Bethzur

(house of rock) a town in the mountains of Judah, built by Jeroboam, (Joshua 15:58; 2 Chronicles 11:7) now Beit-zur . It commands the road from Beersheba and Hebron, which has always been the main approach to Jerusalem from the south.

House of rock, a town in the mountains of Judah (Joshua 15:58), about 4 miles to the north of Hebron. It was built by Rehoboam for the defence of his kingdom (2 Chronicles 11:7). It stood near the modern ed-Dirweh. Its ruins are still seen on a hill which bears the name of Beit-Sur, and which commands the road from Beer-sheba and Hebron to Jerusalem from the south. BETH-ZUR

beth'-zur (beth-tsur; Baith-sour, "house of rock"; less probably "house of the god Zur"):

(1) Mentioned (Joshua 15:58) as near Halhul and Gedor in the hill country of Judah; fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 11:7). In Nehemiah 3:16 mention is made of "Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of half the district of Beth-zur." During the Maccabean wars it (Bethsura) came into great importance (1 Maccabees 4:29, 61; 6:7, 26, 31, 49, 50; 9:52; 10:14; 0.503472222; 14:7, 33). Josephus describes it as the strongest place in all Judea (Ant., XIII, v, 6). It was inhabited in the days of Eusebius and Jerome.

(2) It is the ruined site Belt Cur, near the main road from Jerusalem to Hebron, and some 4 miles North of the latter. Its importance lay in its natural strength, on a hilltop dominating the highroad, and also in its guarding the one southerly approach for a hostile army by the Vale of Elah to the Judean plateau. The site today is conspicuous from a distance through the presence of a ruined medieval tower. (See PEF, III, 311, Sh XXI).

E. W. G. Masterman

1049. Beth-tsur -- "house of a rock," a place in Judah
... Word Origin from bayith and tsur Definition "house of a rock," a place in
Judah NASB Word Usage Beth-zur (3), Bethzur (1). Beth-zur. ...
/hebrew/1049.htm - 6k

Concerning Rehoboam, and How God Inflicted Punishment Upon Him for ...
... the son of Solomon, who, as we said before, was king of the two tribes, built strong
and large cities, Bethlehem, and Etare, and Tekoa, and Bethzur, and Shoco ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 10 concerning rehoboam and.htm

A Nation's Struggle for a Home and Freedom.
... yet been identified. The name is perhaps but a scribal corruption of Bethlehem
or of Bethzur further to the south. The other towns ...
/.../kent/the making of a nation/study xii a nations struggle.htm

The First Chaldaean Empire and the Hyksos in Egypt
... The grottoes of Palestine proper, at Bethzur, at Gilgal near Jericho, and at Tibneh,
have been the subject of keen controversy ever since their discovery. ...
/.../chapter ithe first chaldaean empire.htm

Letter cviii. To Eustochium.
... [2814] Next turning to the right she passed from Bethzur [2815] to Eshcol which
means "a cluster of grapes." It was hence that the spies brought back that ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter cviii to eustochium.htm

Bethzur (4 Occurrences)
...Bethzur (4 Occurrences). Joshua 15:58 Halhul, Bethzur, and Gedor, (KJV). 1 Chronicles
2:45 And the son of Shammai was Maon: and Maon was the father of Bethzur. ...
/b/bethzur.htm - 9k

Beth-zur (4 Occurrences)
Beth-zur. Bethzur, Beth-zur. Betimes . Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia ... (ASV
BBE DBY JPS WBS YLT NAS RSV). Bethzur, Beth-zur. Betimes . Reference Bible
/b/beth-zur.htm - 8k

Bethanoth (1 Occurrence)
... probably "House of Anath"-a god; Joshua 15:59): The ruin of Beit `Ainun, 1 1/2 miles
Southeast of Halhul, in the neighborhood also of Bethzur and Gedor-places ...
/b/bethanoth.htm - 7k

Beth-za'tha (1 Occurrence)
Beth-za'tha. Beth-zatha, Beth-za'tha. Bethzur . Multi-Version Concordance
Beth-za'tha (1 Occurrence). ... Beth-zatha, Beth-za'tha. Bethzur . Reference Bible
/b/beth-za'tha.htm - 6k

Beth-anoth (1 Occurrence)
... probably "House of Anath"-a god; Joshua 15:59): The ruin of Beit `Ainun, 1 1/2 miles
Southeast of Halhul, in the neighborhood also of Bethzur and Gedor-places ...
/b/beth-anoth.htm - 7k

Shoco (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Shoco (1 Occurrence). 2 Chronicles
11:7 And Bethzur, and Shoco, and Adullam, (KJV). ...
/s/shoco.htm - 6k

Sepulchres (17 Occurrences)
... Nehemiah 3:16 After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half
part of Bethzur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to ...
/s/sepulchres.htm - 12k

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