Beth-arabah
Where it is
31.84° N, 35.51° E
Mentioned most in
About this place
Beth-arabah, meaning "house of the desert" or "house of the plain" in Hebrew, was a town and wilderness area mentioned in the Old Testament. In Joshua 15:6 and 15:61, it is listed as part of the wilderness area within the territory allotted to the tribe of Judah. However, in Joshua 18:18 and 18:22, Beth-arabah is mentioned as a town in the territory allotted to the tribe of Benjamin.
The exact location of Beth-arabah is not specified in the Bible, but it was likely situated in the Judean Desert, near the Dead Sea. The wilderness of Beth-arabah was one of the regions where the cities of Judah were located (Joshua 15:61).
The term "Arbathite" is used to describe Abi-albon, one of David's mighty men, in 2Sa.23.31 and 1Ch.11.32. The name suggests that Abi-albon was from Beth-arabah or had some connection to the town or region.
Every mention
Joshua 4 mentions
2 Samuel 1 mention
1 Chronicles 1 mention
What the dictionary says
House of the desert, one of the six cities of Judah, situated in the sunk valley of the Jordan and Dead Sea (Josh. 18:22).
Sources
- STEPBible TIPNR · Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References · CC BY 4.0 · github.com/STEPBible/STEPBible-Data
- OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding · CC BY 4.0 · www.openbible.info/geo/