Beon
Beon is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Transjordan in modern-day Israel. Known today as Ma‘in. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Beon appears in Numbers 32:3 in the request of the Gadite and Reubenite tribes to settle east of the Jordan River rather than crossing into Canaan proper. The tribal leaders listed Beon alongside other Transjordanian cities, including Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, and Nebo, as evidence of fertile, cattle-suitable land. After Moses negotiated the agreement that these tribes would still assist in the conquest of Canaan before returning to settle Transjordan, Beon was rebuilt by the Gadites (Numbers 32:34–38), though in that later list it appears as Baal-meon, revealing its Canaanite cultic associations with the god Baal. The renaming or alternate naming reflects Israel's ambivalence about preserving place names that honored foreign deities. Beon's identification with Baal-meon and the later Beth-baal-meon places it in the Moabite plateau region, an area subsequently contested between Israel and Moab. The Moabite Stone (Mesha Stele) also references Baal-meon, confirming its historical existence and its importance in the Transjordanian political landscape during the Iron Age.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Beon is identified with Ma'in, modern Khirbet Ma'in, situated on the Moabite plateau in present-day Jordan, east of the Dead Sea. This identification is supported by the site's proximity to other Baal-meon references and its correspondence with the Mesha Stele's mention of Baal-meon. Surface surveys and limited excavation at Khirbet Ma'in have revealed occupation from the Iron Age through the Byzantine period, with Iron Age II pottery attesting to settlement contemporary with Israelite and Moabite activity in the region. The site commands a prominent position overlooking the Dead Sea basin. A Byzantine church with well-preserved mosaics has been found at the site, attesting to its long continuity of occupation.
Verse Appearances (1)
Num
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]