BETH-HACCHEREM

(Beth-hac·cheʹrem) [house or place of the vineyard].

A place near Jerusalem mentioned by Jeremiah as a place suitable for raising a fire signal to warn of advancing enemy forces out of the N. (Jer. 6:1) In postexilic times a district of Judah bore this name, with Malchijah as “prince” over it. (Neh. 3:14) Due to the mention of Tekoa together with Beth-haccherem at Jeremiah 6:1, some consider Beth-haccherem to have been situated to the S of Jerusalem, between that city and Tekoa. Jerome, of the fourth century C.E., referred to it at such location under the name of Bethacharma. In harmony with such views, since 1956 the site of Ramet Rahel, about two miles (3 kilometers) S of Jerusalem, has been proposed. Others, however, do not consider the mention of Tekoa as necessarily indicating a geographical proximity of Beth-haccherem and hold to the more generally suggested site of ʽAin Karim (meaning “spring of the vineyard”) about four miles (6 kilometers) to the W of Jerusalem. This is in a fertile section with olive groves and vineyards and it lies at the foot of Jebel ʽAli, from which height may be seen the Mount of Olives, part of Jerusalem, and, to the W, the Mediterranean Sea. Large stone mounds found on the summit are suggested by some to have been used for lighting signal fires such as those mentioned by Jeremiah.—See BETH-CAR.