Category:Bethel

Beth"el, n. Etym: [Heb. b house of God.]

1. A place of worship; a hallowed spot. S. F. Adams.

2. A chapel for dissenters. [Eng.]

3. A house of worship for seamen.

---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

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 (Genesis 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 (Genesis 12:8); and on his return from Egypt he came back to it, and again "called upon the name of the Lord" (Genesis 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 (Genesis 28:10, Genesis 28:19); and on his return he again visited this place, "where God talked with him" (Genesis 35:1), 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 (Genesis 12:4, Genesis 12:5) makes reference. In troublous times the people went to Bethel to ask counsel of God (Judges 20:18, Judges 20:31; Judges 21:2). Here the ark of the covenant was kept for a long time under the care of Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron (Judges 20:26). Here also Samuel held in rotation his court of justice (1 Samuel 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; 1 Kings 13:1). Hence the prophet Hosea (Hosea 4:15; Hosea 5:8; Hosea 10:5, Hosea 10:8) 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, 2 Kings 17:29). At length all traces of the idolatries were extirpated by Josiah, king of Judah (2 Kings 23:15); and the place was still in existence after the Captivity (Ezra 2:28; Nehemiah 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 (Joshua 16:1; 1 Samuel 13:2).

(3.) A town in the south of Judah (Joshua 8:17; Joshua 12:16).