Beth-a'ven (Heb. Beyth A'ven, בֵּית אָוֶן, house of nothingness, i.e. wickedness, idolatry; Sept. usually Βαιθών v. r. Βηθαύν), a place on the mountains of Benjamin, east of Bethel (Jos 7:2, Sept. Βαιθήλ; 18:12), and lying between that place and Michmash (1Sa 13:5, Sept. Βαιθαβέν v. r. Βαιθωρών; also 14:23, Sept. τὴν Βαμώθ). In Jos 18:12, the "wilderness" (Midbar = pasture-land) of Beth-aven is mentioned. In Ho 4:15; Ho 5:8; Ho 10:5, the name is transferred, with a play on the word very characteristic of this prophet, to the neighboring Bethel — once the "house of God," but then the house of idols, of "naught." The Talmudists accordingly everywhere confound Beth-aven with Bethel (comp. Schwarz, Palest. p. 89), the proximity of which may have occasioned the employment of the term as a nickname, after Bethel became the seat of the worship of the golden calves. SEE BETHEL. The name Beth-aven, however, was properly that of a locality distinct from Bethel (Jos 7:2, etc.), and appears to have been applied to a village located on the rocky eminence Burj Beitin, twenty minutes south-east of Beitin (Bethel), and twenty minutes west of Tell el-Hajar (Ai) (Van de Velde, Memoir, p. 294).
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More