Beth Horon
“House of the hollow, or house of caverns”
Summary
Twin cities (Upper and Lower) on the strategic pass between the hill country and the coastal plain, famous as the site of Joshua's victory over the Amorites.
☩Location and Identity
Beth-horon consisted of two towns, an 'upper' and a 'nether,' on the road from Gibeon to Azekah and the Philistine plain. They lay on the boundary between Benjamin and Ephraim, but were counted to Ephraim and given to the Kohathite Levites. The villages still survive today as Beit Ur et-Tahta (lower) and Beit Ur el-Foka (upper).
☩Joshua's Victory
This location is most famous as the site where Joshua pursued and defeated the five Amorite kings who had attacked Gibeon. As the enemy fled down the descent of Beth-horon, the Lord cast great hailstones upon them, killing more than the Israelites slew with the sword. Here Joshua commanded the sun to stand still over Gibeon and the moon over Ajalon.
☩Later History
According to Chronicles, both Beth-horons were built (fortified) by Sherah, a woman of Ephraim. Solomon also rebuilt them as strategic defensive positions. The pass remained strategically important, being the scene of Judas Maccabeus' victory over Seron and later the defeat of the Roman general Cestius Gallus.
Related Verses9 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Beth-horon," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Bethhoron," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 3.George Morrish, "Bethhoron," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).