Beit Shemesh
| |
|---|---|
| Hebrew transcription(s) | |
| • ISO 259 | Beit Šemš |
| • Also spelled | Bet Shemesh (official) |
      | |
 Emblem of Beit Shemesh | |
  Beit Shemesh  Beit Shemesh | |
| Coordinates: 31°44′44″N 34°59′12″E / 31.74556°N 34.98667°E | |
| Country |  Israel |
| District | Jerusalem District |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Shmuel Greenberg[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 34,259 dunams (34.259 km2 or 13.227 sq mi) |
| Population (2024)[2] | |
• Total | 170,683 |
| • Density | 5,000/km2 (13,000/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity | |
| • Jews and others | 99.9% |
| • Arabs | 0.1% |
| Name meaning | House of the sun |
Beit Shemesh (Hebrew: בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ [bet ʃemeʃ], "house of the Sun") is a city located approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District. A center of Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodoxy, Beit Shemesh has a population of 170,683 as of 2024.[3]
The city is named after and located near the remains of ancient Beth Shemesh, a biblical city in the territory of Judah.[4] Its ruins can be found today at the archaeological site of Tel Beit Shemesh.
- ^ "Municipal Elections - Second Round".
- ^ a b "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "נתונים סטטיסטיים".
- ^ Lemche, Niels Peter (2004). Historical dictionary of ancient Israel. Historical dictionaries of ancient civilizations and historical eras. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-8108-4848-1.