Hebrew word · H1032

בֵּית חוֹרֹן

beit

Beth-horon

A place name, 'House of Horon'. It refers to a pair of villages on a ridge running up from the Aijalon Valley to the Benjamin plateau, about 16 km (10 miles) northwest of Jerusalem.

Appears 28 times in 13 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Beth-horon = "house of hollowness"

two towns in Ephraim

1a) Upper Beth-horon-town on the mountains of Ephraim

1b) Lower Beth-horon-town located 800 feet (245 m) lower than Upper Beth-horon

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 2 Chronicles 8:5

Range of meaning

A place name, 'House of Horon'. It refers to a pair of villages on a ridge running up from the Aijalon Valley to the Benjamin plateau, about 16 km (10 miles) northwest of Jerusalem.

Against the English

English versions differ only in spelling: Beth-horon, Beth Horon, Bethoron (Vulgate).

Used elsewhere in the period

Horon (Egyptian Ḥwrn, Hauron) is a Canaanite god attested in Ugaritic texts and in Egyptian sources of the New Kingdom period (roughly 1550–1070 BC). The name Beth-horon probably appears in Pharaoh Shishak's list of conquered places at Karnak, from about 925 BC. The ascent is the scene of Joshua's pursuit (Josh 10:10–11), of a Philistine raiding route (1 Sam 13:18), of Judas Maccabeus' victories over Seron and Nicanor (1 Macc 3:13–24; 7:39–43), and of the defeat of the Roman governor Cestius Gallus in AD 66 (Josephus, Jewish War 2.19).

From the study of Joshua 16:3

Range of meaning

'House of Horon, the lower'. One of two towns (Upper and Lower) on the ridge road climbing from the Aijalon valley to the plateau north of Jerusalem. Usually located at Beit 'Ur et-Tahta (lower) and Beit 'Ur el-Foqa (upper).

Against the English

'Lower Beth-horon' (BSB) and 'Beth-horon the nether' (KJV) are both accurate. 'Nether' is just old English for 'lower'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Scene of Joshua's pursuit of the Amorite kings (Josh 10:10–11). Fortified by Solomon (1 Kgs 9:17). Later the site of Judas Maccabeus' victory (1 Macc 3:16–24) and of the Roman general Cestius Gallus' defeat in AD 66 (Josephus, Jewish War 2.546–550). 1 Chr 7:24 credits Ephraim's daughter Sheerah with building both towns. The god Horon appears in Ugaritic and Egyptian texts.

Where it appears

Joshua · 14

  1. Joshua 10:10 בֵית־ חוֹרֹ֔ן Beth, Horon

    And the LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the ascent to Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

    Here: The first half of the place name 'Beth-horon', literally 'house of Horon'.

  2. Joshua 10:11 בֵּית־ חוֹרֹן֙ Beth, Horon

    As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the Israelites.

    Here: First part of the place name Beth-horon, probably 'house/shrine of Horon', a Canaanite god.

  3. Joshua 16:3 בֵּית־ חוֹרֹ֛ן Beth, Horon

    Then it descended westward to the border of the Japhletites as far as the border of Lower Beth-horon and on to Gezer, and it ended at the Sea.

    Here: First part of the place name Beth-horon, 'House of Horon'.

  4. Joshua 16:5 בֵּ֥ית חוֹרֹ֖ן Beth, Horon

    This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans: The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar in the east to Upper Beth-horon

  5. Joshua 18:13 לְבֵית־ חֹר֖וֹן of Beth, Horon

    From there the border crossed over to the southern slope of Luz (that is, Bethel) and went down to Ataroth-addar on the hill south of Lower Beth-horon.

  6. Joshua 18:14 בֵית־ חֹרוֹן֮ Beth, Horon

    On the west side the border curved southward from the hill facing Beth-horon on the south and came out at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the sons of Judah. This was the western side.

  7. Joshua 21:22 בֵּ֥ית חוֹרֹ֖ן Beth, Horon

    Kibzaim, and Beth-horon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 13:18 בֵּ֣ית חֹר֑וֹן Beth, Horon

    another toward Beth-horon, and the third down the border road overlooking the Valley of Zeboim facing the wilderness.

1 Kings · 2

  1. 1 Kings 9:17 בֵּ֥ית חֹרֹ֖ן Beth, Horon

    So Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon,

1 Chronicles · 4

  1. 1 Chronicles 6:68 בֵּ֥ית חוֹר֖וֹן Beth, Horon

    Jokmeam, Beth-horon,

  2. 1 Chronicles 7:24 בֵּית־ חוֹר֛וֹן Beth, Horon

    His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth-horon, as well as Uzzen-sheerah.

2 Chronicles · 6

  1. 2 Chronicles 8:5 בֵּ֤ית חוֹרוֹן֙ בֵּ֥ית חוֹר֖וֹן Beth, Horon

    He rebuilt Upper and Lower Beth-horon as fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars,

    Here: The first half of the place name. 'Beth' (house) at the start of a Canaanite town name often marks a god's shrine or estate.

  2. 2 Chronicles 25:13 בֵּ֣ית חוֹר֑וֹן Beth, Horon

    Meanwhile the troops that Amaziah had dismissed from battle raided the cities of Judah, from Samaria to Beth-horon. They struck down 3,000 people and carried off a great deal of plunder.

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