Beth-car was the place where the Israelites pursued the Philistines after the return of the Ark of the Covenant. (1Sa.7.11)
Also known as Beth Kar
Beth-car is mentioned only once in the Bible, in 1Sa.7.11, in the context of the Israelites' victory over the Philistines. After the Ark of the Covenant was returned to Israel by the Philistines, Samuel led the people in a ceremony of repentance and dedication to the Lord at Mizpah.
When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, they decided to attack. However, as the Philistines approached, the Lord sent a loud thunder upon them, causing confusion and panic in their ranks. The Israelites then pursued the Philistines and struck them down from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car.
The name Beth-car means "house of the lamb" or "house of pasture" in Hebrew. The exact location of Beth-car is not specified in the Bible, but it was likely situated in the territory of Benjamin, west of Mizpah, in the direction of the Philistine cities.
The victory at Beth-car was significant for the Israelites, as it marked the beginning of a period of peace and the end of Philistine oppression during Samuel's leadership. The pursuit of the Philistines to Beth-car demonstrates the Israelites' renewed confidence and trust in the Lord's protection and guidance.
Approximate location: 31.833, 35.180 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
Sheep-house, a place to which the Israelites pursued the Philistines west from Mizpeh (1 Sam. 7:11).
the house of the lamb
BETH'-CAR (house of lambs), a place west of Mizpeh. 1 Sam 7:1. Conder locates it at 'Ain Karim.
BETH'-CAR (house of lambs), a place west of Mizpeh. 1 Sam 7:1. Conder locates it at 'Ain Karim.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
1 verse in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H1033
Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, striking them down all the way to an area below Beth-car.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.