Beth-haccherem

Beth-haccherem ("house of the vineyard") was a town near Jerusalem whose ruler Malchijah took charge of rebuilding the Dung Gate under Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3:14). Jeremiah singled it out as the southern signal-station warning Jerusalem of invasion from the north: "Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms out of the north" (Jeremiah 6:1). The site is most commonly identified with Ramat Rachel just south of Jerusalem on the road to Bethlehem, where excavations have revealed a major royal Iron Age palace-fortress on a prominent hilltop — exactly the kind of elevation suited for both residence and beacon.