Beth-horon
A place in the Bible
A mountain pass that climbs from the coastal plain toward Jerusalem, between two towns: Lower Beth-horon and Upper Beth-horon. In the Douay-Rheims it is called “Bethoron.”
What happened here
- Judas Maccabeus: a large army was coming up the ascent of Beth-horon. Judas went out to meet it with a few men, weary from fasting.
- “Strength comes from heaven”: Judas told them that when God wants to give victory, it makes no difference whether they are many or few, because strength comes from heaven.
Today
Today the two villages are called Beit Ur, “the upper” and “the lower,” west of Gibeon.
Where it appears in the Bible
1 Maccabees 3:16-17; 1 Maccabees 3:18-19
What the Bible says
1 Maccabees 3:16-17
16And they approached even as far as Bethoron: and Judas went forth to meet him, with a small company. 17But when they saw the army coming to meet them, they said to Judas: How shall we, being few, be able to fight against so great a multitude and so strong, and we are ready to faint with fasting today?
1 Maccabees 3:18-19
18And Judas said: It is an easy matter for many to be shut up in the hands of a few: and there is no difference in the sight of the God of heaven to deliver with a great multitude, or with a small company: 19For the success of war is not in the multitude of the army, but strength cometh from heaven.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), “Beth-horon”; Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), “Machabees”