Beth-aven
Beth-aven is a settlement mentioned in 4 verses. Its most likely location is Tell Maryam. The name means “the house of vanity; of iniquity of trouble.”
Where is Beth-aven?
Approx. 31.8692, 35.2681 · OpenStreetMap · Google Maps
Possible modern locations
| Identification | Type | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Tell Maryam | settlement | Medium |
| Burqa | settlement | Low |
| Khirbet Nisieh | settlement | Low |
| Beitin | settlement | Low |
| another name for Upper Beth-horon | settlement | Low |
| El Q’ada | settlement | Low |
Beth-aven in the Bible dictionary
House of nothingness; i.e., “of idols”, a place in the mountains of Benjamin, east of Bethel (Josh. 7:2; 18:12; 1 Sam. 13:5). In Hos. 4:15; 5:8; 10:5 it stands for “Bethel” (q.v.), and it is so called because it was no longer the “house of God,” but “the house of idols,” referring to the calves there worshipped.
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), public domain. Full dictionary entry →
Verses that mention Beth-aven
- Joshua 7:2
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 view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.
- Joshua 18:12
And their border on the north side was from Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north side, and went up through the mountains westward; and the goings out thereof were at the wilderness of Beth–aven.
- 1 Samuel 13:5
And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Beth–aven.
- 1 Samuel 14:23
So the Lord saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over unto Beth–aven.