Bethel (בית אל), also written as Beth El or Beth-El, is a Semitic word that has acquired various meanings.

Semitic root

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A Semitic, possibly Phonecian word meaning 'sacred stone/pillar" was the etymological root of the Greek Baetylus.

• For traditions of other such stones named Bethel and a god named Bethel see also Bethel (god).

Hebrew

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In this Semitic language of the Jewish people, bethel means "house of El")

• See: Temple Beth-El

Bible

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

• 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 Biblical scripture, running from the wrath of his brother Esau, the patriarch 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 eighth 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.

A Bethel is the name given to the meeting place as well as the local group that meets in each city.

The name Beth-El, though assumed to have orginated from Jacob, actually is deemed by Biblical critics and scholars to have originated from an older source. The name Bethel is actually an ancient Canaanite deity which can be found in Jeremiah 48:13. This etymology is much more likely than the source given by Jacob.

Geographical names

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United States

Several places in the United States of America are named Bethel:

• Bethel, Alaska
• Bethel, Connecticut
• Bethel, Delaware
• Bethel, Maine
• Bethel, Missouri
• Bethel, New York
• Bethel, North Carolina
• Bethel, Ohio
• Bethel, Pennsylvania
• Bethel, Vermont

Bethel also appears in the name of the following locations:

• Bethel Park, Pennsylvania,
• Bethel Springs, Tennessee,
• Bethel Township, Pennsylvania.

Canada

Several exist in Ontario, Canada:

• Bethel, Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario
• Bethel, Niagara Regional Municipality, Ontario
• Bethel, Prince Edward County, Ontario
• Bethel, Kawartha Lakes, Ontario

South Africa

There is a Bethel, South Africa

Religion

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In English, the word Bethel can refer to a meeting place. The name is also used in the name of some denominations. In the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses, a Bethel is an administrative office. It is the head office in each country where they have significant members where religious literature such as The Watchtower and the Awake is dispersed.

Freemasonry

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A Bethel is a local chapter of the Masonic girls' organization Job's Daughters International.

Sources and references

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Encyclopaedia Britannica, 196, vol. 2

Bethel | Béthel | Betel | Betel | Betel | 伯特利