-
BethphageAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
this point it is but a short distance to the summit of the Mount of Olives, descending from which point the city of Jerusalem would be in full view.—Compare Luke 19:37, 41.
Talmudic references to Bethphage indicate it to have been considered as at the limit of the sabbatical zone around the city of Jerusalem.—Compare Acts 1:12.
-
-
Beth-raphaAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
BETH-RAPHA
(Beth-raʹpha) [house of Rapha, or, perhaps, house of a giant].
The name appears at 1 Chronicles 4:12 where Eshton is said to have become “father to Beth-rapha.” The use of “Beth” (house) in the name has led many commentators to view it as applying to a family “house” or a place. Thus, Keil and Delitzsch’s Commentaries on the Old Testament (Chronicles, p. 88) observes: “Eshton begat the house (the family) of Rapha, of whom also nothing further is said; for they can be connected neither with the Benjamite Rapha (viii. 2) nor with the children of Rapha (xx. 4, 6, 8).”—See ATROTH-BETH-JOAB.
-
-
Beth-rehobAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
BETH-REHOB
(Beth-reʹhob) [place of open space or market].
Evidently the name of a small Aramaean kingdom, perhaps applied primarily to its principal city. In the account of the attack on Laish by six hundred Danites, Laish is described as “in the low plain that belonged to Beth-rehob.” (Judg. 18:7, 28) Later, in David’s time, the Ammonites hired Syrian mercenaries from Beth-rehob in a vain attempt to defend themselves against the Israelite forces. (2 Sam. 10:6) It was also called simply “Rehob” (2 Sam. 10:8) and is, therefore, thought to be the same place mentioned as among the points reached by the twelve Israelite spies in their preliminary investigation of the land of Canaan.—Num. 13:21.
Beth-rehob’s association with the “low plain” in which Laish (later Dan) was situated and the statement at Numbers 13:21, that Rehob was in the direction of the “entering in of Hamath,” likely point to a location in the southern part of the Biqaʽ valley, which lies between the Lebanon and Anti—Lebanon mountains. The fortress city of Hunin, some six and a half miles (10.5 kilometers) W of Tell el-Qadi (the probable location of Dan), and the city of Banyas, about two and a half miles (4 kilometers) E of Tell el-Qadi, have both been suggested as possible locations of Beth-rehob; however, the evidence for either is insufficient for positive identification.
-
-
BethsaidaAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
BETHSAIDA
(Beth·saʹi·da) [house or place of fishing].
The city from which Philip, Andrew and Peter came (John 1:44), although Simon Peter and Andrew seem to have taken residence in Capernaum by the time of Jesus’ ministry. (Matt. 8:5, 14; Mark 1:21, 29) It was a city “of Galilee.” (John 12:21) Following the death of John the Baptist, Jesus withdrew to Bethsaida with his disciples and, at an isolated grassy place in its vicinity, he miraculously provided food for five thousand men, besides women and children, who had gathered to hear him. (Luke 9:10-17; compare Matthew 14:13-21; John 6:10.) Outside Bethsaida Jesus later restored sight to a blind man. (Mark 8:22) Since these powerful works were done in their neighborhood, the people of Bethsaida in general came in for merited reproach due to their unrepentant attitude, along with the population of Chorazin.—Luke 10:13.
The identification of the “village” (Mark 8:22, 23) or “city” (Luke 9:10) of Bethsaida has been a subject of some discussion. The Scriptural references point to a place on the N shores of the Sea of Galilee. The name is connected by Josephus with a populous village lying a short distance to the E of the point where the Jordan River enters the Sea of Galilee. This village was elevated to the status of a city during the rule of tetrarch Herod Philip and named Julias in honor of the daughter of Caesar Augustus. (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVIII, chap. 2, par. 1) The ancient ruins of the site of Julias itself are to be found at et-Tell, about two miles (3 kilometers) from the sea; however, remains of a smaller fishing settlement are located at el-ʽAraj right on the shore. Here a natural harbor was used by fishermen up until recent times, so the place geographically fits the meaning of the name Bethsaida
While accepting this identification as applying to Bethsaida in some of the texts, a number of commentators contend for a second Bethsaida somewhere to the W of the Jordan. This view is due to the understanding, based on statements by Josephus and others, that the territorial limitation of Galilee did not extend E of the Jordan. Josephus himself speaks of Julias as in “lower Gaulonitis,” the region to the E of the Sea of Galilee. Yet Bethsaida is said to be “of Galilee.” (John 12:21) However, the region of Galilee does not seem to have always been so precisely defined, Josephus even referring to one Judas of Gaulonitis as a “Galilean.” (Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVIII, chap. 1, par. 1; Wars of the Jews, Book II, chap. 8, par. 1) It is also quite possible that the city of Bethsaida had some of its population extending as far as the W bank of the Jordan, less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) distant.
Additionally, since the Authorized Version rendering of Mark 6:45 states that Jesus instructed his apostles “to go [by boat] to the other side before unto Bethsaida,” while the parallel passage at John 6:17 gives their destination as Capernaum, some have held that this likewise requires a second Bethsaida on the W side of the Jordan near Capernaum. Modern translations of the text at Mark 6:45, however, allow for the understanding that the apostles began their trip toward Capernaum by first going coastwise “toward Bethsaida” (the point from which they left Jesus evidently being near the site of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand, likely some distance S of Bethsaida [Julias] and on the opposite side of the sea from Capernaum), and thereafter crossing over the northern end of the sea heading for the ultimate destination, Capernaum. They landed on the shores of the land of Gennesaret, apparently somewhat S of the city of Capernaum.—Mark 6:53.
Thus, while various locations have been suggested for a second Bethsaida, the Biblical accounts do not seem to require this. It may also be noted that these suggested sites are all near Capernaum and it seems quite unlikely that two cities bearing the name of Bethsaida would be situated but a few miles apart.
-
-
Beth-sheanAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
BETH-SHEAN
(Beth-sheʹan), also BETH-SHAN [house of security, or, place of quiet].
Initially, a major fortified city of the Canaanites, located at a strategic point commanding the entrance to the Valley of Jezreel from the Jordan valley. The name is continued in that of modern Beisan, while the ancient site is located nearby at Tell el-Husn. The land in the area of Beth-shean is about 400 feet (122 meters) below sea level and to the E drops off sharply to a point some 785 feet (239 meters) below sea level by the banks of the Jordan River, about three miles (4.8 kilometers) away. Built on a large mound on the rim of this declivity, Beth-shean was in an excellent position militarily. To the W of Beth-shean the flat valley plain, through which the River Jalud courses, is well-watered and fertile and steadily rises until it reaches Jezreel some eleven miles (18 kilometers) distant.
Beth-shean was also a junction town on the favored route leading from the Mediterranean seacoast through to the Jordan valley and on to Damascus and Arabia.
Archaeological excavations at Beth-shean have revealed numerous different strata or levels of ancient ruins, the earliest evidently dating back before the time of Abraham. Toward the middle of the second millennium B.C.E., Beth-shean appears to have come
-