'House of God', the sanctuary town where Jacob saw the ladder of angels reaching to heaven. A major shrine and later a worship center of the northern kingdom.
On the border of Ephraim and Benjamin
Beitin, West Bank
Bethel, on a ridge in the hill country, was where Jacob, fleeing his brother, dreamed of a ladder to heaven and vowed to God (Gen 28). It housed a sanctuary, and after the kingdom split it became a royal worship center, condemned by the prophets as the place of golden calves.
About 10 miles north of Jerusalem.