Pi-beseth standard
d): A city of ancient Egypt. The only occurrence of the name of this place in the Old Testament is in Eze 30:17; where it is coupled with Aven, i.e. On (Heliopolis).
Where is Pi-beseth in the Bible?
Pi-beseth was an ancient Egyptian city located on the western bank of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile River, approximately 40 miles north of Memphis and 15 miles northeast of On (Heliopolis). The city appears only once in the Bible, in Ezekiel 30:17, where the prophet declares God's judgment against it alongside other Egyptian cities. Pi-beseth was known in ancient times as Bubastis and served as a religious center dedicated to the goddess Bastet, making it theologically significant as a target of God's prophetic condemnation against Egypt's idolatrous practices. The prophecy against Pi-beseth illustrates Ezekiel's broader message warning of divine judgment on Egypt and its pagan religious institutions.
Pi-beseth
ISBE 1915 (Public Domain)d): A city of ancient Egypt. The only occurrence of the name of this place in the Old Testament is in Eze 30:17; where it is coupled with Aven, i.e. On (Heliopolis).
1Location
Pi-beseth was on the western bank of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, about 40 miles North of Memphis, about 15 miles Northeast of On. Herodotus found the city of Bubastis very beautiful in his day. The annual festival of the goddess, Basht, was celebrated here with revolting license, similar to that of the festival of Syyid el-Bedawer now kept in TanTa.
2Exploration
Pi-beseth was explored by Professor Naville under the Egyptian Exploration Society in 1887-90. There were uncovered ruins of Egypt from the IVth Dynasty of the Old Empire, from the Middle Empire, an important Hyksos settlement, and ruins from the New Empire down to the end, and even from Roman times. The most unique discovery at Pi-beseth, one of the most unique in all Egypt, is the cemetery of cats. These cats, the animal sacred to Basht, were mummified at other places in Egypt, but at Pibeseth they were burned and the ashes and bones gathered and buried in great pits lined with brick or hardened clay. Bones of the ichneumon were also found mixed with those of the cats in these pits (Egypt Exploration Fund Report, 1891).
M. G. Kyle