BETHEL, a village on the watershed of the Judaean hill-coun try, 11m. N. of Jerusalem and 2,900f t. above sea-level; pop. 446, Muslim. Bethel ("House of God"), now called Beitin, but orig inally called Luz (Gen. xxviii. 19), was early accounted a holy place, due, perhaps, to the existence near by of a natural stone circle. Here Abraham pitched his tent and built an altar (Gen. xii. 8) ; here Jacob had his vision (Gen. xxviii. 10 sqq.) ; and here, too, at one time, was found the ark of the covenant (Judg. xx. 27). It was visited yearly by Samuel when he went on circuit to judge Israel (I. Sam. vii. 16). Jeroboam welcomed the opportunity to exploit its sacred associations for political ends, and Bethel be came a royal and national shrine for the northern kingdom (I. Ki. xii. ; Amos vii.) . Situated on the frontier between the two king doms it passed eventually to Judah. Josiah destroyed its altar and desecrated its site (II. Ki. xxiii. 15). It was one of the strong places of Judah fortified by Bacchides (I. Macc. ix. 5o). Re mains of churches (12th and 6th centuries) are found here and at Burj Beitin, a hill a short distance off to the south-east. See G. Sternberg, `Bethel," Zeitschr. Deutsch. Paldst. Vereins, i sqq. (1915) ; J. E. McFadyen, "Bethel," Expositor 241 sqq. (1924) .