Beth-gamul was a Moabite town mentioned in Jeremiah's prophecy against Moab, likely destroyed or captured by the Babylonians. (Jeremiah 48:23)
Also known as Beth Gamul
Beth-gamul is mentioned only once in the Bible, in Jeremiah 48:23, as part of a prophecy against Moab. The name Beth-gamul means "house of the camel" or "house of recompense" in Hebrew. The exact location of Beth-gamul is unknown, but it was likely situated within the territory of Moab, east of the Dead Sea.
In the context of Jeremiah's prophecy, Beth-gamul is listed among other Moabite cities, such as Kiriathaim, Beth-meon, and Kerioth, which were to face destruction or capture by the Babylonians as a consequence of Moab's pride and idolatry. The prophecy declares that Moab will be destroyed and its cities will be laid waste, with no one to rebuild them.
The mention of Beth-gamul serves to emphasize the extent of the judgment against Moab, as even this relatively obscure town would not be spared from the coming destruction. The prophecy against Moab is part of a larger series of oracles against the nations surrounding Israel and Judah, demonstrating God's sovereignty and judgment over all nations.
Approximate location: 31.520, 35.845 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
Camel-house, a city in the “plain country” of Moab denounced by the prophet (Jer. 48:23); probably the modern Um-el-Jemal, near Bozrah, one of the deserted cities of the Hauran.
house of recompense, or of the camel
BETH-GA'MUL (house of camel), a town of Moab, Jer 48:23; perhaps Um-el-Jemal, near Bozrah, an unwalled town, having some of the most remarkable ruins in that country, houses, streets, walls, and gates deserted, but in perfect preservation. See Jer 48:21-25. Grove, however, thinks Jemal too far north-east to be Gamul.
BETH-GA'MUL (house of camel), a town of Moab, Jer 48:23; perhaps Um-el-Jemal, near Bozrah, an unwalled town, having some of the most remarkable ruins in that country, houses, streets, walls, and gates deserted, but in perfect preservation. See Jer 48:21-25. Grove, however, thinks Jemal too far north-east to be Gamul.
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 H1014
upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
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.