Beth-shemesh

Biblical Text

In the Old Testament the name "Beth-shemesh" is applied to several places. Most references are to a city on the northwestern border of the tribe of Judah.

• Border and priestly city: In Joshua 15:10 it appears as a point on the boundary of Judah's territory. Joshua 21:16 lists it among the cities given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. Many identify it with Ir-shemesh, a city of the tribe of Dan mentioned in Joshua 19:41.
• Return of the ark: This episode is recorded in 1 Samuel 6. After suffering plagues, the Philistines placed the ark of the covenant on a new cart drawn by two milk cows. The cows "turned not aside to the right hand or to the left" but went straight to Beth-shemesh (1 Samuel 6:12). The inhabitants, who were reaping their wheat harvest, rejoiced at the sight. The Levites took down the ark, and the people split the wood of the cart for fuel and offered the cows as a burnt offering. Because the inhabitants looked into the ark, however, God struck them (1 Samuel 6:19). Afterward they sent the ark on to Kiriath-jearim (1 Samuel 6:21–7:1).
• The monarchy: The city belonged to one of Solomon's administrative districts (1 Kings 4:9). Amaziah, king of Judah, fought Jehoash (called Joash in 2 Chronicles), king of the northern kingdom of Israel, at Beth-shemesh and was taken captive there (2 Kings 14:11–13; 2 Chronicles 25:21–23). During the reign of Ahaz the Philistines captured it (2 Chronicles 28:18).
• Other places of the same name: There was also a Beth-shemesh in the territory of Issachar (Joshua 19:22) and another in Naphtali (Joshua 19:38; Judges 1:33). The "Bethshemesh, that is in the land of Egypt" in Jeremiah 43:13 is commonly taken to refer to Heliopolis (On), a center of sun worship in Egypt.

Background

In Hebrew, beth means "house" and shemesh means "sun." For this reason some hold that the name is connected with Canaanite sun worship. Beth-shemesh of Judah lay near the Sorek Valley, between the hill country of Judah and the Philistine plain, which made it a border city where the two powers met. It was also close to Zorah, the hometown of Samson. The site is commonly identified with an archaeological site near the modern Israeli city of Beit Shemesh.

Significance in the Wider Bible

The Beth-shemesh episode is read as a passage that displays the holiness of God. The inhabitants lamented, "Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God?" (1 Samuel 6:20). Numbers 4:15, 20 forbids touching or looking upon the holy things carelessly, and this episode is often grouped with the death of Uzzah, who took hold of the ark (2 Samuel 6:6–7), as an illustration of that prohibition. The New Testament does not mention Beth-shemesh directly. In Christian interpretation, however, the episode is sometimes contrasted with the teaching that through Christ believers may come "unto the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:14–16).

Interpretation and Debates

• Number of the dead: In the Hebrew Masoretic Text, the number in 1 Samuel 6:19 reads "fifty thousand and seventy." Because the figure seems far too large for a small town, many scholars take the original number to be seventy. Translations also render the figure in different ways.
• Nature of the sin: Interpreters differ on whether the offense was opening the ark or gazing at it without reverence. The Septuagint presents this verse differently.
• The cows' path: In the text, the cows' path was a test the Philistines devised to determine whether the plagues had come by chance or by the hand of God (1 Samuel 6:9). Reading it as a model of devotion is a homiletical application, not something the text itself states.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, the two cows that went straight to Beth-shemesh, lowing as they left their calves behind, are frequently used as an illustration of obedience and devotion. The phrase "turned not aside to the right hand or to the left" is often quoted in this connection.