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Bethul

cityOld TestamentJudea1 verse
Today Khirbet ar RasCountry IsraelCoordinates 31.589, 35.094

Bethul is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Khirbet ar Ras. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.

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Archaeological Data
Occupation Phases
Chalcolithic4500 BCE – 3800 BCE
Early Bronze Age3800 BCE – 2500 BCE
Early Bronze Age I3800 BCE – 3050 BCE
Early Bronze Age I-II3800 BCE – 2850 BCE
Early Bronze Age IA3800 BCE – 3300 BCE
Early Bronze Age IB3300 BCE – 3050 BCE
Early Bronze Age II3050 BCE – 2850 BCE
Early Bronze Age III2850 BCE – 2500 BCE
Early Bronze Age IV/Middle Bronze Age I/Int. Bronze2500 BCE – 2000 BCE
Middle Bronze Age2000 BCE – 1550 BCE
Middle Bronze Age II-III1750 BCE – 1550 BCE
Late Bronze Age1550 BCE – 1150 BCE
Late Bronze Age I1550 BCE – 1400 BCE
Iron Age I1150 BCE – 980 BCE
Iron Age I-II1150 BCE – 539 BCE
Iron Age1150 BCE – 333 BCE
Iron Age IIa980 BCE – 830 BCE
Iron Age II980 BCE – 539 BCE
Iron Age IIa-b980 BCE – 720 BCE
Iron Age II-III980 BCE – 333 BCE
Iron Age IIb-c830 BCE – 539 BCE
Iron Age IIb830 BCE – 720 BCE
Iron Age IIb-III830 BCE – 333 BCE
Iron Age IIc720 BCE – 539 BCE
Iron Age III (Persian)539 BCE – 333 BCE
Iron Age III-Hellenistic539 BCE – 63 BCE
Hellenistic-Roman333 BCE – 324 CE
Hellenistic333 BCE – 63 BCE
Roman-Byzantine63 BCE – 638 CE
Roman63 BCE – 324 CE
Early Roman63 BCE – 70 CE
Late Roman70 CE – 324 CE
Byzantine324 CE – 638 CE
UnitoAssyrianGovernance, Villages to Empires Dataset (CC BY 4.0), doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732A. Palmisano, NERD — Near East Radiocarbon Dates (CC BY 4.0), doi:10.5281/zenodo.5767862Uppsala University, ANE Site Placemarks (CC BY 4.0), doi:10.5281/zenodo.6384044

Biblical History

Bethul is a city listed in the tribal allotment of Simeon within the territory of Judah, appearing in Joshua 19:4 as one of the towns given to that tribe during the division of Canaan. It is widely regarded by scholars as an alternate spelling of Bethuel (1 Chronicles 4:30) and possibly Chesil (Joshua 15:30), all referring to the same settlement in the southern reaches of the land, near the Negev desert. The Simeonite tribes who inhabited these southern towns lived in a region characterized by sparse rainfall, pastoral nomadism, and proximity to the trade routes connecting Canaan with Egypt. Simeon's territory was enclave-like, embedded within Judah's boundaries, and over time the tribe's distinct identity faded as it merged into the larger southern kingdom. Bethul's single mention in the boundary lists testifies to the careful documentary traditions preserved in Joshua's tribal geography, even when the places themselves left no other trace in the historical or prophetic literature. The town's name, related to Hebrew roots suggesting separation or a distinguished household, may reflect a daughter settlement or a community with a notable founding lineage.

Archaeological & Historical Notes

Bethul shares its proposed modern identification with Khirbet ar-Ras in the southern Judean hill country, the same site proposed for the variant names Bethuel and Chesil. This reflects the scholarly consensus that all three names represent the same settlement rendered differently across parallel textual traditions in Joshua and Chronicles. Surface surveys of Khirbet ar-Ras and neighboring ruin mounds in this part of the Negev fringe have produced Iron Age ceramic assemblages indicative of settled habitation, though the remains are modest in scale. The region's archaeology fits a pattern of small, semi-permanent agricultural and pastoral communities along the northern Negev, consistent with the character of Simeonite settlement as described in the Hebrew Bible.

Verse Appearances (1)

References

  1. Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
  2. OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
  3. Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
  4. Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
  5. Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
  6. Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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