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Summary
- No one in the Bible is named Beth; as an English name it is a short form of Elizabeth, and occasionally of Bethany.
- In Hebrew, beth is the form of the word for “house” used in phrases, and it begins place names such as Bethel, “house of God” (Genesis 28:17–19), and Bethlehem, “house of bread.”
- The word can mean a building, a household, a royal line or the temple; 2 Samuel 7 plays on several of these senses.
- Beth is also the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the first letter of Genesis and the letter of Psalm 119:9–16.
- As a name, Beth carries Elizabeth’s meaning, “my God is an oath”; the “beth” in Elizabeth is not the word for house.
- Beth was most popular for American girls in the 1960s, ranking 65th in 1961, 1964 and 1966.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Behind the Name, “Beth,” “Bethany” and “Elizabeth,” with United States popularity figures from Social Security Administration data. https://www.behindthename.com/name/beth
- “Bet (letter),” Wikipedia, on the letter’s name, shape and numerical value. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bet_(letter)
- “Psalm 119,” Wikipedia, on the acrostic structure of the psalm. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psalm_119
- Genesis Rabbah 1:10, Sefaria Midrash Rabbah translation. https://www.sefaria.org/Bereshit_Rabbah.1.10
- Genesis 28:17, Hebrew text (Westminster Leningrad Codex), Sefaria. https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.28.17
- “Bethlehem,” Wikipedia, on the Hebrew name Bet Leḥem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlehem
- “Pool of Bethesda,” Wikipedia, on the name and its manuscript variants. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pool_of_Bethesda
- “Little Women,” Wikipedia, on Elizabeth “Beth” March. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Women
- Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version: Numbers 1:2; 2 Samuel 7:2, 5, 11, 13; Genesis 28:17, 19; Psalm 119:9. References: Exodus 6:23; 1 Samuel 17:12; Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1; John 5:2–9; 11:1, 18.
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