Allon-bacuth
Allon-bacuth is a location mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Samaria in modern-day Israel. Known today as Beitin. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Allon-bacuth, meaning 'Oak of Weeping' in Hebrew, is the poignant name given to the tree under which Rebekah's nurse Deborah was buried, near Bethel (Genesis 35:8). The text records simply: 'Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under an oak below Bethel. So the name of it was called Allon-bacuth.' The passage is striking in its brevity; Deborah has not been mentioned since the account of Rebekah's departure from her father's house in Genesis 24, yet her death and burial are recorded with evident tenderness. The name 'Oak of Weeping' suggests that the tears of the patriarchal household were genuine and the grief deeply felt. The site lay near Bethel, itself one of the most sacred locations in patriarchal memory — where Jacob had seen his vision of the heavenly ladder (Genesis 28) and where God later renewed the covenant promises to him (Genesis 35:1–15). The burial of Deborah at this place weaves personal grief into the larger fabric of covenant history.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Allon-bacuth is not an excavatable archaeological site in the traditional sense, as it designates a specific tree rather than a settlement. The broader location — near ancient Bethel, identified with modern Beitin northeast of Jerusalem — is archaeologically significant. Excavations at Beitin conducted by William Foxwell Albright and James Kelso in the 1930s revealed substantial Bronze and Iron Age occupation, with a destruction layer that some scholars attribute to the Israelite conquest. The site preserves remains from the Middle Bronze Age through the Byzantine period. The reference to a notable oak tree as a burial and landmark site is consistent with ancient Canaanite and Israelite practice of venerating prominent trees as sacred or memorial sites.
Verse Appearances (1)
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