Encyclopedia entry
Bethshemesh
(house of the sun).
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One of the towns which marked the north boundary of Judah. (Joshua 15:10) It is now ’Ainshems, about two miles from the great Philistine plain, and seven from Ekron. A city on the border of Issachar. (Joshua 19:22) One of the “fenced cities” of Naphtali. (Joshua 19:38; Judges 1:33) An idolatrous temple, or place in Egypt. (Jeremiah 43:13) In the middle ages Heliopolis was still called by the Arabs Ain Shems .
In the Bible
19
Verses where Bethshemesh is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 1 Chronicles 6:59
Ashan, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh, together with their pasturelands.
- 1 Kings 4:9
Ben-deker in Makaz, in Shaalbim, in Beth-shemesh, and in Elon-beth-hanan;
- 1 Samuel 6:9
but keep watching it. If it goes up the road to its homeland, toward Beth-shemesh, it is the LORD who has brought on us this great disaster. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not His hand that punished us and that it happened by chance.”
- 1 Samuel 6:12
And the cows headed straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, staying on that one highway and lowing as they went, never straying to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed behind them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
- 1 Samuel 6:13
Now the people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they were overjoyed at the sight.
- 1 Samuel 6:15
And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold objects, and they placed them on the large rock. That day the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD.
+13 more verses naming Bethshemesh.
Scripture on Bethshemesh
11
Sources · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.