Subject: JUICE Geography 6 - Beit El Date: Tue, 21 Apr 1998 23:48:09 +0000 To: "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
From: JUICE Administration <juice@virtual.co.il> To: geography@virtual.co.il Subject: JUICE Geography 6
================================================================= World Zionist Organization Jewish University In CyberspacE birnbaum@jer1.co.il juice@jer1.co.il http://www.jer1.co.il/gate/juice ================================================================= Course: Biblical Geography Lecture: 6/12 Lecturer: Robin Treistman
Web site for this lecture: http://www.wzo.org.il/juice/map/beitel/index.html
Beit El
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION:
Beit El is the name of a city mentioned no less than seventy times in the Bible. Today, a Jewish settlement that bears the same name is located one and one-half kilometers north of the (probable) site of the Biblical city. The Biblical city of Beit El is located in an Arab village called Beitin, which lies 18 km north of Jerusalem. Beit El was located near a vital intersection between the north-south passage connecting Jerusalem and Shechem, and the east-west passage that led from the area toward the Plains of Jericho. In the Bible, Beit El is sometimes associated with a nearby Canaanite city called Ha'ai, which lies 5 km directly to its east.
When discussing Beit El, I am referring to the city in the exact location described above. There was a second Biblical city called Beit El located further north in the Mountains of Ephraim. It is associated with the prophet, Devorah, who "judged" the people near there (Judges 4;4-5).
BIBLICAL HISTORY
When Abraham journeyed into the Land of Canaan, his first stop was Shechem. Though he built an altar, there is no mention that he set up any lasting residence in Shechem. His next stop, which was east of Beit El and west of Ha'ai (Genesis 12;8), involved pitching a tent as well as building a second altar. According to some Biblical commentators (Radak and Sforno), Beit El and Ha'ai were large cities during Abraham's time, and his choice of location was ideal from his point of view: Abraham was intent on introducing the world to Monotheism. The traffic between the two cities would pass his residence, thereby giving Abraham ample chance to "enlighten" the people.
The text is unclear about how long Abraham dwelled near Beit El, as the very next verse describes his journey southward. After a brief visit to Egypt, Abraham returned to Canaan and headed north again to "where his tent was originally between Beit El and Ha'ai" (Genesis 13;3) and stayed there until he parted from his nephew, Lot.
The next Biblical incident that happens in Beit El relates how it received its name. Before continuing, an important issue must be addressed: How is it that we know today the exact location of places that are mentioned in the Bible? There are a number of ways in which the names were transmitted. First of all, there was a Jewish tradition passed down through the generations which specified locations. However, there are locations in which the tradition fizzled out after a certain period of time. Some of these sites can be identified by their Biblical names, preserved by the Arabs after their conquest in 636 CE. Some of those locations have supplemental archaeological evidence. Other places have been "lost" but have been rediscovered recently through archaeological excavations. Beit El is an interesting case: You will see in the discussion below that already in the tradition there are conflicting messages as to where Beit El is located. However, the location today has been verified, as the name Beitin relates to Beit El, and the archaeological excavations there confirm occupation of the city in Biblical times.
Read the story about Jacob's ladder dream in Genesis 28;10-22. The actual wording in the verses is very pertinent to the analysis below. Jacob had left Beersheba and headed toward Haran (to his cousin, Lavan). The verse says that he stayed at a "place" where he slept, and had the dream. He woke up abruptly after the dream and declared, "Surely God is in this place and I didn't know it... how awe-inspiring this place is - it is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (Genesis 28;16-17). Later when it was morning, Jacob arose, set up a monument (pillar), poured oil over it, and called the name of the place Beit El, which literally means the House of God. The verses also point out that the original name of the place was Luz (verse 19).
In terms of geographic location, these verses are enigmatic for Biblical commentators. The text indicates that Beit El is in a physical location at the city called Luz. However, the word in verse 11, "bamakom" (or "in the place") and Beit Elo-him ("House of God") in verse 17 imply the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Below is a sampling of Midrashic sources and Biblical commentary which attempt to resolve the issue. Remember that when studying Midrash, the content can sometimes seem far-fetched. There are cases in which Midrashic literature is to be taken literally, and other times that Midrashim are to be used as a guide to discover metaphorical insights in the Bible.
The following story that fits the verses is based on the account in Talmud Hulin 91: Jacob left Beersheba and went to Haran. Upon reaching Haran, he realized that he had bypassed Mt. Moriah (the Temple Mount) without praying there as was done by his father and grandfather. After Jacob decided to return to Mt. Moriah, God performed a miracle and had the earth "fold" itself in such a way that Jacob was able to reach Mt. Moriah on that same day. In other words, Jacob reached Luz, and Mt. Moriah itself miraculously travelled to meet him there. Though Jacob ended up having the dream at Mt. Moriah, the actual physical location was Luz, named Beit El because of that temporary visit of the future location of the Temple Mount. Hizkuni even suggests that the stone that Jacob sets up as a pillar was "left behind" when Mt. Moriah went back to its place.
There is one talmudic source in Pesachim 88 which can be interpreted (as Rashi does) saying that Jacob was actually in Jerusalem (the Temple Mount) and he named it Beit El. But this is a minority opinion. Other Midrashic sources (in Bereishit Rabba 69;7) discuss the location of the foot, top, and midpoint of the ladder in Jacob's dream in an attempt to find the connection between Jerusalem and Beit El. Rabbi Elazar in the name of Rabbi Yossi ben Zimra explains that the foot of the ladder was in Beersheba while its midpoint reached over Jerusalem (implying its top was over Beit El as explained by Rashi on Genesis 28;17). Rabbi Yehuda Ben Rabbi Simon suggests that the foot of the ladder stood at the Temple Mount and the midpoint was above Beit El.
Before clarifying the confusion generated by the midrashic and talmudic sources, I will cite two more Biblical commentaries that are relevant to this discussion: Rashbam, a commentator who tries to adhere to the literal meaning of the verses, suggests that Jacob was on his way to Haran and made a stopover right outside of the city called Luz. After his prophetic dream, the city took on the name Beit El, even though the incident didn't happen inside it.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains the whole episode in a very different manner. When Jacob awoke abruptly from his dream, he came to a realization: Not that he is in the House of God but that every human being IS a "house of God" and a "gate of Heaven." As the only creature on earth that can unite the physical and the spiritual, human beings have the awesome responsibility of doing just that. In other words, S.R. Hirsch stays away from the ideas of the location of the future Temple and land "folding" etc... He insists that Luz was a physical place where this revelation and realization happened, and it was named Beit El in tribute.
When combining all of the ideas in the sources above, you can see that Beit El is a place where the metaphorical and the geographical meet to teach a philosophical lesson through the Biblical story. Some of the midrashic explanations may seem a bit outlandish. However, if you read them in a figurative light, they can be understood more easily: It appears most likely that Jacob did stay in or by a place called Luz, but his dream superimposed another location onto his perceived reality (hence the "folded" land). When Jacob awoke, realized the awesomeness of his dream, and exclaimed, "God's presence is here," it could have been due to a personal feeling of closeness to God. He therefore called the place "Beit El" in respect to his own experience with the vision.
One thing is made clear by the Biblical text: There is indeed a place that was called Luz that was later called Beit El. After the incident in Shechem where Simon and Levi destroyed the city, God said to Jacob, "Get up and go to Beit El and settle there and build and altar there..." (Genesis 35;1) Five verses later, when Jacob approaches the place, it is called "Luz in the Land of Canaan, which is Beit El." Furthermore, the Bible clarifies that it is the same place where God revealed Himself to Jacob when he had escaped the wrath of his brother (Genesis 35;7). Again, this other reference in Genesis clarifies that Luz and Beit El were one and the same place, and they were NOT Jerusalem.
As an interesting side-note, in Westminster Abbey in London sits a special throne called the Coronation Chair. The throne is built around a stone which is called the Stone of Scone, or the Stone of Destiny, or Jacob's Pillow. There is a Celtic legend which suggests that this is the stone on which Jacob rested his head when he dreamed about the ladder (see Genesis 28;12,18). When the Israelites were exiled in ancient times, the stone made its way over to Scotland where it was used for coronation ceremonies in the city of Scone. In 1269, King Edward I of England brought the stone to England, and in 1300 the Coronation Chair was built around it.
The next time that Beit El is mentioned in the Bible is during the conquest of Israel by Joshua. As Joshua 8;1-29 describes, the second city to be conquered is Ha'ai (next to Beit El). During the battle over Ha'ai, the people of Beit El joined in the battle - to the extent that the city was entirely evacuated (verse 17). However, it appears that the inhabitants of Beit El returned to the protection of their city and only Ha'ai was destroyed.
Though the names Luz and Beit El were used interchangeably, it is apparent (Joshua 16;2 and 18;13) that the two are actually adjoining cities with Luz as the "old" or ancient section, and Beit El as the "new" (remember - everything's relative!) part of the city which originated on the site where Jacob had his dream. In fact, it is probable that the border between the portions allotted to the tribes of Benjamin and Ephraim ran between Luz and Beit El. (Ephraim was in the north and included Luz.) See Judges 1 (verses 22-26) for the account of the conquest of Beit El through a joint effort of the tribes of Ephraim, Menashe, and probably Benjamin.
When reading the history that is recounted in the Bible, it is worthwhile to assess the motivations behind the actions. By doing so, one can gain a deeper understanding of the political, social, and even economic factors that shaped the situations, not unlike those seen in later and contemporary history. Taking Beit El as a case in point, I suggest that you read Kings I 12;25-33. As mentioned in the lecture on Shechem, when the united Israelite kingdom split after the death of King Solomon, (928 BCE) the new king of Israel (as opposed to Judah), Jeroboam, was in a precarious position: He was the "breakoff" king, not from the royal line of King David. Worried that sanctioned jurisdiction over his subjects would not come automatically, he took measures to ensure solid allegiance.
Until then, the spiritual center of the nation was in Jerusalem at Solomon's Temple. The Bible commands that everyone visit the Temple thrice yearly on the holidays of Passover, Shavuot, and Succot. Because Jerusalem was located in the portions of tribes who declared allegiance to Rehoboam (Judah and Benjamin), Jeroboam was worried that the pilgrimages would undermine the loyalty of his subjects. He therefore prohibited members of the ten tribes to journey to Jerusalem (verses 26-27). In order to fulfill the spiritual need for communal religious ceremony, he built two religious centers in which golden calves were the focus: One in Dan and one in Beit El (verses 28-29).
Jeroboam was smart on three counts here. First of all, convenience was a priority: Remember that one of the reasons that the ten tribes were ready to break from Judah is that King Rehoboam made it clear that life will not be easy for his subjects (Kings I 12;14). Not only did Jeroboam not "tax" the people, but he even "freed" them from the obligation to travel all the way to Jerusalem. He made the pilgrimages more convenient by making two centers available. By having two, the cities wouldn't be so crowded and they were easier for people to reach.
Secondly, choosing Beit El as a location for one of the houses of worship was a spiritually clever and not coincidental move. The name of the city, Beit El implies that the "house of God" belongs there. Also, Jeroboam was well aware of the spiritual history of Beit El and the intrinsic connection with Jacob, Jerusalem, and the house of God. People were willing to forego Jerusalem for an equivalent house of worship as long as it had a spiritual connection. The other center was placed in Dan (in Northern Israel - presently in the Golan) most likely because it was the administrative center of the kingdom. That one, however, was treated more like a branch of the main center in Beit El. The next verses (32-33) describe the first holiday celebration in Beit El under the direction of Jeroboam.
Lastly, choosing Beit El was a strategic-geographic move. Remember that it was located on the border between the tribes of Benjamin and Ephraim. Benjamin sided with the Kingdom of Judah while Ephraim was part of the Kingdom of Israel. Placing a religious center on the border was a contemptuous gesture as if to say that Jeroboam did not fear competition with Jerusalem and Judah. It also gave Jeroboam the chance to win the support of the tribe of Benjamin which was not officially part of the Judean kingdom.
Needless to say, the establishment of houses of worship outside of Jerusalem was a major religious revolution not without consequences. The following chapter (Kings I 13) relates a story about a prophet who appears in the middle of the festivities and warns Jeroboam about the consequences of his actions. Read the chapter for the details, and then read Kings II 23;1-20. That is the point where the Josiah, King of Judah, eradicated all traces of idol worship throughout the entire land (c. 621 BCE) including the former Kingdom of Israel (by then it had already been exiled by Assyria). What Josiah does in Beit El - destroying the altar after using it to burn the bones of the priests from a nearby graveyard - is essentially the fulfillment of the prophecy written in Kings I 13.
Though Beit El is associated with the Kingdom of Israel, it is important to remember that it was a border-city with a variety of inhabitants. Therefore, even after the Kingdom of Israel is exiled, (724 BCE) there are remnants of the tribe of Benjamin in Beit El (as can be seen in the story of the destruction of the altar in Kings II 23). When the exiled Kingdom of Judah returns after 70 years in Babylon (516 BCE), the Benjaminite inhabitants of Beit El and Ha'ai are counted among them, forming once again an Israelite presence in the city (Ezra 2;28, Nehemia 7;32 and 11;31).
The placement of the golden calf in Beit El by Jeroboam and its continued use by the following kings of Israel marred the name of the city in other prophetic and religious writings: Beit El became a poetic metaphor describing the hopelessness of sin as can be seen in Hosea 10;15, Amos 4;4 and 5;5-6, Jeremiah 48;13.
POST BIBLICAL HISTORY
Little is known about Beit El and its occupants after the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans (70 CE). Archaeological findings in the area have also left some questions unanswered. For example, ruins of houses were found with Mezuzzas on the doorposts and with markings of the Star of David. Some experts suggest that these ruins are from the Second Temple period, but others maintain that the Star of David is not an exclusively Jewish symbol until later periods. That being the case, it is not clear when the Jewish settlement in Beit El ceased to exist.
Beit El was captured by the Romans in 69 CE. Later, during the Roman conquest of the city of Betar, Beit El was used by the Roman army as a stronghold to guard against escapees from the besieged city. Following the fall of Betar (135 CE), the greater area surrounding Jerusalem became a Roman province called Aelia Capitolina with Beit El as one of the villages. It is possible that at this time the occupants of the city had been exiled to Rome or moved to the northern part of Israel. The relatively sparse ruins of the Roman, Byzantine, and later periods indicate that it was not restored to its former glory following its capture.
Whoever did inhabit Beit El managed to preserve its name. After the Arab conquest in 636 CE, the area most likely had a tiny Arab presence. During the Crusader period, it most likely had also a small Christian presence. Based on the ruins, at some point afterwards the area was abandoned until the present Arab village of Beitin (note that an "n" and "l" in Arabic can be interchangeable) was built on the ancient ruins in the 19th century. Nearby is the modern day Jewish settlement of Beit El which began in 1978 as a yeshiva (institute for intense Judaic study).
Questions for further study and discussion:
1) Read the story about the Concubine in Givah in Judges chapters 19-21. (You will find that sometimes the violence and suspense in the Bible makes that of today seem bland.) What role does Beit El play in the drama and how is its role influenced by its geographic location?
2) In Amos 7;10-17, the prophet is speaking to and about Yeravom II, King of Israel (ruled from 784 BCE - 748 BCE). How is the usage of Beit El in the retort to Amos significant in a figurative sense?
3) How did the paradoxical characteristic of Beit El (Jewish holy vs "abominable" site) affect settlement patterns in the city?
Description of the Sources:
SFORNO -- Rabbi Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno (c.1470 - c.1550) -- Born in Cesna, Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno was known as a physician and a Biblical commentator. His commentary is characterized by adherence to the literal meaning of the text usually in conjunction with contemporary scientific outlooks, avoiding mystical and philological interpretations.
RaDaK - Rabbi David Kimhi (c.1160 - c.1235) -- from Narbonne, Provence, the RaDaK wrote Biblical commentary on the book of Genesis, all of the Prophets, and the Book of Psalms. His commentary is characterized by philosophical insights and polemic material in answer to Christian interpretation of Biblical texts.
References:
Bible and Biblical Commentaries
Elitzur, Y. and Kiel, Y. (1993) _Atlas Daat Mikra_ (Hebrew), Mossad Harav Kook: Jerusalem.
Flavius, Josephus, _Wars_ in Whiston, William (trans.) _The Works of Flavius Josephus_ (1820), David McKay: Philadelphia.
Rappel, Joel (ed.) (1984) _History of Eretz-Israel: From Prehistory up to 1882_, (Hebrew) Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense.
Vilnay, Z. (1975) _Legends of Judea and Samaria_, Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America.
Yitzchaki, A. (ed.) (1980) _Israel Guide: Judea_ (Hebrew), Keter and the Defense Ministry: Jerusalem.
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