See also Bethuel
2. A town of Simeon mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:30 as Bethuel—the form Albright prefers after comparing the various corrupted forms: Bethul (Josh 19:4), Bethel (1 Sam 30:27—a name which never occurs in the lists of Judean cities), and Chesil (Josh 15:30). Grollenberg suggests Khirbet el- Qaryatein, a ruin S of Hebron as a possible location.
Bibliography W. F. Albright, “Egypt and the Early History of the Negeb,” JPOS IV (1924), 149-161; E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” in A. Altmann, (ed.) Biblical and Other Studies (1963), 15-28.
Article 2
BETHUEL, BETHUL (bē-thū'ĕl, bĕth'ŭl, Heb. bethû’ēl, bethûl, abode of God). 1. Son of Nahor and Milcah, nephew of Abraham, and father of Rebekah and Laban (Gen.22.22-Gen.22.23; Gen.24.15, Gen.24.24, Gen.24.47; Gen.28.2, Gen.28.5). His insignificance in the arrangements for his daughter’s marriage was conspicuous. When Abraham’s servant asked Rebekah if there was room at her father’s house, she ran and told those in her mother’s house (Gen.24.28). Her brother invited him in, not Bethuel, the natural one to do so. Bethuel and Laban (the son mentioned first) acknowledged his mission to be from the Lord. Presents were given to Rebekah and to her mother and brother, not her father; and when the bride left home, it was not as a daughter but as a “sister” (Gen.24.55-Gen.24.60). These many references make Bethuel seem incapable, whether from age or imbecility, to manage his own affairs.
2. A town in the south of Simeon (Josh.19.4; 1Chr.4.30). It is the same as Kesil (Josh.15.30).
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