Pi-beseth was an Egyptian city that Ezekiel prophesied would experience God's judgment along with other cities in Egypt.
Also known as Bubastis
Pi-beseth, also known as Bubastis, was an ancient Egyptian city located in the eastern Nile Delta. It is mentioned only once in the Bible, in Ezekiel's prophecy against Egypt (Ezek. 30:17). In this prophecy, Ezekiel declares that the young men of Aven (or On, another name for Heliopolis) and Pi-beseth will fall by the sword, and the cities themselves will go into captivity. This judgment is part of a larger oracle against Egypt, in which God declares that He will bring punishment upon the land for its idolatry and opposition to His people. The mention of Pi-beseth alongside other prominent Egyptian cities underscores the severity and scope of the divine judgment that Ezekiel prophesied would come upon the nation.
Approximate location: 30.583, 31.500 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
(Ezek. 30:17), supposed to mean. “a cat,” or a deity in the form of a cat, worshipped by the Egyptians. It was called by the Greeks Bubastis. The hieroglyphic name is “Pe-bast”, i.e., the house of Bast, the Artemis of the Egyptians. The town of Bubasts was situated on the Pelusian branch, i.e., the easternmost branch, of the Delta. It was the seat of one of the chief annual festivals of the Egyptians. Its ruins bear the modern name of Tel-Basta.
abode of the goddess Bahest or Bast
PI-BE'SETH, or PIB'ESETH, a city of Lower Egypt, named from the goddess Bubastis. The hieroglyphic name is "Pe-Bast," "the house of Bast," the Egyptian Artemis, the goddess of fire, the calf-headed goddess, also shown with a lion's head. The name appears in Scripture only as one of the cities of Egypt which Ezekiel foretold would be destroyed. Eze 30:17. From this it would seem to have been a city of great importance. The name appears occasionally in Egyptian annals. An earthquake is mentioned on Manetho's list which took place there about b.c. 2470. Herodotus speaks of the temple of the goddess Bubastis, whom he identifies with the Greek Artemis, as the most beautiful he had ever seen. It was built of the finest red granite, in the midst of a sacred enclosure 600 feet square. Ruins still bearing the name of Fel Besta mark the site of the ancient city, which was situated on the eastern or Pelusiac branch of the Delta, some 20 miles from the Nile and 40 miles north-east of Memphis. Remains of the ancient houses of brick and of a fortress are found. The temple is entirely ruined, but the names of several of the sovereigns have been traced out, including those of Rameses II. and Shishak. The city was taken by the Persians, b.c. 352, and the walls were overthrown. It continued to exist, however, as a considerable city under the Roman empire.
PI-BE'SETH, or PIB'ESETH, a city of Lower Egypt, named from the goddess Bubastis. The hieroglyphic name is "Pe-Bast," "the house of Bast," the Egyptian Artemis, the goddess of fire, the calf-headed goddess, also shown with a lion's head. The name appears in Scripture only as one of the cities of Egypt which Ezekiel foretold would be destroyed. Eze 30:17. From this it would seem to have been a city of great importance. The name appears occasionally in Egyptian annals. An earthquake is mentioned on Manetho's list which took place there about b.c. 2470. Herodotus speaks of the temple of the goddess Bubastis, whom he identifies with the Greek Artemis, as the most beautiful he had ever seen. It was built of the finest red granite, in the midst of a sacred enclosure 600 feet square. Ruins still bearing the name of Fel Besta mark the site of the ancient city, which was situated on the eastern or Pelusiac branch of the Delta, some 20 miles from the Nile and 40 miles north-east of Memphis. Remains of the ancient houses of brick and of a fortress are found. The temple is entirely ruined, but the names of several of the sovereigns have been traced out, including those of Rameses II. and Shishak. The city was taken by the Persians, b.c. 352, and the walls were overthrown. It continued to exist, however, as a considerable city under the Roman empire.
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 H6364
The young men of On and Pi-beseth will fall by the sword, and those cities will go into captivity.
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.