BETH ZUR (bĕth zûr, Heb. bêth tsûr, house of rock). One of Judea’s strongest natural fortresses in the mountains of Judah, near Halhul and Gedor (Josh.15.58). It was fortified by Rehoboam (2Chr.11.7). Nehemiah, son of Azbuk and ruler of half of Beth Zur, helped to repair the wall of Jerusalem (Neh.3.16). Known as Bethsura in Maccabean times, it was an important military stronghold, where Judas Maccabeus defeated the Greek army under Lysias (1Macc.4.28-1Macc.4.34). It is now Beit Sur, four miles (seven km.) north of Hebron, near the main road from Hebron to Jerusalem.