בֵּית פֶּלֶט
Beth-Palet, a place in Palestine
Definition
Beth-Palet (בֵּית פֶּלֶט) is a proper noun referring to a town in the territory of Judah, located in the Negev region of southern Palestine. The name literally means 'house of escape' or 'place of refuge,' which may reflect its historical or geographical role. It is listed among the cities allotted to the tribe of Judah after the conquest of Canaan (Joshua 15:27) and later appears as a settlement reinhabited by the people of Judah after the Babylonian exile (Nehemiah 11:26). There are no major differing senses of the word; it consistently denotes this specific location.
Biblical Usage
This place name occurs only twice in the Old Testament, both times in geographical lists. In Joshua 15:27, it appears in the inventory of cities given to the tribe of Judah in the Negev district. In Nehemiah 11:26, it is listed among the towns and villages where the descendants of Judah chose to live after returning from exile. Its usage is purely locational, with no narrative or descriptive context provided in the biblical text.
Etymology
The name is a compound of two Hebrew words: בַּיִת (bayith, H1004), meaning 'house' or 'household,' and פֶּלֶט (peleṭ, H6412), derived from the root פלט (p-l-ṭ), meaning 'to escape, deliver, or slip away.' פֶּלֶט can mean 'escape' or 'that which escapes.' Thus, the name Beth-Palet translates directly to 'house of escape' or 'place of deliverance.'
Semantic Range
While the name itself ('house of escape') carries a thematic resonance with concepts of refuge and deliverance found throughout Scripture (e.g., God as a refuge, cities of refuge), the biblical text does not explicitly develop any theological narrative around this specific location. Its inclusion in the tribal allotment (Joshua) and post-exilic resettlement (Nehemiah) primarily serves to affirm God's faithfulness in restoring His people to the land according to His promises.
As a town in the Negev, Beth-Palet was part of Judah's southern frontier, an arid region where settlement often depended on access to water and trade routes. A name meaning 'house of escape' might indicate it was seen as a place of safety, perhaps due to its topography, or it could commemorate a specific historical event of deliverance known to its original inhabitants. Its listing in both Joshua and Nehemiah underscores its continuity as a recognized community within Judah's territory across centuries.
No direct synonyms as a proper place name. Related conceptually to: מִקְלָט (miqlāṭ, H4733) — 'refuge, asylum'; often used for cities of refuge.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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