C. R. CONDER.
BETH-BIRI Cioa ■•»), 1 Ch 4". — A town of Simeon, perhaps textual error for n^nj^ ns Jos 19' = Lebaoth, Jos 15". The ruin Bireh on the west slopes of the Debir bills may be intended. See iirP vol. iii. sheet xxiv. C. R. Condkh.
BETH-CAR (Tj tt'Z), • place of a lamb," 1 S 7". — The Peshitta reads Beth-jashan (see Shen). The whole topography of this episode is doubtful, for the sites of Alizpeh and Ebenezer are uncer- tain. Beth-car evidently stood above a valley by which the Philistines fled from the hills near Jerusalem. The present 'Ain Kdrim, a village overlooking the upper part of the valley of Sorek, west of Jerusalem, would be a possible site. It is the later Carem (added verse, LXX Jos 15"). See Beth-Haccherem. C. R. Condeb.
BETH - DAGON (j'iir"'» 'honse of Dagon,' Bj)9- Ja7ui», Bo7aoi^\). — The name of two different towns mentioned in OT. 1. One of these (Jos 15**) is in the territory of Judah, in the second of the four groups of the cities of the lowland or Shcphelah, and is provisionally identified with Beit-dejan, about 4 miles S. E. of Joppa. 2. The other (Jos 19") was one of the border cities of Asher, apparently to the E. of Carmel, and is not identified. There is another Beit-dejan, however, farther to the N., and perhaps yet others (see G. A. Smith's Hist. Geog. p. 332 n.,
S. 403 n.), indicating that there were many Beth- a^ons. Jos. mentions a Dagon ' beyond Jericho ' (Wars, I. ii. 3 ; Ant. xin. viiL 1). Perhaps this points to a time when the worship of Dagon was widely disseminated, both in and out of the Phil, country. However, the name may mean no more than 'corn house.' See Dagon. In the time of Hezekiah, Sennacherib captured the Batb-dagon near Joppa (Smith, Aasyr. Disc. p. 303).
w. J. Beech KR. BETH-DIBLATHAIM (c-p^^'i n-s 'house of two fig-cakes'?). — In J er 48^ mentioned with Dibon and Nebo, see Almon-Diblathaim ; the next camp to Dibon before Nebo (Nu 33*"-). It is thought by some to be the Diblath of Ezk 6" ; but this seems impo.Hsible. The name (which occurs on the Moabite Stone, 1. 30) has not been found in Moab.
C. R. CONDER.
BETH-EDEN (Am 1» marg.).— See Eden.
BETHEL (Si.n-3 'house of God,' LXX Ba.^i^X, Joa BtjOtjX, BeSfiXri irdXis) is usually identified with the modern Bclin (FEF Memnirs, vol. iL D. Suf)), about four hours N. of Jerusalem, on the NablOs road (Jg 21"), though the ancient tovra may have lain farther N. than the present village (Baed. Faldit.' p. 215). The situation is high up (2880 ft.) in the central ran^e ; hence the mention of ' hill- country ' (Gn 12», Jos Itj', Jg 4», 1 S IS''), and the u.se of the verb ' to go up,' in connexion with Bethel (Gn 35>, Jos 16', Jg 1» •JO'"-*'", 1 S 10^, Hos 4'»).
The earlier name of Bethel was Luz (Gn 28" R, 35« R, 48» P, Jos 18" P, Jg 1» J). In Jos 16» JE, however, a distinction is made between the two places ('from Bethel to Luz'). Perhaps, there- fore, the spot where Jacob spent the night was not actually in Luz, but in its neighbourhood.*
*Dlllm*nn, HmuHt*, p. 887. Jo* 181 nilRlit ha randarml 'froni Bcthol-Luza ' : but Chin woold imply that Brlhel Udxtcr- mtDed by [.dz, whcrean everywhere eUe It la Liu that la d«t«niitned by B*'tli<'l, the b«-tt«'r.known place. ' Luza,' thfii, nay be a jiIohi ingfrt^d to Bcr<>niin"<lHt« the paaaagn to Joi \Vi. The L.X.Y hun the nainr not here (IfX bat It Um ud of ▼.I. IMUm. iVun. Dtul. Jo4lK.> p. 6SU.
Eusebius, in the Onomasticon [s.v. Aoufd), places Luz of Joseph 9 miles from Neapolis, Jerome (Onomast. ib.), 'in tertio lapide Neapoleos'; but neither of these distances can be right. The Talmud mentions some curious legends in con- nexion with Luz : ' where blue wool is dyed ; a place which neither Sennacherib nor Nebuchad- rezzar could take, and where the angel of death is powerless,' etc.* Another town called Luz was founded by a man of Bethel in the land of the Hittites (Jg 1=«).
The first mention of Bethel occurs in the account of Abraham's immigration : the patriarch pitches his tent in the neighbourhood of Bethel, builds an altar, and worships J". He visits this sanctuary a second time, on his return from Egypt (Gn 12* 13''* J). But the origin of the name, and the foundation of the sanctuary, ia especially con- nected with a memorable episode in the life of Jacob. Two divergent accounts exist. According to the one, Jacob encounters the vision at Luz in the course of his flight to Haran (Gn 28"'-2='); this is the earlier narrative, and belongs to JE ; accord- ing to the other, God appears to him on his return from Paddan-aram, many years later (Gn 359-13. IB) . thig jg tj,g account of P.
o. To take the earlier narrative first. It is composite in structure. The two documents, J and E, are interwoven, and difTer considerably in details. In J (w."-"-'*), J' appears standing beside Jacob, and repeats the promise made to Abraham (12» 13"-" J), adapting it to the circum- stances of Jacob, whose words on awaking are, ' Surely J" is in this place, and I knew it not. And he called the name of the place Bethel ' (house oj El).i In E ('»•"• "■ '9- ^■^), on the other hand, we hear of the stone pillow, of the ladder, and of the angels ; Jacob's exclamation is, ' This is none other but the house of God,' etc. ; he sets up the stone as a pillar {mazzeba), anoints it with oil, and makes a solemn vow.