{"id":14547,"date":"2008-03-28T21:01:58","date_gmt":"2008-03-29T02:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=14547"},"modified":"2019-10-31T21:04:57","modified_gmt":"2019-11-01T02:04:57","slug":"what-does-beth-mean-in-various-town-names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-beth-mean-in-various-town-names\/","title":{"rendered":"What does &#8220;beth&#8221; mean in various town names?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t<h2>Question:<\/h2>\n<p>I have a question that came up in my most recent studies with maps. My study sent me to look at the maps in the back of my Bible, and I found something quite interesting. There are some towns with names that begin with &#8216;Beth&#8217;, such as Bethlehem. My question pertains to the &#8216;Beth&#8217; part. Some of the locations are not hyphenated, Bethlehem or Bethel. However, several are, such as Beth-nimrah, Beth-arbel, Beth-shean. One town is Abel-beth-maacah. Why the hyphen, and what does &#8216;Beth&#8217; mean? Is this Hebrew? Is there a difference indicated by the hyphen, to signify something about the town?<\/p>\n\t<h2>Answer:<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;Beth&#8221; is a transliteration of a Hebrew word which means &#8220;house.&#8221; It functions very much like &#8220;ville&#8221; or &#8220;borough&#8221; does in our town names.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bethel is literally &#8220;house of God.&#8221; &#8220;el&#8221; is the Hebrew word for God. This is where Jacob had the vision of a ladder to heaven.<\/li>\n<li>Bethlehem means &#8220;house of bread.&#8221; In others, it probably was known for its bakeries.<\/li>\n<li>Beth-nimrah means &#8220;house of the leopard.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Beth-haran means &#8220;house east of Jordan.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Beth-aven means &#8220;house of vanity.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Beth-horon means &#8220;house of hollowness.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Beth-baal-meon means &#8220;house of the habitation of Baal.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Beth-arbel means &#8220;house of God&#8217;s ambush.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Beth-shean means &#8220;house of ease.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;Abel&#8221; in Hebrew means &#8220;meadow.&#8221; Maachah is a person&#8217;s name, so Abel-Beth-Maachah is the meadow by the house of Maachah. The use of hyphens is to indicate that in Hebrew the names are separate words as oppose to a word when a special ending.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: I have a question that came up in my most recent studies with maps. My study sent me to look at the maps in the back of my Bible, and I found something quite interesting. There are some towns with names that begin with &#8216;Beth&#8217;, such as Bethlehem. My question pertains to the &#8216;Beth&#8217;&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[223,998],"class_list":["post-14547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-geography","tag-names"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12183,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-mission-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":14547,"position":0},"title":"The Mission of Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Matthew 5:17-20 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is hardly a denomination in existence that does not appeal to the Old Testament for portions of their practices. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many of the rituals in the Catholic church find their roots in the Old Testament, such as the burning of incense. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Protestants are not beyond dipping\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sermon&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40908,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/psalms-119\/","url_meta":{"origin":14547,"position":1},"title":"Psalms 119","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 10, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Proverb 4:10-17 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How do you learn? What do you need to learn? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The evil decay, but a child of God must learn - II Timothy 3:13-17 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is important for all aspects of life - II Peter 1:3 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Your parents have invested a lot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Audio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54338,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-were-michael-and-satan-arguing-about-the-body-of-moses\/","url_meta":{"origin":14547,"position":2},"title":"Why were Michael and Satan arguing about the body of Moses?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a Bible question about Jude:\u00a0 Why were Michael and Satan arguing about the corpse of Moses? Answer: \"Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18207,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-word-lord-mean-baal\/","url_meta":{"origin":14547,"position":3},"title":"Does the word &#8220;lord&#8221; mean &#8220;baal?&#8221;","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: It is my understanding that the word \"lord\" means \"baal.\" Can you shed some light on this? Answer: The word\u00a0baal\u00a0is a root word in Hebrew and other Semitic languages which can mean lord, owner, master, possessor, or husband depending on the context in which it is used. Owner \"If\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16232,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-something-indicating-that-bathsheba-was-an-israelite\/","url_meta":{"origin":14547,"position":4},"title":"Is there something indicating that Bathsheba was an Israelite?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 3, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is there a particular scripture that tells that Bathsheba was an Israelite? Answer: Bathsheba was married to a Hittite, but we can surmise that she was an Israelite because her father's name was Eliam (II Samuel 11:3) or Ammiel (I Chronicles 3:5). These names are Hebrew. Eliam means \"God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42803,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-historical-accuracy-of-the-bible-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":14547,"position":5},"title":"The Historical Accuracy of the Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 41:21-29 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When we claim that the Bible is inspired, we are giving a vague notion that it uplifts a person (though it does) or that it is unique (though it is). \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Inspiration means it came from the mouth of God - II Timothy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Audio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/EgyptianVineyards.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14547\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}