Thematic Bible: A city north of jerusalem


Thematic Bible



And the king commandeth Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring out from the temple of Jehovah all the vessels that are made for Baal, and for the shrine, and for all the host of the heavens, and he burneth them at the outside of Jerusalem, in the fields of Kidron, and hath borne their ashes to Beth-El.

And lo, a man of God hath come from Judah, by the word of Jehovah, unto Beth-El, and Jeroboam is standing by the altar -- to make perfume; and he calleth against the altar, by the word of Jehovah, and saith, 'Altar! altar! thus said Jehovah, Lo, a son is born to the house of David -- Josiah his name -- and he hath sacrificed on thee the priests of the high places who are making perfume on thee, and bones of man are burnt on thee.' And he hath given on that day a sign, saying, 'This is the sign that Jehovah hath spoken, Lo, the altar is rent, and the ashes poured forth that are on it.' read more.
And it cometh to pass, at the king's hearing the word of the man of God that he calleth against the altar in Beth-El, that Jeroboam putteth forth his hand from off the altar, saying, 'Catch him;' and his hand is dried up that he hath put forth against him, and he is not able to bring it back unto him, and the altar is rent, and the ashes poured forth from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of Jehovah. And the king answereth and saith unto the man of God, 'Appease, I pray thee, the face of Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, and my hand doth come back unto me;' and the man of God appeaseth the face of Jehovah, and the hand of the king cometh back unto him, and it is as at the beginning.

for the word certainly cometh to pass that he called by the word of Jehovah concerning the altar which is Beth-El, and concerning all the houses of the high places that are in cities of Samaria.'

and also the altar that is in Beth-El, the high place that Jeroboam son of Nebat made, by which he made Israel sin, both that altar and the high place he hath broken down, and doth burn the high place -- he hath beat it small to dust, and hath burnt the shrine. And Josiah turneth, and seeth the graves that are there in the mount, and sendeth and taketh the bones out of the graves, and burneth them on the altar, and defileth it, according to the word of Jehovah that the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. And he saith, 'What is this sign that I see?' and the men of the city say unto him, 'The grave of the man of God who hath come from Judah, and proclaimeth these things that thou hast done concerning the altar of Beth-El.' read more.
And he saith, 'Let him alone, let no man touch his bones;' and they let his bones escape, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria. And also all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria, that the kings of Israel made to provoke to anger, hath Josiah turned aside, and doth to them according to all the deeds that he did in Beth-El. And he slayeth all the priests of the high places who are there by the altars, and burneth the bones of man upon them, and turneth back to Jerusalem.

For in the day of My charging the transgressions of Israel on him, I have laid a charge on the altars of Beth-El, And cut off have been the horns of the altar, And they have fallen to the earth.


I am the God of Bethel where thou hast anointed a standing pillar, where thou hast vowed a vow to me; now, arise, go out from this land, and turn back unto the land of thy birth.'

And Jacob goeth out from Beer-Sheba, and goeth toward Haran, and he toucheth at a certain place, and lodgeth there, for the sun hath gone in, and he taketh of the stones of the place, and maketh them his pillows, and lieth down in that place. And he dreameth, and lo, a ladder set up on the earth, and its head is touching the heavens; and lo, messengers of God are going up and coming down by it; read more.
and lo, Jehovah is standing upon it, and He saith, 'I am Jehovah, God of Abraham thy father, and God of Isaac; the land on which thou art lying, to thee I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed hath been as the dust of the land, and thou hast broken forth westward, and eastward, and northward, and southward, and all families of the ground have been blessed in thee and in thy seed. And lo, I am with thee, and have kept thee whithersoever thou goest, and have caused thee to turn back unto this ground; for I leave thee not till that I have surely done that which I have spoken to thee.' And Jacob awaketh out of his sleep, and saith, 'Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I knew not;' and he feareth, and saith, 'How fearful is this place; this is nothing but a house of God, and this a gate of the heavens.' And Jacob riseth early in the morning, and taketh the stone which he hath made his pillows, and maketh it a standing pillar, and poureth oil upon its top, and he calleth the name of that place Bethel, house of God, and yet, Luz is the name of the city at the first. And Jacob voweth a vow, saying, 'Seeing God is with me, and hath kept me in this way which I am going, and hath given to me bread to eat, and a garment to put on -- when I have turned back in peace unto the house of my father, and Jehovah hath become my God, then this stone which I have made a standing pillar is a house of God, and all that Thou dost give to me -- tithing I tithe to Thee.'

Yea, he is a prince unto the Messenger, And he overcometh by weeping, And he maketh supplication to Him, At Bethel He doth find him, And there He doth speak with us,


and there hath not been left a man in Ai and Bethel who hath not gone out after Israel, and they leave the city open, and pursue after Israel.

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


And Jeroboam buildeth Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and dwelleth in it, and goeth out thence, and buildeth Penuel; and Jeroboam saith in his heart, 'Now doth the kingdom turn back to the house of David -- if this people go up to make sacrifices in the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem, then hath the heart of this people turned back unto their lord, unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they have slain me, and turned back unto Rehoboam king of Judah.' read more.
And the king taketh counsel, and maketh two calves of gold, and saith unto them, 'Enough to you of going up to Jerusalem; lo, thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.' And he setteth the one in Beth-El, and the other he hath put in Dan, and this thing becometh a sin, and the people go before the one -- unto Dan. And he maketh the house of high places, and maketh priests of the extremities of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi; and Jeroboam maketh a festival in the eighth month, in the fifteenth day of the month, like the festival that is in Judah, and he offereth on the altar -- so did he in Beth-El -- to sacrifice to the calves which he made, and he hath appointed in Beth-El the priests of the high places that he made. And he offereth up on the altar that he made in Beth-El, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month that he devised of his own heart, and he maketh a festival to the sons of Israel, and offereth on the altar -- to make perfume.

only -- the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, that he caused Israel to sin, Jehu hath not turned aside from after them -- the calves of gold that are at Beth-El, and in Dan.


and the border hath gone over thence to Luz, unto the side of Luz (it is Beth-El) southward, and the border hath gone down to Atroth-Addar, by the hill that is on the south of the lower Beth-Horon;

and the house of Joseph cause men to spy about Beth-El (and the name of the city formerly is Luz), and the watchers see a man coming out from the city, and say to him, 'Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance of the city, and we have done with thee kindness.' And he sheweth them the entrance of the city, and they smite the city by the mouth of the sword, and the man and all his family they have sent away; read more.
and the man goeth to the land of the Hittites, and buildeth a city, and calleth its name Luz -- it is its name unto this day.


Men of Beth-El and Ai, two hundred twenty and three.

Men of Bethel and Ai: a hundred twenty and three.


And ashamed hath been Moab because of Chemosh, As the house of Israel have been ashamed Because of Beth-El their confidence.

Enter ye Beth-El, and transgress, At Gilgal multiply transgression, And bring in every morning your sacrifices, Every third year your tithes.


And they rise and go up to Beth-El, and ask of God, and the sons of Israel say, 'Who doth go up for us at the commencement to battle with the sons of Benjamin?' and Jehovah saith, 'Judah -- at the commencement.'

And the sons of Benjamin come out to meet the people; they have been drawn away out of the city, and begin to smite some of the people -- wounded as time by time, in the highways (of which one is going up to Beth-El, and the other to Gibeah in the field), are about thirty men of Israel.

And the people come in to Beth-El, and sit there till the evening before God, and lift up their voice, and weep -- a great weeping,


And he removeth from thence towards a mountain at the east of Beth-El, and stretcheth out the tent (Beth-El at the west, and Hai at the east), and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, and preacheth in the name of Jehovah.

And he goeth on his journeyings from the south, even unto Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the commencement, between Bethel and Hai -- unto the place of the altar which he made there at the first, and there doth Abram preach in the name of Jehovah.


And the king of Asshur commandeth, saying, 'Cause to go thither one of the priests whom ye removed thence, and they go and dwell there, and he doth teach them the custom of the God of the land.' And one of the priests whom they removed from Samaria cometh in, and dwelleth in Beth-El, and he is teaching them how they do fear Jehovah,


and the border hath gone over thence to Luz, unto the side of Luz (it is Beth-El) southward, and the border hath gone down to Atroth-Addar, by the hill that is on the south of the lower Beth-Horon;

and Beth-Arabah, Zemaraim, and Beth-El,


And he goeth up thence to Beth-El, and he is going up in the way, and little youths have come out from the city, and scoff at him, and say to him, 'Go up, bald-head! go up, bald-head!' And he looketh behind him, and seeth them, and declareth them vile in the name of Jehovah, and two bears come out of the forest, and rend of them forty and two lads.


And God saith unto Jacob, 'Rise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an altar to God, who appeared unto thee in thy fleeing from the face of Esau thy brother.' And Jacob saith unto his household, and unto all who are with him, 'Turn aside the gods of the stranger which are in your midst, and cleanse yourselves, and change your garments; and we rise, and go up to Bethel, and I make there an altar to God, who is answering me in the day of my distress, and is with me in the way that I have gone.' read more.
And they give unto Jacob all the gods of the stranger that are in their hand, and the rings that are in their ears, and Jacob hideth them under the oak which is by Shechem; and they journey, and the terror of God is on the cities which are round about them, and they have not pursued after the sons of Jacob. And Jacob cometh in to Luz which is in the land of Canaan (it is Bethel), he and all the people who are with him, and he buildeth there an altar, and proclaimeth at the place the God of Bethel: for there had God been revealed unto him, in his fleeing from the face of his brother. And Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, dieth, and she is buried at the lower part of Bethel, under the oak, and he calleth its name 'Oak of weeping.' And God appeareth unto Jacob again, in his coming from Padan-Aram, and blesseth him; and God saith to him, 'Thy name is Jacob: thy name is no more called Jacob, but Israel is thy name;' and He calleth his name Israel. And God saith to him, 'I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply, a nation and an assembly of nations is from thee, and kings from thy loins go out; and the land which I have given to Abraham and to Isaac -- to thee I give it, yea to thy seed after thee I give the land.' And God goeth up from him, in the place where He hath spoken with him. And Jacob setteth up a standing pillar in the place where He hath spoken with him, a standing pillar of stone, and he poureth on it an oblation, and he poureth on it oil; and Jacob calleth the name of the place where God spake with him Bethel.


And the house of Joseph go up -- even they -- to Beth-El, and Jehovah is with them; and the house of Joseph cause men to spy about Beth-El (and the name of the city formerly is Luz), and the watchers see a man coming out from the city, and say to him, 'Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance of the city, and we have done with thee kindness.' read more.
And he sheweth them the entrance of the city, and they smite the city by the mouth of the sword, and the man and all his family they have sent away; and the man goeth to the land of the Hittites, and buildeth a city, and calleth its name Luz -- it is its name unto this day.


and he hath gone from year to year, and gone round Beth-El, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all these places;

and she is dwelling under the palm-tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Beth-El, in the hill-country of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel go up unto her for judgment.


And sons of the prophets who are in Beth-El come out unto Elisha, and say unto him, 'Hast thou known that to-day Jehovah is taking thy lord from thy head?' and he saith, 'I also have known -- keep silent.'


And Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, dieth, and she is buried at the lower part of Bethel, under the oak, and he calleth its name 'Oak of weeping.'


And seek not Beth-El, and Gilgal enter not, And Beer-Sheba pass not through, For Gilgal doth utterly remove, And Beth-El doth become vanity.