Beth-barah

Beth-barah (meaning: house of the ford or house of crossing) was a strategic ford or crossing point on the Jordan River, south of the scene of Gideon's victory over the Midianites. When Gideon pursued the fleeing Midianite army, he sent word to the Ephraimites to cut off the retreat by seizing the waters—the fords of the Jordan—before the Midianites, specifically naming Beth-barah and the Jordan as the positions to secure.

The Ephraimites responded successfully, capturing the two Midianite princes Oreb and Zeeb at the fords—Oreb at the rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. Beth-barah is generally identified with the ford or crossing point known from other sources, possibly near where the Jabbok river meets the Jordan. Its strategic importance as a river crossing made control of it decisive in cutting off enemy retreat, and Gideon's quick thinking in dispatching the Ephraimites there turned a pursuit into a comprehensive victory.