בֵּית הָעֵמֶק

𐤁𐤉𐤕 𐤄𐤏𐤌𐤒

Bêyth hâ-ʻÊmeq

H1025 noun

SILEX Entry

Root בנה, עמק to build, establish; to be deep, broad, or vast

Definition

A place name meaning 'house of the valley.' Used as a geographical designation for a specific settlement or locality, most notably in the territory allotted to the tribe of Asher. The name likely denotes a town situated in or near a valley, distinguishing it from settlements in more elevated terrain.

Semantic Range

settlement in a valley, house in the valley, the locality called Beth-ha-Emek, toponym designating a place associated with a valley

Root / Etymology

Derived from the noun בַּיִת (bayit, 'house') and עֵמֶק (ʽemeq, 'valley'), with the definite article הַ (ha-) interposed before 'valley', forming a construct phrase. The root for בַּיִת is בנה ('to build, establish'), while עֵמֶק derives from עמק ('to be deep, broad, or vast'). The form as a proper noun reflects a standard Hebrew naming convention for locations, indicating a house, settlement, or community situated in a valley.

Historical & Contextual Notes

בֵּית הָעֵמֶק appears as a settlement in the territorial list of Asher (Joshua 19:27), likely a distinct locality during the early Israelite settlement period. The use of 'house of' (בֵּית) in biblical place names commonly designates a building, sanctuary, estate, or entire settlement. The inclusion of the article before 'valley' is a feature found in several Hebrew toponyms, serving to specify the geographical feature. Later translations sometimes preserve the full name (e.g., 'Beth-ha-Emek') or render it as 'Beth-emek.' The modern identification of the precise site is uncertain, though some suggest a location in northern Israel. The term makes no reference to later (post-biblical) populations or religious identities. English translations using 'Beth-emek' or 'Beth-haEmek' may obscure the descriptive nature encoded in the original Hebrew, which indicates both habitation (house/settlement) and geographic setting (the valley).

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from בַּיִת and עֵמֶק with the article interposed; house of the valley; Beth-ha-Emek, a place in Palestine; Beth-emek.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

בנה (b-n-h) — to 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

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1025-01 בֵּ֥ית beyt HNp Beth house of 1
H1025-02 הָעֵ֖מֶק haemeq HNp emek House of the Valley 1

Occurrences in Scripture

2 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1025-01 Joshua 19:27 בֵּ֥ית beyt-2 HNp Beth house of
H1025-02 Joshua 19:27 הָעֵ֖מֶק haemeq HNp emek House of the Valley