H1018 H1018
Beth-ezel, a Judean town (possibly = Azel)
Micah 1:11 mentions Beth-ezel in a series of wordplays on town names: 'Beth-ezel is in mourning; its standing place is taken from you.' The name may relate to 'Azel' (Zechariah 14:5), though location remains uncertain. Micah's prophecy uses the town's name (possibly meaning 'nearby house' or 'adjoining house') to suggest it offers no refuge—even the place of standing/support is removed. The text is difficult, and 'Beth-ezel' may itself be a wordplay on another location.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Micah 1:11's 'Beth-ezel' (בֵּית הָאֵצֶל) appears in a dense passage of place-name puns warning of invasion. English 'Beth-ezel,' Spanish 'Bet-ha-Esel,' French 'Beth-Haézel' preserve the form. The name possibly means 'house of nearness/adjacency,' and Micah uses it to suggest that even nearby refuge points fail. Connection with Azel (Zechariah 14:5) remains debated. The town's identification is lost, though context places it in Judah's Shephelah. 1×
AR["بَيْتِ-هَاإِيصِيلَ"]·ben["বৈৎ-হায়েৎসেলের-"]·DE["[בית האצל]"]·EN["Beth-Ezel"]·FR["Beth-Haézel"]·heb["בית-האצל"]·HI["बेत-हाएसेल-का"]·ID["Bet-Haezel"]·IT["[בית האצל]"]·jav["Bèt-Hàézel"]·KO["벳-하에셀"]·PT["Beit-Ha'etsel"]·RU["Бет-Аэцеля"]·ES["Bet-ha-Esel"]·SW["Bethi-Haetseli"]·TR["Beythaetsel'in"]·urd["بیت-ایصل"]
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
† II. אֵ֫צֶל in n.pr.[m.] בֵּית־הָאֵ֫צֶל Mi 1:11, according to Hi Ew Ca Ke = אָצַ֒ל Zc 14:5, but dub.; cf. ii. אָצֵל infr.