House of God. City north of Jerusalem and south of Shiloh. There, possibly, was a Canaanite sanctuary. In B., as the site is called for the first time in Scripture, Abraham built an altar and invoked the name of Yahweh, after leaving his homeland, as the Lord commanded him, Gn 12, 8; 13, 3. This city was first called Luz, but Jacob, as a result of the dream of the ladder, gave the place the name of B., Gn 28, 10-19; 31, 13; there God changed Jacob’s name to Israel and renewed the promise made to Abraham, 35, 1-16. This site then became a point of pilgrimage, as stated in 1 S 10, 3. In B. there was a brotherhood of prophets with whom Elisha had relations, 2 R 2, 1-3. Towards B. Eliseo was going up and what happened to him was the mockery of some children, whom he cursed in the name of Yahweh, of whom forty-two were destroyed by two bears in the forest, 2 R 2, 23-25.
In times of the judges, the Ark was in B. Jc 20, 18-28, and later it was placed in Shiloh.
Deborah the prophetess who was a judge in Israel, sat under a palm tree, between Ramah and B., on the mountain of Ephraim, and they came to her in search of justice Jc 4, 4-5. Samuel, who lived in Ramah, passed through B. every year to solve the problems of its inhabitants, 1 S 7, 16.
Having divided the kingdom Jeroboam, the first king of Israel, created the religious schism, “the sin of Jeroboam”, he made two golden calves, one of which he installed in B., the other in Dan, so that the Israelite people would not be to worship God in Jerusalem, 1 Kings 12, 26-33. This brought the king divine wrath 1 R 13, 1-34. Am 7, 13. The prophets Amos and Hosea denounced Jeroboam’s sin and foretold his end; Amos was expelled from B. by Amasías, priest of the sanctuary, Hos 6, 10-11; 10, 15; 12, 5; Am 3, 14; 4, 4; 5, 5-6; 7, 10-13; in Tb 2, 6, we find a reference to the oracles of Amos against B. King Jehu, 841-814 a. C., eradicated Baal from Israel, “but he did not turn back from the sins of Jeroboam… the golden calves of B. and of Dan† 2 R 10, 28-29. In the year 721 a. The Assyrians took Samaria, the Israelites were deported and their place was taken by foreigners, and the Assyrian king ordered one of the exiled priests to go to Samaria to teach the new inhabitants “the rules of the god of the land † ; said priest was established in B. 2 R 17, 27-28. King Josiah, 640-609 BC. C., after finding the roll of the Law, when restoring the temple, began the religious reform, which included the eradication of foreign cults. The objects in honor of Baal and Astarte were burned and the ashes taken to B. 2 R 23, 4; he tore down the altar and the loft of B., the work of Jeroboam, 2 R 23, 15-20. Some of those who returned from Babylonian captivity dwelt in B.
Ezra 2 28; Ne 7, 32.
The oracle of the prophet Jeremiah against Moab says that he will be ashamed like the house of Israel of B., Jr 48, 13.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
(Heb., beth†™el, house of God).
1. A town originally known as Luz, 20 km. north of Jerusalem (Gen 28:19), west of Ai. Abraham stopped near this place on his way to the Negev and offered a sacrifice (Gen 12:8; Gen 13:3). Jacob called Luz Bethel (Gen 28:10-22), since God found him there and confirmed the Abrahamic covenant to him. Later, Jacob returned and built an altar and worshiped, calling the place El-bethel (Gen 35:7). Here Jacob buried Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, who had died (Gen 35:8).
The tribe of Benjamin was given Bethel (Jos 18:21-22) and was taken over by the descendants of Joseph under the direction of the Lord (Jdg 1:22-26).
The ark was kept there during the period of the judges (Jdg 20:26-28) and Samuel judged and worshiped there (1Sa 7:16; 1Sa 10:3).
Jeroboam chose Bethel as one of the two centers where he placed golden calves (1Ki 12:26-30). For these and other sins, Amos cried out against the city (Amos 3:14; Amos 4:4-6). Hosea also pronounced judgment on Bethel, even calling it Beth-aven, the house of wickedness (Hos 4:15).
An Israelite priest taught about the Lord to the people Assyria resettled in this place (2Ki 17:27-28), but they combined the worship of their pagan gods with the worship of the Lord (2Ki 17:33). It was not until Josiah became king that this idolatry was removed from Bethel and true worship of the Lord was established (2Ki 23:15-23). When the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity, both Ezra and Nehemiah record that some returned to Bethel (Ezr 2:28; Neh 7:32) and, as one might guess, they are said to be Benjamites (Neh 11:31).
2. A city in southern Judah (1Sa 30:27), also called Bethul (Jos 19:4) and Bethuel (1Ch 4:30).
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
Ruins of ancient Bethel have been identified on the north side of the Arab village of Beitin where WF Albright surveyed during 1927 when he was director of the American Schools of Oriental Research in Jerusalem. Full scale excavations were conducted from July to September, 1934, by Albright and JL Kelso of the Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary (now Pittsburgh Theological Seminary).
The oldest level contains a wall and houses from the late Bronze Age with one of the best constructions of that period yet discovered in Palestine. This was the Bethel of the age of the biblical patriarchs. Their occupation is thought to have begun ca. 2200 BC AD During the thirteenth century the Canaanite city was destroyed in a tremendous conflagration that left ruins three feet thick in places. Albright attributes this to the Israelites at the time of the conquest of Palestine. The Israelite levels that follow are lower than the Canaanite city. Twice Bethel appears to have been burned by the Philistines or other early enemies of Israel. The 9th-century city—the time of Jeroboam I—was built showing evidence of finer workmanship than that of the comparatively primitive ancient Israelite levels. At the beginning of the 6th century the city was again burned, this time by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar. For a time the site was unoccupied, but a humble villa was built there during the Persian period. Vespasiano captured it in the year 69 d. JC , but was again occupied as a Roman city continuing its development until the Arab conquest.
Source: Archaeological Biblical Dictionary
Literally in Hebrew it means “House of God”. It was the most significant Israelite sanctuary prior to the Jerusalem temple and a center of ancient worship. He was on the road to Shechem. It appears in the Bible (with Abraham, Gen. 28.10-22; with Jacob, Gen. 25. 1-61; with the Kingdom of Israel: 1. King. 12. 26).
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
(House of God).
1. Important city of Israel mentioned in the Bible more often than any other, with the exception of Jerusalem. It is believed that the ruins that are next to the present town of Beitin, about 17 km N. of Jerusalem, correspond to ancient Bethel, so that the city was in a rocky mountain range, in the southern end of the region. mountain of Efraín, about 900 m. above sea level. The surrounding area, now quite barren, is a stony plateau with sparse vegetation. However, the existence of several springs shows that the ancient city had a good water supply.
Bethel enjoyed a strategic position, which contributed greatly to its importance. Located on the central mountain range, it was on the important route that went from N. to S. following the course of the Jordan River. This route started from Shechem in a southerly direction and passed through Bethel, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Hebron, until it reached Beer-sheba. (Compare Judg 21:19.) Another route linked Bethel with Joppa on the W on the Mediterranean and with Jericho on the E near the Jordan. Therefore, Bethel was at a crossroads, as were Samaria, Jerusalem, Hebron, and Beer-sheba. Furthermore, the facts indicate that the region between Jerusalem and Bethel was densely populated, with a greater concentration of cities than in any other part of Palestine.
The archaeological excavations carried out in Beitin have shown the great antiquity of this place; it is assumed that the original settlement dates from around the 21st century BC. EC It has also been verified that it suffered a great destruction, as well as a fire, reaching the rubble and the ashes in some places up to 1.5 m. of thickness. This destruction is believed to date back to the time Israel conquered Canaan.
When Abraham entered Canaan, he stopped at Shechem and then went S., “to the hill country, east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east.” (Ge 12: 8) After spending some time in Egypt because of the famine that struck Canaan, Abraham again settled E. of Bethel, in the company of his nephew Lot. Since in both cases Abraham pitched his tent E of Bethel, it has been thought that his camp location was at Burj Beitin, a short distance SE. of Beitin, in what has been called †œone of the best panoramic views of Palestine† . (Encyclopædia Biblica, TK Cheyne edition, London, 1899, vol. 1, col. 552.) It must have been from a place like this that Abraham invited Lot to choose the direction in which he would go when the two parted. Lot † œraised his eyes and saw the whole District of the Jordan †, a region that he decided to choose for himself. (Ge 13: 8-11) Later, Jehovah told Abraham to look in all directions, assuring him that this land would be his inheritance and that of his descendants. (Ge 13:14, 15)
Although Moses calls the city near the place where Abraham encamped “Bethel” in compiling Genesis, the later record shows that the original Canaanite name was “Light.” (See LIGHT, II no. 1.) Jacob spent the night near this city when traveling from Beer-sheba to Haran, and after having a dream of a ladder reaching to heaven, in which he heard God’s confirmation of the Abrahamic promise, he built a pillar and “called that place by name Bethel; but, in fact, Luz was the name of the city before† . (Ge 28: 10-19) When God spoke to Jacob in Haran some twenty years later, he identified himself as the one who had spoken to him at Bethel and told him to return to Canaan. (Ge 31:13.)
After Dinah’s rape at Shechem and Jacob’s sons’ act of revenge against the Shechemites, God commanded Jacob to return to Bethel. He got rid of the false religious objects that were in his house and in the house of his servants, and then traveled to Bethel under divine protection. Once there, he built an altar and then called the place El-betel, which means † œThe God of Bethel †. There he died and went…