Smith's Bible Dictionary.pdf - Online Christian Library

Smith's Bible Dictionary
•One of the oldest towns in Palestine, already in existence at the time of Jacob’s return to the
country. Its earliest name was Ephratah, Or Ephrath or EPHRATAH. See (Genesis 35:16,19; 48:7)
After the conquest Bethlehem appears under its own name, BETHLEHEM-JUDAH. (Judges 17:7;
1 Samuel 17:12; Ruth 1:1,2) The book of Ruth is a page from the domestic history of Bethlehem.
It was the home of Ruth, (Ruth 1:19) and of David. (1 Samuel 17:12) It was fortified by Rehoboam.
(2 Chronicles 11:6) It was here that our Lord was born, (Matthew 2:1) and here that he was visited
by the shepherds, (Luke 2:15-17) and the Magi. Matt 2. The modern town of Beit-lahm lies to the
east of the main road from Jerusalem to Hebron, six miles from the former. It covers the east and
northeast parts of the ridge of a long gray hill of Jura limestone, which stands nearly due east and
west, and is about a mile in length. The hill has a deep valley on the north and another on the
south. On the top lies the village in a kind of irregular triangle. The population is about 3000 souls,
entirely Christians. The Church of the Nativity, built by the empress Helena A.D. 330, is the oldest
Christian church in existence. It is built over the grotto where Christ is supposed to have been
born.
•A town in the portion of Zebulun, named nowhere but in (Joshua 19:15) Now known as Beit-lahm
.
Bethlomon
1 Esd. 5:17. [Bethlehem, 1]
Bethmaachah
(house of oppression), a place named only in (2 Samuel 20:14,15) In the absence of more
information we can only conclude that it is identical with Maachah or Aram-maachah, one of the
petty Syrian kingdoms in the north of Palestine. (Comp. (2 Kings 15:29)
Bethmarcaboth
(house of the chariots), one of the towns of Simeon, situated to the extreme south of Judah.
(Joshua 19:5; 1 Chronicles 4:31) In the parallel list, (Joshua 15:31) Madmannah occurs in place of
Beth-marcaboth.
Bethmeon
(Jeremiah 48:23) A contracted form of Beth-baal-meon.
Bethnimrah
(house of leopards) one of the fenced cities on the east of Jordan taken and built by the tribe of
Gad (Numbers 32:36) and described as being in the valley beside Beth-haran. (Joshua 13:27) In
(Numbers 32:3) it is called simply Nimrah. The name still survives in the modern Nahr Nimrim,
above Jericho on the Jordan.
Bethpalet
(house of flight), a town among those in the extreme south of Judah, named in (Joshua 15:27)
Bethpazzez
(house of the dispersion), a town of Issachar named with En-haddah (Joshua 19:21) and of
which nothing is known.
Bethpeor
(house of Peor), a place on the east of Jordan, opposite Jericho and six miles above Libias or
Beth-haran. (Joshua 13:20; 3:29; 4:46)
Bethphage
(g hard) (house of figs) the name of a place on the Mount of Olives on the road between Jericho
and Jerusalem. It was apparently close to Bethany. (Matthew 21:1; Mark 11:1; Luke 19:29)
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William Smith