Beth-el in the Bible

Meaning: the house of God

Exact Match

And he removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto Jehovah, and called upon the name of Jehovah.

And he went on his journeys from the South even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Ai,

And he called the name of that place Beth-el. But the name of the city was Luz at the first.

I am the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst a pillar, where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy nativity.

And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, who appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.

and let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.

So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan (the same is Beth-el), he and all the people that were with him.

And he built there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el; because there God was revealed unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.

And Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried below Beth-el under the oak: and the name of it was called Allon-bacuth.

And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth-el.

And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was still some distance to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor.

And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and spy out the land. And the men went up and spied out Ai.

And Joshua sent them forth; and they went to the ambushment, and abode between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people.

And he took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of the city.

And there was not a man left in Ai or Beth-el, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.

The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is near Beth-el, one;

The king of Mekkedah, one; The king of Beth-El, one;

And the lot came out for the children of Joseph from the Jordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, even the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill-country to Beth-el;

and it went out from Beth-el to Luz, and passed along unto the border of the Archites to Ataroth;

And the border passed along from thence to Luz, to the side of Luz (the same is Beth-el), southward; and the border went down to Ataroth-addar, by the mountain that lieth on the south of Beth-horon the nether.

and Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth-el,

And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el; and Jehovah was with them.

And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Beth-el. (Now the name of the city beforetime was Luz.)

And she dwelt under the palm-tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in the hill-country of Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

And the children of Israel arose, and went up to Beth-el, and asked counsel of God; and they said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin? And Jehovah said, Judah'shall go up first.

Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto Beth-el, and wept, and sat there before Jehovah, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.

And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite and kill of the people, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to Beth-el, and the other to Gibeah, in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.

And they said, Behold, there is a feast of Jehovah from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.

And he went from year to year in circuit to Beth-el and Gilgal, and Mizpah; and he judged Israel in all those places.

Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the oak of Tabor; and there shall meet thee there three men going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:

Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel, whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mount of Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.

To them that were in Beth-el, and to them that were in Ramoth of the South, and to them that were in Jattir,

And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan.

And this became a sin in Israel; for the people went to give worship to the one at Beth-el, and to the other at Dan.

And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he went up unto the altar; so did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places that he had made.

And he went up unto the altar which he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and went up unto the altar, to burn incense.

And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of Jehovah unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.

And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back again to him.

So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el.

Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them also they told unto their father.

For the saying which he cried by the word of Jehovah against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.

And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for Jehovah hath sent me as far as Beth-el. And Elisha said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el.

And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that Jehovah will take away thy master from thy head to-day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.

And he went up from thence unto Beth-el; and as he was going up by the way, there came forth young lads out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou baldhead; go up, thou baldhead.

Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit , the golden calves that were in Beth-el, and that were in Dan.

So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should fear Jehovah.

And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring forth out of the temple of Jehovah all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of heaven, and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el.

Moreover the altar that was at Beth-el, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he brake down; and he burned the high place and beat it to dust, and burned the Asherah.

Then he said, What monument is that which I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, who came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Beth-el.

And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke Jehovah to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Beth-el.

And their possessions and habitations were Beth-el and the towns thereof, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with the towns thereof; Shechem also and the towns thereof, unto Azzah and the towns thereof;

And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephron with the towns thereof.

The men of Beth-el and Ai, two hundred twenty and three.

The men of Beth-el and Ai, a hundred twenty and three.

The children of Benjamin also dwelt from Geba onward , at Michmash and Aija, and at Beth-el and the towns thereof,

And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Beth-el their confidence.

So shall Beth-el do unto you because of your great wickedness: at daybreak shall the king of Israel be utterly cut off.

yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him at Beth-el, and there he spake with us,

For in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will also visit the altars of Beth-el; and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.

Come to Beth-el, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes every three days;

but seek not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth-el shall come to nought.

Seek Jehovah, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, and there be none to quench it in Beth-el.

Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.

but prophesy not again any more at Beth-el; for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a royal house.

Now they of Beth-el had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to entreat the favor of Jehovah,

Thematic Bible



The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring forth out of the LORD's temple all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of heaven, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel.

Behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD to Beth El: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. He cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, "Altar, altar, thus says the LORD: 'Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name. On you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and they will burn men's bones on you.'" He gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: Behold, the altar will be split apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out." read more.
It happened, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, that Jeroboam put out his hand from the altar, saying, "Seize him." His hand, which he put out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back again to himself. The altar also was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. The king answered the man of God, "Now entreat the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again." The man of God entreated the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.

For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, will surely happen."

Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and beat it to dust, and burned the Asherah. And as Josiah turned himself, he saw the tombs that were there in the mountain. And he sent, and took the bones out of the tombs, and burned them on the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, when Jeroboam stood by the altar at the feast. And he turned and raised his eyes to the tomb of the man of God who proclaimed these things. Then he said, "What monument is that which I see?" The men of the city told him, "It is the tomb of the man of God, who came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that you have done against the altar of Bethel." read more.
He said, "Let him be. Let no man move his bones." So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria. All the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel. He killed all the priests of the high places that were there, on the altars, and burned men's bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem.

"For in the day that I visit the transgressions of Israel on him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar will be cut off, and fall to the ground.


I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you vowed a vow to me. Now arise, get out from this land, and return to the land of your birth.'"

Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. He dreamed. Behold, a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. read more.
Behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed. Your seed will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken of to you." Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." He was afraid, and said, "How dreadful is this place. This is none other than God's house, and this is the gate of heaven." And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, and the LORD will be my God, then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God's house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give the tenth to you."

Indeed, he struggled with the angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication to him. He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with us,


There was not a man left in Ai or Beth El who did not go out after Israel. They left the city open, and pursued Israel.

the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;


Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived in it; and he went out from there, and built Penuel. Jeroboam said in his heart, "Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. If this people goes up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah." read more.
Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said to them, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look and see your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt." He set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. This thing became a sin; for the people went to worship before the one, even to Dan. He made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, who were not of the sons of Levi. Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that is in Judah, and he went up to the altar; he did so in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. He went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and went up to the altar, to burn incense.

However from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin, Jehu did not depart from after them, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.


The border passed along from there to Luz, to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel), southward. The border went down to Ataroth Addar, by the mountain that lies on the south of Lower Beth Horon.

The house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.) The watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him, "Please show us the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with you." He showed them the entrance into the city; and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man go and all his family. read more.
The man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.


The men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred twenty-three.

The men of Bethel and Ai, a hundred twenty-three.


Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.

"Go to Bethel, and sin; to Gilgal, and sin more. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days,


The children of Israel arose, and went up to Bethel, and asked counsel of God; and they said, "Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin?" The LORD said, "Judah first."

The children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to strike and kill some of the people, as at other times, on the highways, of which one goes up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah, in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

The people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept severely.


He left from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

He went on his journeys from the Negev even to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first. There Abram called on the name of the LORD.


Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, "Carry there one of the priests whom you brought from there; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the law of the god of the land." So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.


The border passed along from there to Luz, to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel), southward. The border went down to Ataroth Addar, by the mountain that lies on the south of Lower Beth Horon.

Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,


He went up from there to Bethel. As he was going up by the way, some youths came out of the city and mocked him, and said to him, "Go up, you baldy. Go up, you baldhead." He looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. Two female bears came out of the woods, and mauled forty-two of those youths.


God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother." Then Jacob said to his household, and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, change your garments. Let us arise, and go up to Bethel. I will make there an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went." read more.
They gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. They traveled, and a terror of God was on the cities that were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. He built an altar there, and called the place El Beth El; because there God was revealed to him, when he fled from the face of his brother. Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; and its name was called Allon Bacuth. God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan Aram, and blessed him. God said to him, "Your name is Jacob. Your name shall not be Jacob any more, but your name will be Israel." He named him Israel. God said to him, "I am El Shaddai. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations will be from you, and kings will come out of your body. The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and to your seed after you will I give the land." God went up from him in the place where he spoke with him. Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he spoke with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it. Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him "Bethel."


The house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel; and the LORD was with them. The house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.) The watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him, "Please show us the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with you." read more.
He showed them the entrance into the city; and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man go and all his family. The man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.


He sent it to those who were in Bethel, and to those who were in Ramoth of the Negev, and to those who were in Jattir,


He went from year to year in circuit to Bethel and Gilgal, and Mizpah; and he judged Israel in all those places.

She lived under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.


Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, of which two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the Mount of Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.


The sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from your head today?" He said, "Yes, I know it; hold your peace."


Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; and its name was called Allon Bacuth.


but do not seek Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and do not pass to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nothing.


Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, of which two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the Mount of Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.


Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, of which two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the Mount of Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.


The house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)


The sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from your head today?" He said, "Yes, I know it; hold your peace."