Bethel

Bethel (Hebrew for "House of El")

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Bethel (Israel) is a city in ancient Israel, about 10 miles north of Jerusalem. It is identified with the Palestinian village of Beitun in the West Bank and near the modern Israeli settlement of Beit El.

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• For traditions of other such stones named Bethel and a god named Bethel see Bethel (god).
• Bethel was also a town in southern Judah (Joshua. 8:17; 12:16). It seems to be the same as the place called Bethul or Bethuel, a city of the tribe of Simeon.

According to scripture, running from the wrath of his brother Esau, Jacob rests and falls asleep on a stone for a pillow in this exact spot. In the dream that follows, Jacob sees a ladder leading up to heaven, with angels going up and down on the ladder to and from heaven. Jacob awakes, and realizes that God's presence is in this exact spot. He anoints his "Pillar Stone" here and later God commands him to build an altar here. Much later, the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Jeroboam) set up a Golden Calf here, (and another one in Dan), along with changing the Feast of Tabernacles to the eigth month instead of the seventh, and appointed non-Levites (or at least not the elder Levites) as priests in an attempt to keep Israelites from moving back down south to Jerusalem, thus losing tax money.

Bethel: Bible ►



 

Bethel (Israel): Bethel (Hebrew בֵּית־אֵל, Standard Hebrew Bet El, Beyt El, Tiberian Hebrew B?ṯ-ʼĒl)...

City: :For alternate meanings see city (disambiguation)...

Jerusalem: Jerusalem (; Hebrew: ; Yerushalayim; Arabic: al-Quds; see also names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city of key importance to the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It is the capital of the State of Israel....