(Βαιθβασί ), a town which, from the mention of its decays (τὰ καθηρημένα ), must have been originally fortified, lying in the desert (τῇ ἐρήμῳ ), and in which Jonathan and Simon Maccabaeus took refuge from Bacchides (1 Maccabees 9:62; 1 Maccabees 9:64). Josephus (Ant. 13, 1, 5) has. Bethalaga, Βηθαλαγά (Beth-hogla), but a reading of the passage quoted by Reland (Palaest. p. 632) presents the more probable form of Beth- keziz. Either alternative fixes the situation as in the Jordan valley not far from Jericho. (See KEZIZ).