The Hebrew (Sam. 1 6; Kgs 2 14,11) term (‘house of the sun’) probably refers to veneration of the sun god (Jos. 19,41). The name is preserved in the Arab village Ain Šams (‘source of the sun’) that earlier lay east of Tall ar-Rumaila (‘the sandy ground’), with which the ancient Beth Shemesh (BS) is to be identified. 20 km west of Jerusalem, BS had a geographically advantageous and trade-oriented location. After settlement in the middle of the Bronze Age, the place enjoyed an initial intercultural upsurge in the late Bronz…
Beth Shemesh(149 words)
Cite this page
Liwak, Rüdiger (Berlin), “Beth Shemesh”, in: Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. Consulted online on 06 June 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e216050>
First published online: 2006
First print edition: 9789004122598, 20110510
▲ Back to top ▲