Beth-ezel is a name found in the King James Bible.
Who This Was
Beth-ezel was a town in Judah mentioned in the book of Micah. The name does not appear in the King James Version as a personal name; it is a place name, and the source note identifies it as a town in Judah. It is named only once in Scripture, in Micah 1:11, where the prophet pronounces judgment over the towns of Judah.
In that passage, Micah declares, “Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Sarephath, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Beth-ezel; he shall receive of you his standing.” The town is addressed as a place whose mourning would be withheld—Zaanan did not come out to mourn with Beth-ezel—and its standing or support would be taken from it. The setting is a prophetic oracle of coming judgment, in which towns are personified and called to lament.
Scripture says nothing else of Beth-ezel beyond this single verse. No individual named Beth-ezel appears, and no deeds or words are attributed to any such person. What is said of the town is that its mourning was not shared and its standing would be removed. The reference stands as one of the many place names woven into Micah’s lament over Judah.
The Name
The name Beth-ezel is a Hebrew place name, built from the common element *beth*, meaning “house,” and a second element that is less certain. The second part is often connected with a root suggesting “near” or “beside,” giving a sense such as “house of the side” or “house of nearness.” Because the etymology of the second element is not firmly established, the meaning of the full name cannot be stated with confidence. It is best to say plainly that the precise meaning is not clearly recoverable.
A Closing Thought
Beth-ezel is a reminder that even the smallest and most obscure places matter to God. A town named only once, in a single line of prophecy, still stood under the eye of the Lord who sees every village and every heart. Its tragedy was not merely coming judgment but isolation—no one came to mourn with it. May we be the kind of people who draw near to others in their grief rather than passing by, and who remember that no place, and no person, is too small to be seen by God.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 0