Beth-shean (Beth-shan) was a city allotted to Manasseh, where the Philistines fastened Saul's body to the wall after his death. (Multiple references, see article for details)
Also known as Beth Shan · Beth-shan
Beth-shean, also known as Beth-shan, was a city located in the territory allotted to the tribe of Manasseh, although it was situated within the borders of Issachar. The city was strategically positioned at the junction of the Jezreel and Jordan Valleys, controlling access to the Jezreel Valley from the east.
In Joshua 17:11 and 16, Beth-shean is listed among the cities and towns within Manasseh's inheritance that were not fully conquered by the Israelites. The Manassites were unable to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, and the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in the land.
Judges 1:27 reiterates that Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth-shean and its villages, and the Canaanites continued to live there.
During the reign of King Solomon, Beth-shean was included in the fifth administrative district overseen by Baana, son of Ahilud (1Ki.4.12). The city's inclusion in this list suggests its ongoing importance and the presence of a significant Israelite population.
The most notable event associated with Beth-shean in the Bible is the aftermath of the battle between the Israelites and the Philistines at Mount Gilboa. In 1Sa.31.10-12, after Saul and his sons were killed in battle, the Philistines fastened their bodies to the wall of Beth-shean. When the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard about this, they travelled through the night, took down the bodies, and buried them in Jabesh.
Later, during David's reign, the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan were retrieved from Jabesh-gilead and buried in the tomb of Saul's father, Kish, in Benjamin (2Sa.21.12-14).
Beth-shean's strategic location made it a target for conquest throughout history. The city was eventually captured by the Egyptians and later by the Assyrians. It was known as Scythopolis during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, serving as the leading city of the Decapolis, a group of ten Hellenistic cities in the region.
Approximate location: 32.504, 35.503 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
House of security or rest, a city which belonged to Manasseh (1 Chr. 7:29), on the west of Jordan. The bodies of Saul and his sons were fastened to its walls. In Solomon’s time it gave its name to a district (1 Kings 4:12). The name is found in an abridged form, Bethshan, in 1 Sam. 31:10, 12 and 2 Sam. 21:12. It is on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus, about 5 miles from the Jordan, and 14 from the south end of the Lake of Gennesaret. After the Captivity it was called Scythopolis, i.e., “the city of the Scythians,” who about B.C. 640 came down from the steppes of Southern Russia and settled in different places in Syria. It is now called Beisan.
BETH-SHE'AN (house of quiet),
BETH-SHE'AN (house of quiet),
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.
8 verses in 6 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H1052
Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphath), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.
“The hill country is not enough for us,” they replied, “and all the Canaanites who live in the valley have iron chariots, both in Beth-shean with its towns and in the Valley of Jezreel.”
At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and their villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.
They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.
all their men of valor set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there.
he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies after they had struck down Saul at Gilboa.
Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;
And along the borders of Manasseh were Beth-shean, Taanach, Megiddo, and Dor, together with their villages. The descendants of Joseph son of Israel lived in these towns.
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.