A border city located at the northern end of the Dead Sea, assigned to Judah in Joshua 15:6,61 and to Benjamin in Joshua 18:22. The name means "house of the Arabah" or "house of the desert," referring to the deep Jordan Valley depression.
The Arabah — the deep desert rift valley — is one of Scripture's most potent geographic metaphors. Isaiah envisions the day when "the desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice" (Isaiah 35:1). What was barren will bloom. What was desolate will flow with rivers. The assignment of Beth-Arabah to two tribes (Judah and Benjamin) reflects the careful stewardship of every part of the promised land — even the desert places belong to God and are given as inheritance. No wasteland is beyond His redemptive purposes.