Bethharan (also Betharan or Beth Haran, Livias, and Julias) was a city of the Amorites in the ancient Near East, in the valley-plain east of the Jordan River, about twelve miles from Jericho. According to the Book of Numbers of the Hebrew Bible, Betharan was rebuilt by the tribe of Gad.[1] In the Book of Joshua, a city called "Betharam" is listed as one of the cities allotted by Moses to Gad, one of the sons of Jacob.[2] as a city of the Amorites.
It was later fortified by Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, who named it Livias in honor of Livia, the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus. As she was later called Julia, the 1st-century Jewish historian Josephus speaks of the city as Julias. Having been burnt at the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, it was restored by the Christians and became a bishopric. The site is identified by some with Tell el Rameh, six miles east of the Jordan, by others with Beit Harran.[3]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). "Betharan". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. The original entry was written by John Corbett.