Beth Shemesh

Called, in Hebrew, "House of the Sun", Beth Shemesh bordered the region controlled by the Philistines. It thus became an important frontier town of the tribe of Judah and is mentioned nearly two dozen times in the Scriptures.

Perhaps the most famous referral was an earth-shattering event in the lives of the Israelites. The Ark of the Covenant, lost to the Philistines, was returned to them at Beth Shemesh: "Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight.

The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord" [1 Samuel 6:12-15].

Later, Beth Shemesh became the center of an ongoing conflict between the tribes of Israel and Judah: "Amaziah, however, would not listen, so Jehoash king of Israel attacked. He and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth Shemesh in Judah" [2 Kings 14:11].

Archaeological excavations on the tel of Beth Shemesh unearthed artifacts and pottery shards that shed light on the Biblical period. From the summit of the tel onlookers have an excellent view of the modern city with the Biblical name, and of the surrounding hills. Ongoing excavations of the fortifications promise to yield an even cleaner picture of this important city in the coming years.