Bet Zekharyah

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BET ZEKHARYAH

BET ZEKHARYAH (Heb. בֵּית זְכַרְיָה), site 10 mi. (16 km.) S.W. of Jerusalem and 6 mi. (9½ km.) N. of Beth-Zur, where the Hasmonean army clashed with that of Antiochus V Eupator, king of Syria, in 162 b.c.e. In this battle *Eleazar, a brother of *Judah Maccabee, was crushed to death by one of the enemy's elephants whom he attacked, believing it to be carrying the king. The Jewish force was compelled to retreat (i Macc. 6:32–3; Jos., Ant., 12:369ff.). Bet Zekharyah is present-day Khirbat Beit Zakarya, 2.2 mi. (4 km.) S.W. of Solomon's Pools.

bibliography:

Jos., Wars, 1:41ff.; Avi-Yonah, Geog, 103; Abel, in: rb, 33 (1924), 212ff.; Ploger, in: zdpv, 79 (1958), 173.

[Michael Avi-Yonah]