list of Judean cities nor is there anything to indicate its size or prominence at that time. Since there was another Bethlehem in the territory of Zebulun (Josh. 19:10, 15), the town in Judah was usually distinguished by reference to Ephrath, or by calling it “Bethlehem in Judah.”—Judg. 17:7-9; 19:1, 2, 18.

Thus Judge Ibzan may have been from Bethlehem in Judah, but the absence of any reference to Judah or Ephrath causes many to view him as from Bethlehem in Zebulun. (Judg. 12:8-10) Elimelech, his wife Naomi and their sons were from Bethlehem, and here Naomi returned with Ruth the Moabitess. (Ruth 1:1, 2, 19, 22) Boaz was also of Bethlehem, and the remaining events of the book of Ruth involving ancestors of Jesus (Matt. 1:5, 6) center around this town and its fields.—Ruth 2:4; 4:11.

David the son of “Jesse the Bethlehemite” was born in Bethlehem of Judah, tended his father’s sheep in that area, and was later anointed there by Samuel to be Israel’s future king. (1 Sam. 16:1, 4, 13, 18; 17:12, 15, 58; 20:6) Later, as a fugitive, David longed for a drink of water from a cistern at Bethlehem, then the site of a Philistine outpost. (2 Sam. 23:14, 15; 1 Chron. 11:16, 17) It may be noted that three wells are still found on the N side of the town. Elhanan, one of David’s outstanding warriors, was the son of a man of Bethlehem (2 Sam. 23:24), as were David’s nephews Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Fleet-footed Asahel was buried there following his being slain by powerful Abner.—2 Sam. 2:18-23, 32.

Despite its being in a central location on a major highway and in a good position militarily (since it was at a high altitude and built on a site commanding a limestone ridge), and although it was David’s hometown, Bethlehem was not chosen to be David’s capital. It is not until the reign of Solomon’s son Rehoboam that Bethlehem is directly mentioned again, as included among the cities fortified by that king. (2 Chron. 11:5, 6) Near Bethlehem the remnant of the people left in Judah after the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon made a stopover before going on down to Egypt. (Jer. 41:17) Men of Bethlehem were among those returning from Babylon following the exile.—Ezra 2:21; Neh. 7:26.

As noted previously, Bethlehem was not listed among the cities of Judah in the accounts of the tribal divisions; though Bible books mention it in connection with certain individuals, it does not otherwise seem to have been a prominent town nor did it have a large population—a “village” when Jesus was on earth. (John 7:42) Hence the prophet Micah in his Messianic prophecy at Micah 5:2 could refer to Bethlehem Ephrathah as “the one too little to get to be among the thousands of Judah.” Yet his prophecy showed that small Bethlehem would have the singular honor of being the town from which the Messiah would proceed. The Jewish people understood this prophecy as meaning that the Messiah or Christ would be born in and proceed from that town (John 7:40-42), a belief also expressed by their chief priests and scribes.—Matt. 2:3-6.

Thus, though Mary became pregnant in Nazareth of Galilee, she gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem of Judea, in order to fulfill the divine prophecy. (Luke 1:26-38; 2:4-7) This meant a trip that, on present roads, covers a distance of some ninety miles (145 kilometers) through hilly country.

At the time of the birth, shepherds were living outdoors in the fields and keeping watches at night over their flocks. (Luke 2:8) While sheep may be led out to pasture during the daytime at any season of the year, the fact that the shepherds were living out in the fields and spending the night there with their flocks provides a definite time indication for the period of Jesus’ birth. The rainy season for Palestine begins in the latter part of October, lasting several months. By December Bethlehem, like Jerusalem, experiences frequent frost at night. Thus the fact that shepherds of Bethlehem were in the fields at night points to a time prior to the start of the rainy season. It is also most unlikely that Caesar Augustus would unnecessarily provoke the Jews by ordering a registration in the wintry and rainy month of December, when traveling is particularly difficult.—Luke 2:1-6; compare Matthew 24:20.

Sometime after Jesus’ birth when his parents were residing, not in a stable, but in a house, Bethlehem was visited by some Oriental astrologers searching for the “young child.” (Matt. 2:1-12) Although divine action prevented their visit from bringing death to the child Jesus, the town of Bethlehem and its surrounding territory suffered the loss of all its male children of two years of age and under, murdered at the order of King Herod. (Matt. 2:12, 16) The inspired writer here quoted the prophecy at Jeremiah 31:15 as applying, so that Rachel, whose grave lay near Bethlehem, and whose children through Benjamin had throughout Israelite history been loyal supporters of the Davidic dynasty, is in effect represented as rising up and weeping over these slaughtered infants.—Matt. 2:17, 18.

The original location of the stable in Bethlehem in which Jesus was born is unknown. While what is called the “Church of the Nativity” is built over a cave located about twenty feet (6 meters) below the floor of the church, this cave, to which one must descend by steps, hardly fits the description of a stable into which cattle could be led. Additionally, history shows that Emperor Hadrian devastated Bethlehem along with Jerusalem in the early part of the second century C.E. and is said to have planted a grove to the god Adonis in the area then traditionally held to have been the place of Jesus’ birth. This grove is stated to have remained there for some two centuries, after which Constantine’s mother, Helena, erected the church called the “Church of the Nativity.” Thus, the identification of the exact place of the stable is quite conjectural.

2. A town in the territory of Zebulun. (Josh. 19:10, 15) As noted above, it was probably from this Bethlehem that Judge Ibzan proceeded and in which he was buried, since no mention is made of Ephrath nor of Judah in the account. (Judg. 12:8-10) Bethlehem of Zebulun is located some seven miles (11 kilometers) W-NW of Nazareth.

[Picture on page 223]

Bethlehem as it now appears

BETHLEHEMITE

(Bethʹle·hem·ite).

An inhabitant of Bethlehem. In three of its four occurrences in the Bible, “Bethlehemite” is applied to Jesse, David’s father.—1 Sam. 16:1, 18; 17:58; 2 Sam. 21:19.

BETH-MAACAH

See ABEL-BETH-MAACAH.

BETH-MARCABOTH

(Beth-marʹca·both) [place of chariots].

One of the enclave cities of Simeon given them within the territory of the tribe of Judah. (Josh. 19:1, 5; 1 Chron. 4:31) In the parallel account of the cities originally assigned to Judah (Josh. 15:31), Beth-marcaboth’s place is possibly taken by Madmannah. If Beth-marcaboth is the same as Madmannah, then it evidently lay on the main highway leading from Beer-sheba to Jerusalem and points N, and the name “place of chariots” may be a secondary name for Madmannah. The name of the town listed after Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah (or Hazar-susim), means “village of the mare.” Some suggest that both places were depots and stations for horses and chariots such as traveled the ancient routes between Palestine and Egypt. Chariots were also used for war (Judg. 1:19), and Beth-marcaboth may have been a fortress city of the Canaanites from which their war chariots could proceed out onto the flatlands in the area of Beer-sheba.—See MADMANNAH No. 2.

BETH-MEON

(Beth-meʹon) [house of the habitation].

A city of Moab mentioned at Jeremiah 48:23, likely the same as Baal-meon or Beth-baal-meon.—See BAAL-MEON.

BETH-MERHAK

(Beth-merʹhak) [the far house, or, the most remote house].

When King David withdrew from Jerusalem due to the rebellion of his son Absalom, he stopped at Beth-merhak, perhaps the last house of Jerusalem in the direction of the Mount of Olives before crossing the Kidron valley. (2 Sam. 15:17, 23) It appears that at this point King David passed review of his forces as they were crossing over the valley, thus indicating that David was not engaged in a wild, panicky flight, but, rather, was making an orderly withdrawal from the city in harmony with divinely guided strategy.—2 Sam. 15:18-26.

BETH-NIMRAH

(Beth-nimʹrah) [place of the leopard or house of pure water].

A town assigned to the tribe of Gad on the E side of the Jordan, also called simply Nimrah. (Num. 32:3, 36) It is described as in the “low plain” and as previously forming part of the realm of King Sihon. (Josh. 13:27) The ancient name seems to be preserved in modern Tell Nimrin, situated on the S side of the Wadi Nimrin, but the original site is evidently at Tell Beibil, a short distance away, where investigations show evidence of occupation during the Israelite period followed by abandonment. It thus lay about twelve miles (19 kilometers) E-NE of Jericho.—See NIMRIM.

BETH-PAZZEZ

(Beth-pazʹzez) [house or place of dispersion].

A boundary town of Issachar. (Josh. 19:21) The location is uncertain, some favoring Kerm el-Hadetheh near the suggested site of En-haddah mentioned along with Beth-pazzez.

BETH-PELET

(Beth-pelʹet) [place of refuge or escape].

A town in the southern part of Judah’s inheritance. (Josh. 15:21, 27) It was among the Judean cities reoccupied after the Babylonian exile. (Neh. 11:26) The other towns listed with it indicate a location in the vicinity of Beer-sheba, but the identification is uncertain; some suggest Khirbet el-Meshash, about ten miles (16 kilometers) E of Beer-sheba.

BETH-PEOR

(Beth-peʹor) [house of Peor].

In the final year of their wilderness journey the nation of Israel was encamped “in the valley in front of Beth-peor.” (Deut. 3:29) The name Beth-peor links this place to “the Baal of Peor,” in the immoral rites of which the Israelites became ensnared.—Num. 25:1-3; see BAAL OF PEOR.

It was on the Plains of Moab, in the region of the Jordan, that Moses restated the Law to Israel, and thereafter Moses was buried “in the valley in the land of Moab in front of Beth-peor.” Beth-peor thus appears to have been in the “land of Moab,” that is, in land they had occupied, but in the territory more recently controlled by King Sihon of the Amorites, that is, until his defeat by the nation of Israel. (Deut. 4:46; 34:6) It was later assigned to the tribe of Reuben, being mentioned along with the “slopes of Pisgah and Beth-jeshinoth.”—Josh. 13:15, 20.

These texts all indicate a location near the NE end of the Dead Sea and facing the Plains of Moab. The precise location is uncertain. Nevertheless, Eusebius of the third century C.E. referred to such a place about six miles (10 kilometers) E of Livias (modern Tell er-Rameh). On this basis some suggest an identification with Khirbet esh-Sheikh-Jayil about five miles (8 kilometers) N-NE of the traditional site of Mount Nebo. This site is on the slope of a summit that may have been the “Peor” to which Balaam was taken as the final place to do cursing of Israel. If the above location is correct, then the “valley in front of Beth-peor” would likely be the Wadi Hesban.—Num. 23:28; Deut. 4:46; see PEOR.

BETHPHAGE

(Beth·phaʹge) [house of unripe figs].

The name of this place is believed to derive from that of the late-season figs, which, even when mature, do not give the appearance of being ripe.

Bethphage figures in the account of Jesus’ approach to Jerusalem and as the point from which he sent out his disciples to obtain the ass upon which he rode during his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Nisan 9, of the year 33 C.E. (Matt. 21:1, 2; Mark 11:1, 2; Luke 19:29, 30) The references show it to be near Jerusalem, also near Bethany, and located on the Mount of Olives. While some consider Bethphage to have been located across the ravine to the SE of Bethany at present-day Abu-Dis, the traditional location is between Bethany and Jerusalem at Kefr et-Tur, on the SE slope of the Mount of Olives. From