Elon -Beth -Hanan
Elon -Beth -Hanan [1]
[some E'lon-beth'hanan] (Hebrews Eylon' beyth-Chanan', כֵּיתאּתָנָן אֵילוֹן Oak Of Beth-Hanan, i.e., Of the House Of Hanan; Sept. Ε᾿Λών [v.r. ] Αἰαλὼμ ] Ἕως Βηθανάν , Vulg. Elon Et In Bethhanan), one of the Danite cities in the commissary district of Ben-Dekar, the third of Solomon's purveyors ( 1 Kings 4:9). It is simply called ELON (See Elon) in Joshua 19:43, being probably a site marked from early times by a particular Tree [(See Oak)] of traditional fame. For "Beth-hanan" some Hebrew MSS. have "Benhanan," and some "and Beth-hanan;" the latter is followed by the Vulgate. To judge from the order of the list in Joshua, its situation must have been on the border of Dan, between Ajalon and Ekron. Thenius suggests (Exeg. Handb. in loc.) that Beth-hanan can be no other than the village Beit-Hunun, in the rich plain near Gaza (Robinson, Researches, 2:371); but this is entirely out of the region in question. Possibly it may be the modern Beit-Susin, a "small village, looking old and miserable," on a ridge near an ancient well, about half way between the sites of Nicopolis and Zorah (Robinson, Later Researches, page 152).
