Loading
Loading
0 Chapters0 Books0 People0 Places
Israelite town where the Ark of the Covenant was returned by the Philistines
JudeaHistorically Verified
The site has been dug up multiple times since 1911, revealing Iron Age remains right on the border between Israelite and Philistine territory.
A border town in Judah where the Ark of the Covenant was joyfully received after the Philistines returned it (1 Samuel 6). The town later appears in 1 Kings and 2 Kings as a site of conflict between Israel and Judah.
1 Samuel
Return to Sender (With Golden Tumors)
Beth-shemesh is the first Israelite town the supernaturally guided cows walk straight toward — the destination that confirms God's hand is directing the Ark's return.
Joshua
Everybody Eats — The Land Drop Continues
Beth-shemesh here marks Issachar's northern boundary, functioning as a boundary marker for the tribe's territory rather than the more famous southern Beth-shemesh associated with the Ark.
Joshua
God Really Gave Everybody a Place to Stay
Beth-shemesh is assigned here as one of the priestly Kohathite cities in Judah's territory, a border town that would later gain notoriety when the Ark of the Covenant passed through it.
Judges
When Israel Had to Finish What Joshua Started
Beth-shemesh is one of two cities Naphtali failed to clear — the tribe forced the inhabitants into labor rather than removing them, continuing the chapter's pattern of incomplete obedience.
1 Kings
Solomon's Kingdom Was Running Like a Fortune 500
Beth-shemesh is listed here as one of the towns in Ben-deker's administrative district, part of the geographic roster of Solomon's second district in the hill country.
Share this place