Place Old Testament
Beth-arabah
Also known as Beth-arabah =ESV, KJV; Beth Arabah =NIV, Beth-arabah =ESV; Beth Arabah =NIV; Arabah =KJV, Arbathite
Beth-arabah was a town and wilderness area allotted to Judah and Benjamin, and the Arbathite was a descendant of Abi-albon. Mentioned in 6 verses across 3 books, first at Joshua 15:6.
Why it matters. Town and wilderness area in Judah, also associated with Benjamin.
- Primary passages
- Location
- 31.843, 35.506 (approximate, within about 2 km)
Coordinates from STEPBible TIPNR (palopenmaps.org link). Approximate; not independently verified.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Beth-arabah
Beth-arabah, meaning "house of the desert" or "house of the plain" in Hebrew, was a town and wilderness area mentioned in the Old Testament. In Joshua 15:6 and 15:61, it is listed as part of the wilderness area within the territory allotted to the tribe of Judah. However, in Joshua 18:18 and 18:22, Beth-arabah is mentioned as a town in the territory allotted to the tribe of Benjamin.
The exact location of Beth-arabah is not specified in the Bible, but it was likely situated in the Judean Desert, near the Dead Sea. The wilderness of Beth-arabah was one of the regions where the cities of Judah were located (Joshua 15:61).
The term "Arbathite" is used to describe Abi-albon, one of David's mighty men, in 2Sa.23.31 and 1Ch.11.32. The name suggests that Abi-albon was from Beth-arabah or had some connection to the town or region.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 6 verses across 3 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.