(Beth-merʹhak) [House Far Away; Distant House].

When King David withdrew from Jerusalem because of the rebellion of his son Absalom, he stopped at Beth-merhak, perhaps the last house of Jerusalem in the direction of the Mount of Olives before crossing the Kidron Valley. (2Sa 15:17, 23) It appears that at this point King David reviewed his forces as they were crossing over the valley, thus indicating that David was not engaged in a wild, panicky flight but, rather, was making an orderly withdrawal from the city.​—2Sa 15:18-26.