Beth-anoth

Beth-anoth (meaning: house of answers or temple of Anath) was a city in the mountainous district of Judah, listed in the sixth group of Judah's towns in Joshua 15:59. Like its northern counterpart Beth-anath in Naphtali, its name likely reflects a Canaanite religious connection to the goddess Anath. The city lay in the highlands south of Jerusalem.

Beth-anoth has been identified with modern Beit Ainun, approximately three miles northeast of Hebron in the southern Judean hills. Beyond its single appearance in Joshua's tribal boundary lists, the town plays no role in the narrative portions of Scripture. Its preservation in the allotment records of Joshua demonstrates the detailed administrative awareness of Israelite settlement geography in the highland regions of Judah, even for towns that appear only once in the biblical canon.