What is…
Luz

Meaning: a nut-bearing tree, the Almond

The name of 2 biblical cities (the 2nd named after the 1st).

  1. Luz, later renamed Bethel

    This was originally an ancient royal Canaanite city near the site of Bethel (Genesis 28:19; 35:6), on the later border of the Tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18:13).

    Here Jacob (later called Israel) halted, and experienced a prophetic vision from God with ladder to Heaven (Genesis 28:10–22). (See BETHEL.)

    And he called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz. —Genesis 28:19

    Later in history, Joshua 18:13 explicitly equates Luz and Bethel. Over time, the name Bethel largely supersedes Luz as the primary name, especially after Israelite settlement. No further mentions of “Luz” for this location occur after Judges 1.

    A few passages (notably Joshua 16:2: “from Bethel to Luz”) have led some to suggest Bethel and Luz might have been separate but nearby sites — perhaps the sanctuary/holy place (Bethel) versus the actual city (Luz), or a ridge/mountain versus the settlement. However, most scholars and translations treat them as essentially the same location, with “Luz” as the older name and Joshua 16:2 reflecting archaic or boundary-specific phrasing. Joshua 18:13 clarifies the equivalence with “(that is, Bethel).”

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  2. Luz of the Hittites

    This city was in the land of ancient Hittites, and was founded by a man that assisted spies from the house of Joseph looking for a way into the previously mentioned city of Luz (Bethel) (Judges 1:23).

    So the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and named it Luz which is its name to this day. —Judges 1:26

    In other words, during the campaign against Bethel (formerly Luz), the house of Joseph spared a local man who showed them the city entrance. In return, he and his family are allowed to leave unharmed. And that man moved north into the land of the Hittites and built a new city which he named Luz, in memory of the conquered Canaanite city he left.

    Hittite land refers to a broad region influenced by the Hittites in northern Syria, Anatolia (modern Turkey), and possibly northern Lebanon/Cilicia, far from Canaan.

    The phrase "to this day" suggests the city still existed when the Book of Judges was written or finalized, implying a lasting settlement.

    No precise modern location is confirmed, though some link it to ruins like el-Louaize (near Sidon) or other Hittite-era sites. It currently remains obscure archaeologically.

    The older Luz/Bethel became a major religious site in Israelite tradition, while the secondary Luz faded into obscurity outside that single Judges reference.

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Article Version: March 18, 2026