Beit Shemesh a border city between Judah and Dan, was given to the Levites. Beit Shemesh was the most important Israelite city in the Sorek Valley as it watched both east-west traffic through the Sorek Valley and north-south traffic along the “Diagonal Route.” The Bible mentions Beit Shemesh in the description of the northern border of the Tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:10-11) and as a Levitical city in the territory of Judah. (Joshua 21:16) Beit Shemesh is also mentioned in connection with the return of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines, who had captured it in the battle of Eben-Ezer. The ark was placed on a cattle-drawn cart in the Philistine town of Ekron and sent via Nahal Sorek to Beit Shemesh.
