Atlas Biblica

    place

    Beth-eked

    בֵּית־עֵ֫קֶד

    Beth-eked was a place where Jehu killed the forty-two brothers of Ahaziah, king of Judah. (2Ki.10.12, 14)

    Where the story of Beth-eked happensWhere the gazetteer locates Beth-eked, framed to them: Beth-eked. 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-eked
    Where the gazetteer locates Beth-eked
    verses
    2
    first named
    2 Kings 10:12
    last named
    2 Kings 10:15
    feature
    settlement
    coordinates
    32.47°N · 35.36°E
    settlement32.47°N · 35.36°E

    Beit Qad (OpenBible)

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

    Description

    Beth-eked in the text

    In the words of STEPBible TIPNR:

    Beth-eked, meaning "house of binding" or "shearing house" in Hebrew, is mentioned in 2Ki.10.12 and 14 in the context of Jehu's purge of the house of Ahab and the royal family of Judah. After Jehu had killed King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah, he set out to eliminate any potential rivals to his claim to the throne.

    On his way to Samaria, Jehu came to Beth-eked, where he encountered forty-two brothers of Ahaziah. These men were likely coming to visit the royal family in Samaria, unaware of the recent coup. Jehu ordered his men to take the brothers alive and then slaughter them at the pit of Beth-eked. The text emphasizes that Jehu killed all forty-two men, leaving none of them alive.

    The exact location of Beth-eked is not specified in the Bible, but it was likely situated between Jezreel and Samaria, possibly serving as a resting place for travelers or a center for sheep-shearing. The name "Beth-eked" suggests that it may have been a place where sheep were bound for shearing.

    Jehu's actions at Beth-eked were part of his larger campaign to eliminate the house of Ahab and establish himself as the new king of Israel. His purge was seen as a fulfillment of the prophecy given by Elijah against the house of Ahab (1Ki.21.21-24).

    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 1 book.

    1. 2 Kings2 verses

      10:1210:14

    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