THE FULL ARTICLE — from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), general editor James Orr — public domain, printed whole.

beth (in proper names; Greek transliteration in Septuagint, beth, baith, or beth): This is the English transliteration for the Hebrew beth, meaning "house," "tent," "place." It occurs in many compound proper names formed similarly to the method of compounding words in the German language, as shown in the articles immediately following. Thus we have beth `anath or `anoth = "house of replies" (Jos 19:38; Jud 1:33); beth'el = "house of God" (Ge 12:8; 13:3), etc. We also find the word in hybrid formations, e.g. Bethphage = Bethphage = "fig house" (Mt 21:1).

Frank E. Hirsch