1053. Beth Shemesh

Lexical Summary

Beth Shemesh: House of the Sun

Original Word: בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Beyth Shemesh
Pronunciation: bayth SHEH-mesh
Phonetic Spelling: (bayth sheh'-mesh)
KJV: Beth-shemesh
NASB: Beth-shemesh, Heliopolis
Word Origin: [from H1004 (בַּיִת - house) and H8121 (שֶׁמֶשׁ - sun)]

1. house of (the) sun
2. Beth-Shemesh, a place in Israel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Beth-shemesh

From bayith and shemesh; house of (the) sun; Beth-Shemesh, a place in Palestine -- Beth-shemesh.

see HEBREW bayith

see HEBREW shemesh

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from bayith and shemesh
Definition
"sun temple," three places in Pal., also a place in Eg.
NASB Translation
Beth-shemesh (20), Heliopolis (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

בֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ proper name, of a location (sun-temple) — ׳שׁ ׳בּ Joshua 19:22 8t., ׳שֿׁ׳בּ Joshua 15:10 6t.; שָׁ֑מֶשׁ ׳בּ Joshua 19:38 4t.; —

1 city in southwest Judah Joshua 15:10; 1 Samuel 6:9,12 (twice in verse); 1 Samuel 6:13,15,19,20; 1 Kings 4:9; 2 Kings 14:13 2Chronicles 25:23; 28:18; distinguished from other places of same name as אֲשֶׁר לִיהוּדָה ׳שׁ ׳בּ 2 Kings 14:11 2Chronicles 25:21; assigned to Levites Joshua 21:16 = 1 Chronicles 6:44; — ruin at modern `Ain Shems Rob^{BR ii. 223 f.} Bd^{Pal 163} Survey^{iii. 35, 60.}

2 city in Naphtali Joshua 19:38; Judges 1:33 (twice in verse)

3 city in Issachar Joshua 19:22; possibly `Ain esh-Shemsîyeh, Jordan valley, south of Beisân (Beth Shean) Survey^{ii. 231.}

4 = On-Heliopolis, in Egypt Jeremiah 43:13 Rob^{BR i. 25} Eb^{GS 505 f.} Dl^{Pa 318 f}.

Topical Lexicon

Overview

Beth Shemesh appears twenty-one times in the Old Testament, designating at least four towns in the land of Israel and one famed sanctuary in Egypt. Each reference links the place to themes of holiness, judgment, and covenant privilege.

Beth Shemesh of Judah

• Border Marker and Levitical City. Marked on Judah’s northern boundary (Joshua 15:10) and later allotted to the sons of Aaron (Joshua 21:16; 1 Chronicles 6:59), it lay in the Sorek Valley on the strategic frontier with Philistia.
• Return of the Ark. “The cows headed straight up the road to Beth Shemesh and kept on the one highway, lowing as they went” (1 Samuel 6:12). Joy over the Ark’s return turned to mourning when seventy* men were struck down for gazing into it (1 Samuel 6:19). The episode underscores the necessity of reverent obedience.
• Military Arena.

– Judah’s defeat by Israel: “Amaziah king of Judah and Jehoash king of Israel met face to face at Beth Shemesh, and Judah was routed by Israel” (2 Chronicles 25:21; cf. 2 Kings 14:11-13).

– Philistine incursion in Ahaz’s reign: “The Philistines…captured Beth Shemesh” (2 Chronicles 28:18).
• Administrative Importance. Under Solomon the town fell within the fifth district overseen by Ben-Deker (1 Kings 4:9).

Beth Shemesh in Issachar

Joshua 19:22 lists a Beth Shemesh on Issachar’s eastern border toward the Jordan. While little detail is provided, its inclusion testifies to meticulous tribal allotment.

Beth Shemesh in Naphtali

Mentioned among Naphtali’s fortified cities (Joshua 19:38), it remained partly Canaanite: “Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh” (Judges 1:33), foreshadowing later spiritual compromise.

Beth Shemesh of Egypt (Heliopolis)

Jeremiah predicts Babylonian judgment on Egypt: “He will demolish the sacred pillars of the temple of the sun in the land of Egypt” (Jeremiah 43:13). The Hebrew text names the shrine Beth Shemesh, asserting the LORD’s supremacy over foreign deities.

Ministry and Theological Themes

Holiness. The Ark narrative illustrates that nearness to sacred objects without obedience incurs judgment.

Light. Though the name evokes the sun, genuine illumination is moral; blessing follows those who walk in revealed truth.

Borders. Each Beth Shemesh lies on a frontier—tribal, national, or spiritual—warning believers to guard covenant boundaries.

Priestly Responsibility. As a priestly town, Judah’s Beth Shemesh typifies the church’s call to steward God’s presence (1 Peter 2:9).

Christological Reflection

The Ark’s unsought journey to Beth Shemesh prefigures the incarnate Word entering a dark world by divine initiative. Irreverent curiosity brought death, yet through Christ believers now behold God’s glory unveiled and live (John 1:14-18).

Archaeological Note

Tell er-Rumeileh, identified with Judah’s Beth Shemesh, yields Late Bronze and Iron Age strata, destruction layers, and cultic installations, aligning with the biblical record.

*Textual variants report a higher number; the Berean Standard Bible notes seventy.

Forms and Transliterations

שֶׁ֔מֶשׁ שֶׁ֖מֶשׁ שֶׁ֗מֶשׁ שֶׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ שֶׁ֨מֶשׁ שָֽׁמֶשׁ׃ שָׁ֑מֶשׁ שמש שמש׃ šā·meš šāmeš še·meš šemeš Shamesh Shemesh

Englishman's Concordance

Joshua 15:10
HEB: וְיָרַ֥ד בֵּֽית־ שֶׁ֖מֶשׁ וְעָבַ֥ר תִּמְנָֽה׃
NAS: and went down to Beth-shemesh and continued through
KJV: and went down to Bethshemesh, and passed on
INT: which Chesalon down to Beth-shemesh and continued Timnah

Joshua 19:22
HEB: ק) וּבֵ֣ית שֶׁ֔מֶשׁ וְהָי֛וּ תֹּצְא֥וֹת
NAS: and Shahazumah and Beth-shemesh, and their border
KJV: and Shahazimah, and Bethshemesh; and the outgoings
INT: to Tabor Shahazimah and Beth-shemesh become and the outgoings

Joshua 19:38
HEB: עֲנָ֖ת וּבֵ֣ית שָׁ֑מֶשׁ עָרִ֥ים תְּשַֽׁע־
NAS: and Beth-anath and Beth-shemesh; nineteen
KJV: and Bethanath, and Bethshemesh; nineteen
INT: Horem and Beth-anath and Beth-shemesh cities nine

Joshua 21:16
HEB: אֶת־ בֵּ֥ית שֶׁ֖מֶשׁ וְאֶת־ מִגְרָשֶׁ֑הָ
NAS: with its pasture lands [and] Beth-shemesh with its pasture lands;
KJV: with her suburbs, [and] Bethshemesh with her suburbs;
INT: and Juttah lands Beth-shemesh pasture cities

Judges 1:33
HEB: יֹשְׁבֵ֤י בֵֽית־ שֶׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ וְאֶת־ יֹשְׁבֵ֣י
NAS: out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants
KJV: the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants
INT: drive the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh the inhabitants of Beth-anath

Judges 1:33
HEB: וְיֹשְׁבֵ֤י בֵֽית־ שֶׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ וּבֵ֣ית עֲנָ֔ת
NAS: and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath
KJV: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath
INT: of the land and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became

1 Samuel 6:9
HEB: יַֽעֲלֶה֙ בֵּ֣ית שֶׁ֔מֶשׁ ה֚וּא עָ֣שָׂה
NAS: of its own territory to Beth-shemesh, then He has done
KJV: of his own coast to Bethshemesh, [then] he hath done
INT: territory goes to Beth-shemesh He has done

1 Samuel 6:12
HEB: דֶּ֙רֶךְ֙ בֵּ֣ית שֶׁ֔מֶשׁ בִּמְסִלָּ֣ה אַחַ֗ת
NAS: in the direction of Beth-shemesh; they went
KJV: to the way of Bethshemesh, [and] went along
INT: in the direction of Beth-shemesh the highway they

1 Samuel 6:12
HEB: גְּב֖וּל בֵּ֥ית שָֽׁמֶשׁ׃
NAS: them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
KJV: them unto the border of Bethshemesh.
INT: them to the border of Beth-shemesh

1 Samuel 6:13
HEB: וּבֵ֣ית שֶׁ֔מֶשׁ קֹצְרִ֥ים קְצִיר־
NAS: Now [the people of] Beth-shemesh were reaping
KJV: And [they of] Bethshemesh [were] reaping
INT: Beth-shemesh were reaping harvest

1 Samuel 6:15
HEB: וְאַנְשֵׁ֣י בֵֽית־ שֶׁ֗מֶשׁ הֶעֱל֨וּ עֹל֜וֹת
NAS: and the men of Beth-shemesh offered
KJV: and the men of Bethshemesh offered
INT: the large and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt

1 Samuel 6:19
HEB: בְּאַנְשֵׁ֣י בֵֽית־ שֶׁ֗מֶשׁ כִּ֤י רָאוּ֙
NAS: some of the men of Beth-shemesh because
KJV: the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked
INT: had struck men of Bethshemesh because had looked

1 Samuel 6:20
HEB: אַנְשֵׁ֣י בֵֽית־ שֶׁ֔מֶשׁ מִ֚י יוּכַ֣ל
NAS: The men of Beth-shemesh said, Who
KJV: And the men of Bethshemesh said,
INT: said the men of Beth-shemesh Who is able

1 Kings 4:9
HEB: וּבְשַֽׁעַלְבִ֖ים וּבֵ֣ית שָׁ֑מֶשׁ וְאֵיל֖וֹן בֵּ֥ית
NAS: and Shaalbim and Beth-shemesh and Elonbeth-hanan;
KJV: and in Shaalbim, and Bethshemesh, and Elonbethhanan:
INT: Makaz and Shaalbim and Beth-shemesh and Elonbeth-hanan

2 Kings 14:11
HEB: יְהוּדָ֑ה בְּבֵ֥ית שֶׁ֖מֶשׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר לִיהוּדָֽה׃
NAS: faced each other at Beth-shemesh, which
KJV: one another in the face at Bethshemesh, which [belongeth] to Judah.
INT: king of Judah Beth-shemesh which to Judah

2 Kings 14:13
HEB: יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּבֵ֣ית שָׁ֑מֶשׁ [וַיָּבֹאוּ כ]
NAS: of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came
KJV: of Ahaziah, at Bethshemesh, and came
INT: king of Israel Bethshemesh abide to Jerusalem

1 Chronicles 6:59
HEB: וְאֶת־ בֵּ֥ית שֶׁ֖מֶשׁ וְאֶת־ מִגְרָשֶֽׁיהָ׃
NAS: lands and Beth-shemesh with its pasture lands;
KJV: with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs:
INT: Ashan pasture and Beth-shemesh lands

2 Chronicles 25:21
HEB: יְהוּדָ֑ה בְּבֵ֥ית שֶׁ֖מֶשׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר לִיהוּדָֽה׃
NAS: faced each other at Beth-shemesh, which
KJV: of Judah, at Bethshemesh, which [belongeth] to Judah.
INT: king of Judah Beth-shemesh which to Judah

2 Chronicles 25:23
HEB: יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּבֵ֣ית שָׁ֑מֶשׁ וַיְבִיאֵ֙הוּ֙ יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם
NAS: of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and brought
KJV: of Jehoahaz, at Bethshemesh, and brought
INT: king of Israel Bethshemesh and brought to Jerusalem

2 Chronicles 28:18
HEB: אֶת־ בֵּֽית־ שֶׁ֨מֶשׁ וְאֶת־ אַיָּל֜וֹן
NAS: and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon,
KJV: and had taken Bethshemesh, and Ajalon,
INT: of Judah taken Beth-shemesh Aijalon Gederoth

Jeremiah 43:13
HEB: מַצְּבוֹת֙ בֵּ֣ית שֶׁ֔מֶשׁ אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּאֶ֣רֶץ
NAS: the obelisks of Heliopolis, which
KJV: also the images of Bethshemesh, that [is] in the land
INT: shatter the obelisks of Heliopolis which the land

21 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 1053
21 Occurrences

šā·meš — 5 Occ.
še·meš — 16 Occ.