be -thū´el ( בּתוּאל , bethū'ēl ; "dweller in God"): A son of Nahor and Milcah, Abraham's nephew, father of Laban and Rebekah (Genesis 22:23; Genesis 24:15 , Genesis 24:24 , Genesis 24:47 , Genesis 24:50; Genesis 25:20; Genesis 28:2 , Genesis 28:5 ). In the last-named passage, he is surnamed "the Syrian." The only place where he appears as a leading character in the narrative is in connection with Rebekah's betrothal to Isaac; and even here, his son Laban stands out more prominently than he - a fact explainable on the ground of the custom which recognized the right of the brother to take a special interest in the welfare of the sister (compare Genesis 34:5 , Genesis 34:21 , Genesis 34:25; 2 Samuel 13:20 , 2 Samuel 13:22 ). Ant , I, xvi, 2 states that Bethuel was dead at this time.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
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