Atlas Biblica

    place · also Bethany · Bethabara

    Beth-barah

    בֵּית בָּרָהΒηθανία

    Beth-barah (Bethabara) was a place where Gideon stationed men to intercept the fleeing Midianites, and where John the Baptist baptized.

    Where the story of Beth-barah happensWhere the gazetteer locates Beth-barah, framed to them: Beth-barah. Each dot is a coordinate from the gazetteer. The coastline is a modern one, simplified; no border, road or settlement of any period is drawn, and no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.Beth-barah
    Where the gazetteer locates Beth-barah
    verses
    2
    first named
    Judges 7:24
    last named
    Judges 7:24
    feature
    ford
    coordinates
    31.84°N · 35.55°E
    ford31.84°N · 35.55°E

    Al Maghtas (OpenBible)

    Scholarship offers 2 identifications for this place. The leading one is shown; the others are recorded in the gazetteer.

    Description

    Beth-barah in the text

    In the words of STEPBible TIPNR:

    Beth-barah, also known as Bethabara, is mentioned in two different contexts in the Bible. In Judges 7:24, during Gideon's battle against the Midianites, he sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, asking the Ephraimites to intercept the fleeing Midianites at the waters of Beth-barah and the Jordan. The Ephraimites captured and killed the two Midianite princes, Oreb and Zeeb.

    In Jhn.1.28, Bethabara is mentioned as the place where John the Baptist was baptizing people. This Bethabara is described as being "beyond the Jordan," indicating that it was on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Some manuscripts mention "Bethany" instead of "Bethabara" in this verse, which has led to some confusion. However, the Bethany mentioned here is not the same as the village near Jerusalem associated with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

    The exact location of Beth-barah/Bethabara is uncertain, but it was likely a ford or crossing point along the Jordan River, possibly in the vicinity of the Jabbok River. The name Beth-barah means "house of the crossing" or "house of the ford" in Hebrew, which supports this interpretation.

    Relations

    Direct connections

    Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.

    Stands in the same events as

    Read it

    Where to read it

    Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 2, across 2 books. The name is written 4 times in them.

    1. Judges1 verse

      7:24

    2. John1 verse

      1:28

    Onward

    Where this page goes

    Nothing in the graph stands one hop from this entity yet. These are the best-connected entities of the same type, so the page still ends somewhere. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.

    ElsewhereJerusalemThe capital of Israel, a holy city for three religionsElsewhereEgyptAncient nation; Israelites enslaved there; plagues and ExodusElsewhereJordanA river and region, significant in Israel's history

    Sources

    What this rests on