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Bible Encyclopedias
Beth-Aven
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
or (Heb. Beyth A'ven, בֵּית אָוֶן, house of nothingness, i.e. wickedness, idolatry; Sept. usually Βαιθών v. r. Βηθαύν ), a place on the mountains of Benjamin, east of Bethel (Joshua 7:2, Sept. Βαιθήλ; 18:12), and lying between that place and Michmash (1 Samuel 13:5, Sept. Βαιθαβέν v. r. Βαιθωρών; also 14:23, Sept. τὴν Βαμώθ ). In Joshua 18:12, the "wilderness" (Midbar = pasture-land) of Beth-aven is mentioned. In Hosea 4:15; Hosea 5:8; Hosea 10:5, the name is transferred, with a play on the word very characteristic of this prophet, to the neighboring Bethel — once the "house of God," but then the house of idols, of "naught." The Talmudists accordingly everywhere confound Beth-aven with Bethel (comp. Schwarz, Palest. p. 89), the proximity of which may have occasioned the employment of the term as a nickname, after Bethel became the seat of the worship of the golden calves. (See BETHEL). The name Beth-aven, however, was properly that of a locality distinct from Bethel (Joshua 7:2, etc.), and appears to have been applied to a village located on the rocky eminence Burj Beitin, twenty minutes south-east of Beitin (Bethel), and twenty minutes west of Tell el-Hajar (Ai) (Van de Velde, Memoir, p. 294).
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McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Beth-Aven'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/b/beth-aven.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.
