JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

in Transjordan and Ben-Zion rejected it by force” (Eduy. 8:7;
see also TJ, Yev. 8:3, 9a: TJ, Kid. 4:1, 65c). Scholars are divided
as to whether this implies that Ben-Zion (of whom nothing
more is known) had it ejected from the priesthood because
he questioned its legitimacy. Possibly the learned Judah,
son of Sariphaeus (Ẓerifa), who – according to Josephus –
incited his disciples to pull down the golden eagle erected
by Herod the king over the temple gate, belonged to this family,
as well as R. Judah son of Ẓipporai, also known as Ben
Ẓerifa.
Bibliography: Jos., Ant., 17:149; Jos., Wars, 1:648; Buechler,
in: Festschrift A. Schwarz… (1917), 137ff.; S. Klein, in: MGWJ, 64 (1920),
180ff.; J.N. Epstein, ibid., 65 (1921), 89–90.
[Isaiah Gafni]
BET(H)-ZUR (Heb. רּוצ תי ּב), ֵ ancient city in Ereẓ Israel,
4½ mi. (7 km.) N. of Hebron, and, according to Eusebius
(Onom. 52:1–2), 20 Roman miles south of Jerusalem, on the
Hebron-Jerusalem road. The name has been preserved at Khirbat
Burj al-Ṣūr but the ancient city was located nearby at Khirbat
al-Tubayqa, on a high isolated plateau. Beth-Zur seems
to have first been settled during the Early Bronze Age (third
millennium B.C.E.). The earliest city, however, was apparently
established by the *Hyksos in the second half of the Middle
Bronze Age (c. 18th century B.C.E.). Only meager traces of the
Late Bronze Age have been discovered. The site was rebuilt
during the period of the Israelite settlement and appears to
have been associated with the rule of the sons of *Caleb and
the tribe of Judah (Josh. 15:58; I Chron. 2:45). The Israelite
city was destroyed by fire c. 1,000 B.C.E., apparently in one
of the Philistine attacks. Rehoboam included Beth-Zur in his
system of fortifications (II Chron. 11:7). In the days of *Nehemiah,
it was the capital of a sub-district. Its ruler, Nehemiah,
son of Azbuk, took part in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem
(Neh. 3:16). From this time onward, Beth-Zur served
as a defense post on the southern frontier of Judea against the
Idumeans in the Hebron district. It played an important role
in the Hasmonean wars; a Seleucid garrison stationed there
from 175 B.C.E. was routed by Judah *Maccabee in 165 B.C.E.
This victory and Judah’s fortifications of Beth-Zur as a border
stronghold of Judea made possible the resumption of the
service in the Temple and its rededication (I Macc. 4:29). Two
years later, the Syrians regained control of the city and thereby
of the road to Jerusalem (I Macc. 6:60). Their general *Bacchides
rebuilt its fortifications, c. 160 B.C.E. (I Macc. 9:52),
but after a prolonged siege it was finally captured by the Hasmonean
*Simeon son of Mattathias in the mid-forties of the
second century B.C.E. and its defenses were strengthened. Remains
of the Maccabean fortress, containing large rock-hewn
cisterns, were uncovered in excavations conducted in 1931 and
resumed in 1957. The city was destroyed and abandoned, apparently
during *Vespasian’s campaigns, but as shown by the
Madaba Map, it was reestablished in the Byzantine period,
probably on the opposite hill, Khirbat Burj al-Ṣūr, whose ruins
date from Crusader times.
bevan, edwyn robert
Bibliography: O.R. Sellers, Citadel of Beth Zur (1933); Lapp,
in: BASOR, 151 (1958), 16–27; Aharoni, Land, index; Avi-Yonah, Geog,
index.
[Michael Avi-Yonah]
BET-ẒURI, ELIAHU (1922–1945), Jew executed in Egypt in
the Mandate Period. Bet-Ẓuri was born in Tel Aviv. He became
a member of *Leḥi after its secession from IẓL. Together
with Eliahu *Ḥakim he was sent by his organization to Cairo
to assassinate Lord Moyne, then British minister of state for
the Middle East, whose seat was in Cairo. The attempt was
successful, but Bet-Ẓuri and Ḥakim were apprehended. They
were sentenced to death by a military court in Cairo on Jan.
1, 1945, and executed on Mar. 22. Their remains were interred
in the Jewish cemetery of Cairo.
Bibliography: Y. Nedava, Olei-ha-Gardom (1966); Y. Gurion,
Ha-Niẓẓaḥon Olei Gardom (1971).
°BEUGNOT, AUGUSTE ARTHUR (1797–1865), French
lawyer, senator (1841), and delegate to the National Assembly
(1848). Beugnot was keenly interested in the improvement
of the situation of the Jews in France. In 1822, together with
J.B. Capefigue and G.B. Depping he won a French Academy
competition for a paper Juifs d’occident, ou recherches sur l’état
civil, le commerce, la littérature des Juifs en France, en Espagne
et en Italie, pendant la durée du moyen âge (Paris, 1824).
Beugnot showed thorough knowledge of Jewish history and
concluded his study with an exposition of the contributions
of the Jews to the growth of European economies and culture.
He asserted that whatever negative traits the Jews possess can
be blamed on the Christians. In 1824 the Institute of Science,
Agriculture, and Art in Strasbourg announced a competition
under the patronage of an anonymous Jew, which had as its
purpose to find “the most helpful ways in enabling the Jewish
population of Alsace to enjoy the accomplishments of civilization.”
Beugnot won first prize but his submitted work never
appeared in print. A resumé of his “Quels sont les moyens les
plus propres à faire jouir la population israélite de l’Alsace des
bienfaits de la civilisation?” appeared in Journal de la Société
des Science, Agriculture et Arts du Departement du Bas Rhin (1
(1824), 114–6; 2 (1825), 297–320). He proposed that a council
of Alsatian Jews be formed, under state sponsorship, to form
committees for schools, publication of textbooks, experimental
farms, trade, and charity. He argued that it was necessary to
found a modern theological school and also proposed changing
the Sabbath to Sunday.
[Noe Gruss]
°BEVAN, EDWYN ROBERT (1870–1943), historian and
philosopher. He was educated at Oxford and became lecturer
in Hellenistic history and literature at King’s College,
London. Bevan’s main publications of Jewish interest are The
House of Seleucus, 2 vols. (1902) and Jerusalem under the High
Priests (1904), still a standard work. He also was coeditor (with
Israel Abrahams and Charles Singer) of the Legacy of Judaism
(19282), to which he contributed the article on Hellenis-
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