A Hebrew word that appears in the phrase "upon rugged mountains" in Song of Solomon 2:17, where it is translated as “mountains of Bether.” However, some suggest that "Bether" might not be a proper name but rather refers to a spice or a place, considering that Song of Solomon 8:14 mentions "mountains of spices" in a similar context. Given the poetic nature of the text, "Bether" could be related to a specific spice, such as cinnamon, rather than being a literal location.
In the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible), "Bether" appears as the name of a city, possibly Beth-anoth in the hill country of Judah, as listed in Joshua 15:59. Additionally, in 1 Chronicles 6:59, the Septuagint uses "Bether" in place of "Beth-shemesh," leading some scholars to associate Bether with Khirbet el-Jehudiyeh, a site southwest of Bittir, which may preserve the ancient name.
Bether became the site of the last Jewish stronghold during the Second Jewish Revolt against the Romans from AD 132 to 135. There Simon Bar-Kochba, the designated “messiah,” and the Jewish forces were massacred.