Thematic Bible: Beth-el


Thematic Bible



Then the {king} commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the second priests, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring out of the temple of Yahweh all of the objects 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 then he carried their ashes to Bethel

Suddenly a man of God from Judah came to Bethel, by the word of Yahweh, while Jeroboam [was] standing at the altar to offer incense. Then he proclaimed against the altar by the word of Yahweh and said, "O altar, altar, thus says Yahweh: 'Look, a son will be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall burn on you.'" He gave a sign on that day, saying, "This [is] the sign that Yahweh has predetermined: Look, [this] altar will be torn [apart], and the ashes that [are] on it will be poured out." read more.
It happened at the moment the king heard the word of the man of God that he cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, "Seize him!" But his hand which he stretched out to him was paralyzed, and he was not able to draw it back to himself. Then the altar was torn [apart] and the ashes from the altar poured out according to the sign which the man of God had announced by the word of Yahweh. Then the king responded and said to the man of God, "Please entreat the favor of Yahweh your God, and pray for me that my hand may return to me." So the man of God entreated the face of Yahweh, and the hand of the king returned to him, as it was in the beginning.

For surely, the thing which he proclaimed by the word of Yahweh against the altar which [is] in Bethel will happen, [as it will] against all the houses of the high places which [are] in the cities of Samaria."

Moreover, the altar which [was] in Bethel, the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin, had built, even that altar and the high place, [Josiah] tore down. Then he burned down the high place and crushed [the] pole of Asherah worship to dust and burned it with fire. When Josiah turned and saw the tombs which [were] there on the hill, he sent and took the bones from the tombs and burned [them] on the altar. [Thus] he defiled them according to the word of Yahweh that the man of God had proclaimed who had proclaimed these things. Then he said, "What [is] this gravestone that I [am] seeing?" The men of the city said to him, "[This is the] tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel." read more.
So Josiah said, "Let him rest and let no man move his bones." So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who had come from Samaria. Moreover, all of the shrines of the high places which [were] in the towns of Samaria which the kings of Israel had made to provoke [Yahweh], Josiah removed, and he did to them like all of the deeds he had done in Bethel Then he slaughtered all of the priests of the high places who [were] there, on the altars, and he burned the bones of the humans on them. Then he returned [to] Jerusalem.

"For on the day I punish Israel for {its transgression}, I will also punish 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 stone pillar, where you made a vow to me. Now get up, go out from this land and return to the land of your birth.'"

Then Jacob went out from Beersheba and went to Haran. And he arrived at a [certain] place and spent the night there, because the sun had set. And he took [one] of the stones of the place and put [it] under his head and slept at that place. And he dreamed, and behold, a stairway was set on the earth, and its top touched the heavens. And behold, angels of God [were] going up and going down on it. read more.
And behold, Yahweh [was] standing beside him, and he said, "I [am] Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The ground on which you [were] sleeping I will give to you and to your descendants. Your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, and to the east, and to the north and to the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants. Now behold, I [am] with you, and I will keep you wherever you go. And I will bring you to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised to you." Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely Yahweh {is indeed} in this place and I did not know!" Then he was afraid and said, "How awesome [is] this place! {This is nothing else than the house of God}, and this is the gate of heaven!" And Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up [as] a stone pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; however, the name of the city [was] formerly Luz. And Jacob made a vow saying, "If God will be with me and protect me on this way that I am going, and gives me food to eat and clothing to wear, and [if] I return in peace to the house of my father, then Yahweh will become my God. And this stone that I have set up [as] a pillar shall be the house of God, and [of] all that you give to me I will certainly give a tenth to you."

He struggled with [the] angel and prevailed; he pleaded for his mercy. He met him at Bethel, and there he spoke with him.


Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who had not gone out after Israel; they left the city open and pursued after Israel.

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


Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and he resided in it. Then he went out from there and built Penuel. Then Jeroboam {said to himself}, "Now the kingdom will return to the house of David if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem. The heart of this people will return to their master Rehoboam the king of Judah, and they shall kill me and {return to him}." read more.
And the king had decided, so he made two golden calves and he said to them, "{You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough}; here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt." He put one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. This thing became a sin, and the people walked before the one as far as Dan. Then he built the houses on the high places, and he appointed priests {from all walks of life} who were not from the sons of Levi. Jeroboam also inaugurated a religious feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the religious feast which was in Judah, and he offered [sacrifices] on the altar. Thus he did in Bethel, by sacrificing to the calves that he had made; and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. He offered [sacrifices] on the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month which his heart had devised. He inaugurated a religious feast for the {Israelites}, and he went up to the altar to offer incense.

Only Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat [by] which he caused Israel to sin; [namely,] the calf-shaped idols of gold which [were in] Bethel and Dan.


The border passes [on] from there to Luz, to the slope of Luz to the south (that [is], Bethel); then the border goes down to Ataroth Addar to the mountain that is south of Lower Beth-Horon.

And the house of Joseph spied out Bethel (the former name of the city was Luz). And when the spies saw a man leaving the city, they said to him, "Please show us the entrance of the city, and we will deal kindly with you." So he showed them the entrance of the city, and they struck the city with {the edge of the sword}, but they let go the man and all his family. read more.
And the man went [to] the land of the Hittites, and he built a city and named it Luz; this [is] its name to this day.


the men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred and twenty-three;

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


Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel were ashamed of Bethel, their trust.

"Come [to] Bethel and transgress; [to] Gilgal and {multiply transgression}! Bring your sacrifices in the morning and your tithes on the {third day}.


Then the {Israelites} got up and went up [to] Bethel, and they inquired of God, saying, "Who will go up first for the battle against the descendants of Benjamin?" And Yahweh said, "Judah [will go] first."

The descendants of Benjamin went out to meet the troops, and they lured [them] away from the city and began to inflict casualties on the troops as before, on the main road, one of which goes up [to] Bethel, the other to Gibeah; [and] in the field [there were] about thirty men of Israel.

And the people of Bethel came and sat there until evening before God, and they lifted their voices and {wept bitterly}.


And he moved on from there to the hill country, east of Bethel. And he pitched his tent at Bethel on the west, and at Ai on the east. And he built an altar there to Yahweh. And he called on the name of Yahweh.

And he went according to his journey from the Negev, then to Bethel, to the place where his tent was at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the beginning. And Abram called on the name of Yahweh there.


Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, "Release one of the priests whom you deported from there, and let him go and settle there. Let him teach them the customs of the God of the land." So one of the priests went, whom they had deported from Samaria, and he settled in Bethel and was teaching them how they should fear Yahweh.


The border passes [on] from there to Luz, to the slope of Luz to the south (that [is], Bethel); then the border goes down to Ataroth Addar to the mountain that is south of Lower Beth-Horon.

Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,


Then he went up from there [to] Bethel; as he [was] going up along the way, young boys came out from the city and mocked at him and said to him, "Go up, baldhead; go up, baldhead!" When he turned around and saw them, he cursed them in the name of Yahweh. Then two bears came out of the forest and mauled forty-two boys among them.


And God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make an altar to the God who appeared to you when you fled from before Esau your brother." Then Jacob said to his household and to all who [were] with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods that [are] in your midst and purify yourselves and change your garments. Then let us make ready and let us go up to Bethel, so that I can make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my trouble, and who has been with me on the way that I have gone." read more.
So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that [were] in their hands, and the ornamental rings that [were] in their ears. And Jacob buried them under the oak which [was] near Shechem. Then they set out on their journey, and the terror of God was upon the cities that [were] all around them, so that they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. And Jacob came to Luz which [was] in the land of Canaan (that [is] Bethel), he and all the people that [were] with him. And he built an altar there and called the place El-Bethel, for there God had appeared to him when he fled before his brother. And Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died. And she was buried below Bethel, under the oak. And its name was called Allon-Bacuth. And God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-Aram, and he blessed him. And God said to him, "Your name [is] Jacob. Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name." Then his name was called Israel. And God said to him, "I [am] El-Shaddai. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and an assemblage of nations shall be from you, and kings shall go out from your loins. And [as for] the land that I gave to Abraham and to Isaac, I will give it to you. And to your descendants after you I will give the land. And God went up from him at the place where he spoke with him. And Jacob set up a pillar at the place where God had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. And he poured out a drink offering upon it, and poured oil on it. And Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.


Likewise, the house of Joseph went up [against] Bethel, and Yahweh [was] with them. And the house of Joseph spied out Bethel (the former name of the city was Luz). And when the spies saw a man leaving the city, they said to him, "Please show us the entrance of the city, and we will deal kindly with you." read more.
So he showed them the entrance of the city, and they struck the city with {the edge of the sword}, but they let go the man and all his family. And the man went [to] the land of the Hittites, and he built a city and named it Luz; this [is] its name to this day.


[It was] for those in Bethel, for those in Ramoth of the Negev, for those in Jattir,


He used to go [on the circuit] {from year to year}. He went around Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel [in] all these places.

And she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the {Israelites} went up to her for judgment.


He chose for himself three thousand from Israel. Two thousand [of these] were with Saul at Micmash in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. He sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent.


Then the sons of the prophets who [were in] Bethel came out to Elisha, and they said to him, "Do you know that Yahweh [is] going to take your master {from you} today?" He said, "I also know; be quiet!"


And Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died. And she was buried below Bethel, under the oak. And its name was called Allon-Bacuth.


But do not seek Bethel or go [to] Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba, for Gilgal will certainly go into exile and Bethel will come to disaster."


He chose for himself three thousand from Israel. Two thousand [of these] were with Saul at Micmash in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. He sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent.


He chose for himself three thousand from Israel. Two thousand [of these] were with Saul at Micmash in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. He sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent.


And the house of Joseph spied out Bethel (the former name of the city was Luz).


Then the sons of the prophets who [were in] Bethel came out to Elisha, and they said to him, "Do you know that Yahweh [is] going to take your master {from you} today?" He said, "I also know; be quiet!"