בֵּית בַּעַל מְעוֹן
𐤁𐤉𐤕 𐤁𐤏𐤋 𐤌𐤏𐤅𐤍
Bêyth Baʻal Mᵉʻôwn
H1010 noun
SILEX Entry
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
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot 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 |