Beth-haram

About Beth-haram

Beth-haram, also known as Beth-haran, was a town located in the territory allotted to the tribe of Gad, east of the Jordan River. The name Beth-haram means "house of the high place" or "house of the mountain" in Hebrew, possibly referring to its location on a hill or elevated area.

In Numbers 32:36, Beth-haran is mentioned as one of the towns that the Gadites built or fortified, along with Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, and other cities. This occurred after the Israelites had conquered the territories east of the Jordan and before they crossed the river to enter the Promised Land.

In Joshua 13:27, Beth-haram is listed among the towns allotted to the tribe of Gad in the Jordan Valley, along with Beth-nimrah and Succoth. This passage describes the extent of Gad's territory, which stretched from the Jabbok River in the south to the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee) in the north.

The fortification of Beth-haram by the Gadites suggests that it was a strategically important town, possibly guarding a trade route or serving as a defensive outpost. Its location in the Jordan Valley would have made it a valuable agricultural area, benefiting from the fertile soil and the proximity to water sources.

No other details about Beth-haram are provided in the Bible, and the exact location of the town remains uncertain. Some scholars propose that it may be identified with Tell Iktanu, an archaeological site in the Jordan Valley, but this identification is not conclusive.

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.