בֵּית בַּעַל מְעוֹן

𐤁𐤉𐤕 𐤁𐤏𐤋 𐤌𐤏𐤅𐤍

Bêyth Baʻal Mᵉʻôwn

H1010 noun

SILEX Entry

Root בנה, בעל, עון to build, owner or lord, to dwell or reside

Definition

A proper name: 'House of Baal of Meon' or 'House of Baal-Meon', referring to a specific settlement east of the Jordan River. The name designates a place associated with the worship of the deity Baal and/or the locality Meon, indicating either a sanctuary, residence, or territorial possession characterized by (or dedicated to) Baal as understood in the local cultural-religious context. In some references, the shorter form בֵּית מְעוֹן (Beth-Meon, 'House of Meon') appears, possibly reflecting abbreviation or variant local usage. The full phrase may highlight the presence of a Baal cultic sanctuary or ancient Canaanite/Transjordanian religious heritage at this location.

Semantic Range

house or dwelling, Baal (Canaanite deity or lord/owner), habitation or place of residence; as a proper noun: name of a Transjordanian city—Beth-Baal-Meon; shortened as Beth-Meon.

Root / Etymology

Compound name from three Hebrew roots: בֵּית (house, dwelling place) from בנה (to build), בַּעַל (Baal, lord, owner; a Canaanite deity) from בעל (to own, rule over), and מְעוֹן (Meon, habitation, residence, dwelling) from עון (to dwell, reside). The construction denotes possession or association: 'House of Baal (of) Meon' or plausible apposition 'House of Baal-Meon'.

Historical & Contextual Notes

בֵּית בַּעַל מְעוֹן (Beth-Baal-Meon) is attested as a city east of the Jordan, in the territory allotted to Reuben (see Joshua 13:17; 1 Chronicles 5:8). The name reflects a pre-Israelite or early Israelite origin, indicating continued recognition of a location marked by Canaanite (or Transjordanian) religious practice, specifically the worship of Baal, a common West Semitic deity. Over time, Israelite possession of the region likely led to the adaptation of the name; later texts (e.g., Numbers 32:38) shorten it to בֵּית מְעוֹן (Beth-Meon), which may reflect deliberate avoidance of the explicit Baal reference as part of anti-idolatry reforms. The site is generally identified with modern-day Ma'in in Jordan. English translations almost always transliterate the name without translating its element parts, thus often obscuring its original religious and geographic connotations. The term does not describe Israelites, Judahites, or Judeans, but refers to the city and its heritage, with the original name preserving evidence of non-Israelite religious landscape.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from בַּיִת and בַּעַל and מָעוֹן; house of Baal of (the) habitation of (apparently by transposition); or (shorter) בֵּית מְעוֹןlemma בֵּית מעוֹן missing vowel, corrected to בֵּית מְעוֹן; house of habitation of (Baal); Beth-Baal-Meon, a place in Palestine; Beth-baal-meon. Compare בַּעַל מְעוֹן and בְּעֹן.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

בנה (b-n-h) — build, construct, establish (family)

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1004 בַּיִת in the houses
H1005 בַּיִת the built-house
H1006 בַּיִת the house
H1007 בֵּית אָוֶן house-of
H1008 בֵּית־אֵל in house of

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1010-03 מְעֽוֹן meon HNp Beth Meon Dwelling-Place 2
H1010-02 בֵּ֥ית beyt HNp Beth house-of 1
H1010-01 בַּ֥עַל baal HNp Baal master 1
H1010-04 וּ/בֵ֖ית uveyt HC/Np and house of and house of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

5 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1010-04 Joshua 13:17 וּ/בֵ֖ית uveyt HC/Np and house of and house of
H1010-01 Joshua 13:17 בַּ֥עַל baal-2 HNp Baal master
H1010-03 Joshua 13:17 מְעֽוֹן meon HNp Meon Dwelling-Place
H1010-02 Jeremiah 48:23 בֵּ֥ית beyt-2 HNp Beth house-of
H1010-03 Jeremiah 48:23 מְעֽוֹן meon HNp Beth Meon Dwelling-Place