Beth-ba'rali (Heb. Beyth Barak', rria fi^a, prob. for "T^a? H^a, Beih-Abarah, i. e. house of cross- ing, q. A. ford; Sept. Bififiiipd v. r. BaiSnjpd), a place named in Judg. vii, 24 as a point apparently south of the scene of Gideon's victory (which took place at about Bethshean), and to which spot "the waters" (CI'HJl) were "taken" by the Ephraimites against Midian, i. c. the latter were intercepted from crossing the Jordan. Others have thought that these " waters" were the wadys which descend from the highlands of Ephraim, presuming that they were different from the Jordan, to which river no word but its own distinct name is supposed to be applied. But there can hard- ly have been any other stream of sufficient magnitude in this vicinity to have needed guarding, or have been capable of it, or, indeed, to which the name "fording- place" could be at all applicable. Beth-barah seems to have been the locality still existing by that name in the time of Origen, which he assigned as the scene of John's baptism (John ii, 28), since, as being a cross- ing rather than a town, the word would be equally applicable to both sides of the river. See Betha- BARA. The pursuit of the Midianites may readily have reached about as far south as the modern upper or Latin pilgrims' bathing-place on the Jordan. The fugitives could certainly not have been arrested any where so easily and effectually as at a ford; and such a spot in the river was also the only suitable place for John's operations; for, although on the east side, it was yet accessible to Judaea and Jerusalem, and all the "region round about," i. e. the oasis of the South Jor- dan at Jericho. See Bethany. If the derivation of the name given above be correct, Bcth-barah was probably the chief ford of the district, and may there-
BETHBASI
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BETH-EKED
fore b iw been that by which Jacob crossed on his re- turn from Mesopotamia, near the Jabbok, below Suc- coth Oifii. xxxii, 22; xxxiii, 17), and at which Jeph- thab Blew the Ephraimites as they attempted to pass ..vcr from Gilead (Judg. xii, 6). This can hardly u any other than that now extant opposite Kurn Surtabeh, being indeed the lowest easy crossing- place. The water is here only knee-deep, while re- mains of an ancient bridge and of a Roman road, with other ruins, attest that this was formerly a great thor- oughfare and place of transit (Van de Yelde, Memoir, - Ford.
Beth'basi (BatOfiaai), a town which, from the mention of its decays ( ra Ka9r)pv/iiva), must have been originally fortified, lying in the desert (rij tpry/uy), and in which Jonathan and .Simon Maccabseus took refuge from Bacchides (1 Mace, ix, 62, 64). Josephus (Ant. xiii. 1, 5) has Bethalaga, Bt)9a\aya (Beth-hogla), but a reading of the passage quoted by Belaud (Palcest. p. 632) presents the more probable form of Beth-keziz. Either alternative fixes the situation as in the Jordan valley not far from Jericho. — Smith. See Keziz.
Beth-bir'ei (Heb. Beyth Bin', ifcOa rv»3, house of my cnation or cistern ; Sept. o7voc- Bapovp v. r. o'Ikov Bapovotwpifi [by inclusion of the next name], Vulg. Bt thberai), a town in the extreme south of Simeon, in- habited by the descendants of Shimei (1 Chr. iv, 31) ; by comparison with the parallel list in Josh, xix, G, it appears to have had also the name of Beth-lebaotii (q. v.), or LEBAOTH simply (Josh, xv, 32).— Smith.
Beth'car (Heb. Beyth Kar', "I3 T"2, sheep-house, i. e. pasture; Sept. Bat£yop v. r. BeXy/p), a place named as the point to which the Israelites pursued the Philistines from Mizpeh on a memorable occasion (1 Sam. vii, 11), and therefore west of Mizpeh ; apparent- ly a Philistine guard-house or garrison. From the unusual expression "under (nHFlE) Beth-car," it would seem that the place itself was on a height, with the road at its foot. Josephus (Ant. vi, 2, 2) has "as far as Corrhaea" (ii.= \.« Koppaiiav), and goes on to say
(in a. rdance with the above text) that the stone Eb-
enezer was set up at this place to mark it as the spot to which the victory had extended. See Eben-ezer ; ("i.i.r. Schwarz's attempted identification (Palest. p. 136) is not sustained by accurate maps. — Smith, s. v.
Beth-da'gon (Heb. Beyth Dagon', y\ifil r^2, house [i. e. tempi ]of Dagon), the name of at least two cities, one or the other of which may lie the place called by this name in the Apocrypha (B&daywv, 1 Mace, x, 63 ; eoni]i. Josephus, .1 at. xiii, 4, 4), unless this be sim- ply Dagon's temple at Ashdod (1 Sam. v, 2; 1 Chron. x, 10). The corresponding modern name Beit-Dejan is of frequent occurrence in Palestine; in addition to
those iced below, one was found by Robinson (/.'<-
si trches, iii, 102) east of Nablous. There can be no doubt that in the occurrence of these names we have indications of the worship of the Philistine god having spread far beyond the Philistine territory. Possibly these are the sites of towns founded at the time when this warlike people had overrun the face of the country to "Michmash, eastward of Bethaven" on the south, :""1 Gilboa on the north—that is, to the very edge of the heights n hich overlook the Jordan valley— driving "the Hebrews over Jordan into the laud of Gad and Gilead" (1 Sam. xiii, 6 7; comp. 17,18; xxix,l; xxxi Dagon i hoi se cm ).