Q. Many place names in Scripture begin with “Beth,” such as Bethlehem, Bethany, and Bethsaida. Does “Beth” have a particular significance?
A. The word “Beth” in Hebrew means “House.” “Bethlehem” means “House of Bread.” (How appropriate for the birthplace of Jesus Christ, the “Bread of Life!”) “Bethsaida” means “House of Fishing.” (The fishermen Peter, Philip, and Andrew, and perhaps also James and John, hailed from Bethsaida.) “Bethany” means, according to some scholars, “House of Affliction,” though others think it derives from the Hebrew for “House of Dates.”