Hebrew word · H1007

בֵּית אָ֫וֶן

beit

Beth-aven

A place name meaning 'House of wickedness' or 'House of nothingness / trouble'. It was a town or district near Ai and east of Bethel (Josh 7:2; 18:12; 1 Sam 14:23).

Appears 14 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Beth-aven = "house of vanity"

a city east of Bethel

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Samuel 13:5

Range of meaning

A place name meaning 'House of wickedness' or 'House of nothingness / trouble'. It was a town or district near Ai and east of Bethel (Josh 7:2; 18:12; 1 Sam 14:23).

Against the English

All versions transliterate it as a name, which is correct. English readers simply miss what the name meant.

Used elsewhere in the period

Joshua 7:2 places Ai 'near Beth-aven, east of Bethel', so the town was separate from Bethel. Hosea 4:15, 5:8 and 10:5 later turn 'Beth-aven' into an insulting name for Bethel ('House of God' becoming 'House of wickedness') because of its calf shrine.

From the study of Hosea 10:5

Range of meaning

'House of ’āwen'. ’Āwen (H205) covers trouble, harm, wickedness, deceit, and emptiness or nothingness, and is often linked with idolatry (Isa 66:3, 'blesses an idol', literally ’āwen; 1 Sam 15:23). There was also a real village called Beth-aven near Ai (Josh 7:2; 18:12).

Against the English

English versions transliterate it as a place name, so readers miss that it is an insult. Only notes or paraphrases show the pun on Bethel.

Used elsewhere in the period

Amos 5:5 had already said 'Bethel shall become ’āwen'. Hosea uses 'Beth-aven' for Bethel in 4:15, 5:8 and 10:5, and 'the high places of ’āwen' in 10:8. The Septuagint transliterates it as 'house of Ōn'.

From the study of Hosea 4:15

Range of meaning

'House of ʾaven', where ʾaven covers trouble, wickedness, deception, emptiness and especially false or idolatrous worship (Isa 66:3 'blesses an idol [ʾaven]'). A Beth-aven near Bethel is mentioned in Joshua 7:2; 18:12 and 1 Samuel 13:5.

Against the English

All major English versions simply transliterate 'Beth-aven'. Without a note, readers take it as an ordinary town name and miss the insult.

How it drifted

Transliterating a name hides a pun the Hebrew audience could not miss.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hosea 10:5 ('the calf of Beth-aven') and 10:8 ('the high places of Aven') clearly mean Bethel's calf sanctuary. Amos 5:5, which Hosea echoes closely, says 'Bethel shall become ʾaven (nothing)'. The Septuagint renders it 'house of On'.

Where it appears

Joshua · 4

  1. Joshua 7:2 בֵּ֥ית אָ֙וֶן֙ Beth, Aven

    Meanwhile, Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

  2. Joshua 18:12 בֵּ֥ית אָֽוֶן׃ Beth, Aven

    On the north side their border began at the Jordan, went up past the northern slope of Jericho, headed west through the hill country, and came out at the wilderness of Beth-aven.

    Here: The first part of the place name: 'House of…'.

1 Samuel · 4

  1. 1 Samuel 13:5 בֵּ֥ית אָֽוֶן׃ Beth, Aven

    Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.

    Here: The first half of the place name: 'House of...'.

  2. 1 Samuel 14:23 בֵּ֥ית אָֽוֶן׃ Beth, Aven

    So the LORD saved Israel that day, and the battle moved on beyond Beth-aven.

Hosea · 6

  1. Hosea 4:15 בֵּ֣ית אָ֔וֶן Beth, Aven

    Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’

    Here: The first half of the name 'Beth-aven'. It deliberately echoes 'Beth-el', 'house of God'.

  2. Hosea 5:8 בֵּ֣ית אָ֔וֶן Beth, Aven

    Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah; raise the battle cry in Beth-aven: Lead on, O Benjamin!

    Here: The first half of the name 'Beth-aven', 'house of'. It deliberately echoes 'Beth-el', 'house of God'.

  3. Hosea 10:5 בֵּ֣ית אָ֔וֶן Beth, Aven

    The people of Samaria will fear for the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn over it with its idolatrous priests—those who rejoiced in its glory—for it has been taken from them into exile.

    Here: First half of the place name. 'House' here also means a shrine, a god's house.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.