Etymology of the name Bethel
The name Bethel consists of two elements. The first part of the name is the word בית (bayit), meaning house:
Abarim Publications Theological Dictionary
בית
The word בית (bayit), roughly meaning house, is very common in the Bible. In regular text it's pronounced as a disyllabic word (bayit) while in names it's a monosyllabic word (beth). This may be the case because names, specifically of locations, tend to be a lot older than the Biblical texts we have. The narrative language evolved while the names stayed the same. The exact opposite, however, occurs in the name David, which is pronounced dawid but is said to come from the word dud, meaning beloved. All this has to do with the invention of the vowel notation for which the Hebrews are famed.
Beth is also the name of the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This letter is used as regular part of words, but is also used as an inseparable preposition, meaning in, at or by or even from. As such it is the first letter of the Bible: בראשית (bresheet), meaning in the beginning.
The fundamental meaning of the word בית (bayit) appears to be a kind of enclosure, specifically for keeping, safekeeping or containing, and is contrasted by a wide array of specialized words meaning any kind of specific habitat, ranging from tent to palace. In that sense, the word בית (bayit) does not denote a specific kind of building, rather the function of container. It covers regular houses (Exodus 12:7), the temple of God (1 Kings 5:3), or rooms within other buildings, such as prisons (Jeremiah 37:15), treasuries (Isaiah 39:2), or drinking halls (Esther 2:3). The word בית (bayit) can even be applied to holders of any kind: of a tomb (Nehemiah 2:3), of carrier poles (Exodus 25:27), or even perfume (Isaiah 3:20).
One very important usage of the word בית (bayit) is to describe the entire membership and economy of one's household. Hence the Bible speaks of the house of Jacob (Genesis 35:2, 46:27), the house of David (2 Samuel 7:11) and the house of Israel (Exodus 16:31). That the word בית (bayit) emphasizes collectivity much more than a physical building or even biological descent becomes evident when Abraham (then the biological father of only Ishmael) is told to circumcise all males in his household, regardless of whether they were born there or bought (Genesis 17:12-13, 18:19).
Members of a household are usually referred to as benim, meaning 'sons.' Read our article on the name Ben for a closer look at that marvelous word.
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