Beth-aven

Easton, 1897

House of nothingness; i.e., "of idols", a place in the mountains of Benjamin, east of Bethel (Joshua 7:2; Joshua 18:12; 1 Samuel 13:5). In Hosea 4:15; Hosea 5:8; Hosea 10:5 it stands for "Bethel" (q.v.), and it is so called because it was no longer the "house of God," but "the house of idols," referring to the calves there worshipped.