BETH-AVEN ( House of vanity, or falsehood; Sept. Bac837X and BatOcap6p, etc.), a town in the mountains of Benjamin, near Ai, and a short distance east of Bethel (Josh. vii. 2). It gave its name to a section of that rocky wilder ness which extends from the summit of the moun tain range down to the Jordan valley (Josh. xviii. 12). It is described in I Sam. xiii. 5, as lying to the west of Michmash (comp. ch. xiv. 23). The region between Michmash and Bethel is among the wildest in all Palestine. Bleak rounded hill tops are thickly studded with jagged, protruding rocks of gray limestone, and strewn with innumer able fragments of the same. Ravines, like huge fissures, intersect them, and rend the mountain sides below. There is scarcely any verdure; and there is no sign of cultivation, except here and there a little patch of corn among the rocks, or a few fig trees nestling in the bottom of a glen, or clinging to the sides of a cliff. Joshua might with truth name it the ' Wilderness of Bethaven.' Among the rocks are numerous aromatic herbs and shrubs, which make it a favourite pasture ground for goats; hence, perhaps, its name nm-in• The writer saw, and visited several ruins between Michmash and Bethel, any one of which might be the site of Beth-Aven ; but he could hear nothing of the ancient name.
The prophet Hosea mentions the name Beth Aven three times, but it is evident he applies it in contempt to Bethel (Hos. iv. 15; v. 8 ; x. 5).
This is quite characteristic of eastern writers. It was suggested partly by the proximity of the two towns; partly perhaps by the fact that Beth-Aven was already in ruins, and Bethel's doom was also sealed; partly, too, by the appropriateness of the name to Bethel, after Jeroboam had set up the golden calf there. Before that time it was the ' House of God' (Bethel); then it was made the `house of idols' (Beth-Aven). Amos has a still more striking and beautiful play upon the name Beth-Aven, when predicting the final overthrow of Bethel; Seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal . . . . for Bethel shall come to nought.' It shall come to (Aver), which signifies `idolatry,' and also ' nothingness ' (See Jerome, °nom. s. v. Bethel). It would appear that Beth-Aven fell to ruin at a very early period, and was never rebuilt. There is no mention of it after the captivity. Eusebius refers to it, but not as a place then exist ing (anom. s. v.) The Septuagint sometimes renders it Bcuti7)X (Josh. vii. 2) ; sometimes Bate& (Josh. xviii. 12); sometimes BakuLO; and in Hos. iv. 15, obcos '12y. This proves that the place and name were alike unknown to the translators of that version.—J. L. P.