Bethel is first mentioned in the Bible in connection with Abram, soon after he arrived in the land of Canaan. It is recorded that he “removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east” (Gen. 12:8). It is doubtful whether the city existed at that time under the name of Bethel, as Scripture specifically dates the name Bethel from the time of Jacob. It is recorded that “the name of that city was called Luz at the first” (Gen. 28:19), so this may be an occasion when the Spirit of God uses the later name in referring to the place in Abraham’s time, even though the name was not given until Jacob’s time, about 150 years later.
It is difficult to pinpoint the exact sites of both Bethel and Ai today, and some controversy exists concerning their ancient locations. But we know that Bethel was only a short distance north of Jerusalem, perhaps near the site of the present city of El-Bireh. As we have mentioned, the name was given by Jacob when he fled from Esau, as he realized that God knew all about him and purposed to bless him in spite of his sinful ways. Although God made wonderful promises to him there, Jacob was in no state of soul to take all this in, and his comment at the time was, “How dreadful is this place!” (Gen. 28:17). But later, after more than twenty years, he was directed to return to Bethel and to dwell there. It was at this time that his restoration to the Lord really began, although full restoration was not complete until some years after this.
History After the Conquest
After the conquest of Canaan by Israel, the city was conquered by the house of Joseph and was in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim. The tabernacle was evidently pitched near Bethel, in Shiloh, and it was the place where the people of God went up to worship. Shiloh was slightly north of Bethel. It was also one of the places on the circuit of Samuel, as he went from place to place in his capacity as judge.
Many years later, under King Jeroboam, it became a place in the northern kingdom where one of the golden calves was set up and idolatry practiced. In the days of King Ahab, it is recorded that Hiel, evidently a man from Bethel, dared to flout the word of the Lord and rebuilt the wicked city of Jericho. It was also the place where Elisha cursed the children who mocked him and where she bears came out and killed forty-two of them. Such then had become the character of the place whose name means “the house of God.” But God would have the last word, for He sent a prophet from Judah to cry against Jeroboam’s heathen altar in that place and to say that a man by the name of Josiah would one day burn the bones of those idolatrous priests upon that altar. This was fulfilled more than 300 years later; not only did Josiah unearth and burn the bones of those priests, but he also broke down the altar and destroyed every vestige of that idol worship that had gone on for so long.
Much later on, in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah, Bethel is mentioned as the dwelling-place of some who had returned from the captivity. There are a number of references to Bethel in the prophets, mostly referring to times which we have already mentioned and sometimes giving a warning about the sin of Jeroboam, which God never forgot.
Moral Lessons
Here the history ends, as far as the Word of God is concerned. We do not hear of Bethel in the New Testament, and as we have mentioned, it is difficult today to know exactly the ancient site of the place. The Word of God is not concerned primarily with history, but rather with moral lessons. The place may not be able to be accurately identified today, but the lessons from its history remain, for “whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning” (Rom. 15:4).
W. J. Prost