"How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."
Genesis 28:17 · King James Bible
Where it is
Bethel is a small hill town about ten miles north of Jerusalem, on the ridge road that runs through the central highlands of Israel. The Hebrew name means house of God.Why it matters in the Bible
Bethel is one of the most important places in Genesis. Abraham stops there when he first comes into the land (Genesis 12:8) and builds an altar. Later Jacob, fleeing from his brother Esau, lies down for the night on the stony ground near Bethel with a stone for a pillow. He dreams of a ladder set on the earth whose top reaches to heaven, with angels ascending and descending. God stands above it and renews the promise given to Abraham and Isaac: "In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 28:14). Jacob wakes up terrified. "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not." He sets up the stone as a pillar and pours oil on it. He calls the place Bethel.Bethel remains a place of memory for Israel. Under the judges the ark of God rests there for a time. Samuel judges there on a circuit (1 Samuel 7:16). After Solomon dies and the kingdom splits, Jeroboam sets up a golden calf at Bethel to keep the ten northern tribes from going down to Jerusalem to worship (1 Kings 12:29) — and the prophets from Amos onward condemn Bethel for what it has become. "Come not to Bethel," Amos warns (Amos 5:5). The house of God had become a house of idols.