Lower Beth-horon was a town allotted to Ephraim and Dan, known for a battle where the sun stood still. (Multiple references, see article for details)
Also known as Lower Beth-horon · Lower Beth Horon · Beth-horon · Beth Horon
Lower Beth-horon was a town located in the border region between the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin, in the central hill country of Israel. It is mentioned multiple times in the Bible, often in connection with its sister city, Upper Beth-horon.
The name Beth-horon means "house of caves" or "house of hollows" in Hebrew, possibly referring to the topography of the area. Lower Beth-horon was situated in a strategic location along the main road connecting the coastal plain with Jerusalem and the interior of the country.
In the book of Joshua, Lower Beth-horon is described as part of the border between Ephraim and Benjamin (Joshua 16:3; 18:13). It was allotted to the Kohathite clan of the Levites (Joshua 21:22; 1Ch.6.68).
The most famous biblical event associated with Lower Beth-horon is the battle between the Israelites and the Amorite kings, described in Joshua 10. As the Amorites fled before Israel, God cast down large hailstones on them, and Joshua prayed for the sun to stand still, allowing the Israelites to complete their victory (Joshua 10:10-11).
In later history, Lower Beth-horon was fortified by King Solomon (1Ki.9.17; 2Ch.8.5) and was the site of a battle between Judah and Israel during the reign of King Amaziah of Judah (2Ch.25.13).
The Philistines also used the Beth-horon road as one of their main routes for invading Israelite territory (1Sa.13.18).
Both Lower and Upper Beth-horon were rebuilt by Sheerah, the daughter of Ephraim (1Ch.7.24).
Today, the ancient site of Lower Beth-horon is identified with the modern Palestinian village of Beit Ur al-Tahta.
Approximate location: 31.879, 35.124 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
12 verses in 5 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H1032
And the LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the ascent to Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.
As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the Israelites.
Then it descended westward to the border of the Japhletites as far as the border of Lower Beth-horon and on to Gezer, and it ended at the Sea.
From there the border crossed over to the southern slope of Luz (that is, Bethel) and went down to Ataroth-addar on the hill south of Lower Beth-horon.
On the west side the border curved southward from the hill facing Beth-horon on the south and came out at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the sons of Judah. This was the western side.
Kibzaim, and Beth-horon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.
another toward Beth-horon, and the third down the border road overlooking the Valley of Zeboim facing the wilderness.
So Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon,
Jokmeam, Beth-horon,
His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth-horon, as well as Uzzen-sheerah.
He rebuilt Upper and Lower Beth-horon as fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars,
Meanwhile the troops that Amaziah had dismissed from battle raided the cities of Judah, from Samaria to Beth-horon. They struck down 3,000 people and carried off a great deal of plunder.
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.