Bethlechi
Locality of Sabea the prophetess.
Inhabitants or natives
Sabea the prophetess, Carmel her mother, her father.
Description
There is a need to distinguish the village of Bethlechi, where Sabea comes from, from the place where she met Jesus.
Jesus did not pass through Bethlechi: "it is also proven that you never passed through his village which is Betléchi"[1], which is not the case of the Jordan Valley widely traveled by the apostolic group. Sabea herself specifies: "Now I am no longer among the green groves of Betléchi" and "I do not have around me only my fellow citizens..."[2].
Significant events
Sabea prophesies the person and destiny of the Christ Redeemer.
Its name
Bethlechi (Beitlechi, Beth Lechi), "The jaw of the donkey", Eleutheropolis for the Romans,
"Léchi" and "Léhi" are two possible spellings of the word pronounced "lekh’-ee" and meaning "jaw".
Where is it mentioned in the work?
EMV 523 EMV 525
Learn more about this place
It was in Bethlechi that Samson routed a thousand Philistines[3].
There was a temple and a sacred spring dedicated to "Maxilla Asini", that is, the Onager (wild donkey). Idol worship rites took place there.[4]
Captured by the Romans during the War of 66-70, the city was then named Eleutheropolis (the city of the free man).
Anne-Catherine Emmerich mentions Joseph the Just as the first bishop of Eleutheropolis:He "was consecrated at Antioch as the first bishop of Eleutheropolis. He had a scattered strong band and was crucified on a tree in a persecution."[5]Salton Sabea, Joseph and Mary, fleeing to Egypt, would have passed there:
"The place called Lechi (because of the donkey jaw) was at the extreme border of Judea. During the flight to Egypt, Mary and Joseph were in great anxiety until they reached this place, because it was only there that they left the territory of Herod."[6]Excerpt from the Geographical Dictionary of the Gospel Salton Maria Valtorta, by Jean-François Lavère
The jaw of the onagerSeveral ancient sources and ongoing studies attest to the presence of a place called Beth Lechi or Beth Lehi near present-day Bayt Jibrin. The Beit Lehi Foundation unambiguously associates Beth Lechi and Eleutheropolis.Homeland of the prophetess Sabea, it is one of the rare villages of Palestine mentioned in the work, and where Jesus did not pass. "It is also proven that you never passed through his village which is Bethléchi"[7], affirm scribes seeking to test Jesus.
Beth Lechi is mentioned in a well-documented study by Tobias George Smollett[8].
A little-known biblical place, it is located near the present-day city of Bayt Jibrin (Beit Guvrin) 20 km northwest of Hebron and in the immediate vicinity of the site called Ein Haccore (the spring of invocation).
Explore
• 31° 36’ 30’’ N / 34° 53’ 44’’ E
• +275m. Map 10 D1 no. 26
Notes and references
- ↑ EMV 523.
- ↑ EMV 525.
- ↑ Judges 15:9-19 ; 2 Samuel 23:11.
- ↑ Tobias George Smollett, The critical review or Annals of Literature, Vol XXXIX, Art III, 1803, pages 143 to 148.
- ↑ Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ - Book 5, chap 5, vision of June 27.
- ↑ Ib° Book 5, chapter 4, vision of June 7.
- ↑ EMV 523.2
- ↑ The critical review or Annals of Literature, 1803 Vol XXXIX, Art III, pages 143 to 148 on the biblical passage of Jg 15:9-19