And he journeyed from place to place from the Negev as far as Bethel. He returned to the place where he had pitched his tent at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai.

Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord.

However, there is an annual festival to the Lord in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel (east of the main road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem) and south of Lebonah.”

Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel. When his sons came home, they told their father everything the prophet had done in Bethel that day and all the words he had spoken to the king.

Elijah told Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

Do not seek Bethel! Do not visit Gilgal! Do not journey down to Beer Sheba! For the people of Gilgal will certainly be carried into exile; and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.”

He called that place Bethel, although the former name of the town was Luz.

Jacob and all those who were with him arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.

He took five thousand men and set an ambush west of the city between Bethel and Ai.

The southern border extended from Bethel to Luz, and crossed to Arkite territory at Ataroth.

When the men of Joseph spied out Bethel (it used to be called Luz),

So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, weeping loudly and uncontrollably.

Year after year he used to travel the circuit of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah; he used to judge Israel in all of these places.

The gift was for those in the following locations: for those in Bethel, Ramoth Negev, and Jattir;

This caused Israel to sin; the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves.

So he started back on another road; he did not travel back on the same road he had taken to Bethel.

Abijah chased Jeroboam; he seized from him these cities: Bethel and its surrounding towns, Jeshanah and its surrounding towns, and Ephron and its surrounding towns.

Some of the descendants of Benjamin settled in Geba, Micmash, Aija, Bethel and its villages,

The people of Moab will be disappointed by their god Chemosh. They will be as disappointed as the people of Israel were when they put their trust in the calf god at Bethel.

Don’t prophesy at Bethel any longer, for a royal temple and palace are here!”