Bible Encyclopedias
Beth-Arbel

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

beth -ar´bel ( בּית ארבּאל , bēth 'arbē'l ): The scene of a terrific disaster inflicted on the inhabitants by Shalman (Hosea 10:14 ). If the place intended was in Palestine, and was not the famous city of that name on the Euphrates, then probably it should be identified either with Irbid (or Irbil ) in Galilee, or with Irbid , which corresponds to Arbela of the Eusebius, Onomasticon , East of the Jordan, about 12 miles Southeast of Gadara. If, as Schrader thinks (COT , II, 140), Shalman stands for the Moabite king, Shalamanu, a tributary of Tiglath-pileser, the eastern town would be the more natural identification. Possibly however the reference is to Shalmaneser III or IV. For the Galilean site, see ARBELA; see also DB , under the word