Beth-shemesh
Beth-shemesh was a city allotted to Judah and the Levites, associated with the return of the Ark of the Covenant from the Philistines.
The name Beth-shemesh means “house of the sun”
PlaceOld Testament7 books19 verses
Summary
A location first mentioned at Joshua 15:10; referred to as Beth-shemesh (בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ, בֵּית־הַשִּׁמְשִׁי), Ir-shemesh (עִיר שָׁ֑מֶשׁ), or (Mount )Heres (חֶ֫רֶס).
Location
- Certainty
- Widely agreed (100% of scholarship)
- Coordinates
- 31.751° N, 34.975° E
Glossary entries
Alternative names
- בֵּית־הַשִּׁמְשִׁיBeth-shemesh
- בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁBeth-shemesh
- חֶ֫רֶסMount Heres
- עִיר שָׁ֑מֶשׁIr-shemeshmeans “a city of bondage”
Mentions
- Joshua 15:10בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ · Beth-shemeshThe border curled westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, ran along the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), went down to Beth-shemesh, and crossed to Timnah.
- Joshua 19:41עִיר שָׁ֑מֶשׁ · Ir-shemeshThe territory of their inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh,
- Joshua 21:16בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ · Beth-shemeshAin, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine cities from these two tribes, together with their pasturelands.
- Judges 1:35חֶ֫רֶס · Mount HeresAnd the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But when the house of Joseph grew in strength, they pressed the Amorites into forced labor.
- 1 Samuel 6:9בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ · Beth-shemesh…but keep watching it. If it goes up the road to its homeland, toward Beth-shemesh, it is the LORD who has brought on us this great disaster. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not His hand that punished us and that it happened by chance.”
- 1 Samuel 6:12בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ · Beth-shemeshAnd the cows headed straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, staying on that one highway and lowing as they went, never straying to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed behind them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
- 1 Samuel 6:13בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ · Beth-shemeshNow the people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they were overjoyed at the sight.
- 1 Samuel 6:14בֵּית־הַשִּׁמְשִׁי · Beth-shemeshThe cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there near a large rock. The people chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 6:15בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ · Beth-shemeshAnd the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold objects, and they placed them on the large rock. That day the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 6:18בֵּית־הַשִּׁמְשִׁי · Beth-shemeshThe number of gold rats also corresponded to the number of Philistine cities belonging to the five rulers—the fortified cities and their outlying villages. And the large rock on which they placed the ark of the LORD stands to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
- 1 Samuel 6:19בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ · Beth-shemeshBut God struck down some of the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the LORD. He struck down seventy men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck them with a great slaughter.
- 1 Samuel 6:20בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ · Beth-shemeshThe men of Beth-shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom should the ark go up from here?”
- 1 Kings 4:9בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ · Beth-shemeshBen-deker in Makaz, in Shaalbim, in Beth-shemesh, and in Elon-beth-hanan;
- 2 Kings 14:11בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ · Beth-shemeshBut Amaziah would not listen, so Jehoash king of Israel advanced. He and King Amaziah of Judah faced each other at Beth-shemesh in Judah.
- 2 Kings 14:13בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ · Beth-shemeshThere at Beth-shemesh, Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah. Then Jehoash went to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section of four hundred cubits.
- 1 Chronicles 6:59בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ · Beth-shemeshAshan, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh, together with their pasturelands.
- 2 Chronicles 25:21בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ · Beth-shemeshSo Jehoash king of Israel advanced, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth-shemesh in Judah.
- 2 Chronicles 25:23בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ · Beth-shemeshThere at Beth-shemesh, Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz. Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section of four hundred cubits.
- 2 Chronicles 28:18בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ · Beth-shemeshThe Philistines had also raided the cities of the foothills and the Negev of Judah, capturing and occupying Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, and Gederoth, as well as Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo with their villages.