H1009 H1009
Beth-arbel, a city destroyed by Shalman (location disputed)
Hosea 10:14 invokes the destruction of Beth-arbel by Shalman as a prototype of coming judgment: 'as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle.' The location is disputed—possibly Arbela near Pella east of the Jordan, or Arbela in Galilee. The event was apparently notorious enough that Hosea's audience would recall it immediately, though it's not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture. The total destruction—mothers dashed with children—epitomizes the horrors of ancient warfare.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Hosea 10:14's 'Beth-arbel' (בֵּית אַרְבֵאל) serves as a byword for catastrophic destruction. Translations preserve the place name (Spanish 'Bet-Arbel,' English 'Beth-arbel'). Though the site's exact location remains uncertain (Transjordanian Pella region or Galilean Arbel), the reference assumes audience familiarity with Shalman's brutal campaign. The vivid imagery of mothers and children destroyed together made this a haunting example of war's totality. 1×
AR["بَيتَ-أَربيئيلَ"]·ben["বেথ-আর্বেলে-সেই-"]·DE["[בית ארבאל]"]·EN["Beth-Arbel"]·FR["Béthel"]·heb["בית ארבאל"]·HI["बैत-अर्बेल"]·IT["[בית ארבאל]"]·jav["Bèt-Arbèl"]·KO["베든-아르벨을"]·PT["Beit-Arbe'el"]·RU["Бет-Арбела"]·ES["a-Bet-Arbel"]·SW["Beth-Arbeli"]·TR["Beyt-Arbel'i"]·urd["بیت-اربیل"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† בֵּית אַֽרְבֵֿאל n.pr.loc. Ho 10:14, perhaps Arbel near Pella (E. of Jordan) Jer Euseb. in LagOnom. 88, 2nd ed. 123; 214, 2nd ed. 236, cf. Now ad loc.; but in Galilee RobBR ii. 399, mod. Irbid, cf. FurrerZPV ii. 1879, 57 f.; BdPal. 257.