ruins.

One of the royal cities of the Canaanites ( Joshua 10:1 ; Genesis 12:8 ; 13:3 ). It was the scene of Joshua's defeat, and afterwards of his victory. It was the second Canaanite city taken by Israel ( Joshua 7:2-5 ; 8:1-29 ). It lay rebuilt and inhibited by the Benjamites ( Ezra 2:28 ; Nehemiah 7:32 ; 11:31 ). It lay to the east of Bethel, "beside Beth-aven." The spot which is most probably the site of this ancient city is Haiyan, 2 miles east from Bethel. It lay up the Wady Suweinit, a steep, rugged valley, extending from the Jordan valley to Bethel.

A city in the Ammonite territory ( Jeremiah 49:3 ). Some have thought that the proper reading of the word is Ar ( Isaiah 15:1 ).

These dictionary topics are from
M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition,
published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain, copy freely.