Israelite Conquest and Settlement

Joshua records that following the conquest, Bethel fell within the allotment of the tribe of Benjamin (Josh 7:2; 8:9, 12, 17; 12:16; 16:1–2; 18:22). However, the final conquest story for the town, which appears in Judg 1:22–23, records that Bethel was included in the territory of Ephraim (see also Judg 4:5). Bethel remained one of the principal religious centers of Israel associated with the tradition of the patriarchs, second only to Shiloh (Judg 21:12–25; Langston, Cultic Sites; Gibert, “Sichem et Béthel”). The books of Judges and 1 Samuel portray Bethel as:

• a site associated with the prophetic activities of Deborah (Judg 4:4–5);

• a place where the people went during times of trouble to seek God’s counsel (e.g., Judg 20:18–28);

• the home of the ark of the covenant (Judg 20:26); and

• a site associated with Samuel’s prophetic activities (1 Sam 7:15–16; 10:3).

Dumbrell suggests that Bethel was the site of an older Canaanite shrine, which the Israelites took over and legitimated by associating it with the patriarchs (Dumbrell, “Role of Bethel,” 67; compare Koenen, Bethel).