Hebrew word · H1049

בֵּית־צוּר

beit-

Beth-zur

Place name meaning 'House of Rock'. A hilltop town (Khirbet et-Tubeiqa, next to modern Beit Sur) about 6–7 km (4 miles) north of Hebron, on the main ridge road.

Appears 8 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Beth-zur = "house of the rock"

a place in Judah

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 Chronicles 2:45

Range of meaning

Place name meaning 'House of Rock'. A hilltop town (Khirbet et-Tubeiqa, next to modern Beit Sur) about 6–7 km (4 miles) north of Hebron, on the main ridge road.

Against the English

Spelled Beth-zur, Beth Zur or Bethzur. The name is not translated, so the 'rock' imagery is lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josh 15:58 lists it among Judah's hill towns. Rehoboam fortified it (2 Chr 11:7). In the Persian period it was the seat of half a district: 'Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur' (Neh 3:16). In Maccabean times it was a key fortress against Idumea (1 Macc 4:29, 61; 6:7, 26, 31). Excavations in 1931 and 1957 confirmed occupation in several periods.

Where it appears

Joshua · 2

  1. Joshua 15:58 בֵּֽית־ צ֖וּר Beth, Zur

    Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor,

1 Chronicles · 2

  1. 1 Chronicles 2:45 בֵֽית־ צֽוּר׃ Beth, Zur

    The son of Shammai was Maon, and Maon was the father of Beth-zur.

    Here: The first part of the place name. 'Beth' means 'house' and is common in town names (Bethlehem, Bethel).

2 Chronicles · 2

  1. 2 Chronicles 11:7 בֵּֽית־ צ֥וּר Beth, Zur

    Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam,

Nehemiah · 2

  1. Nehemiah 3:16 בֵּֽית־ צ֑וּר Beth, Zur

    Beyond him, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of a half-district of Beth-zur, made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and the House of the Mighty.

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