Etymology
Bayt Jibrin has been renamed over the centuries by those who fought for control of the region. The city's Aramaic name is 'Beth Gabra which translates as the "house of men". According to some sources, prior to the Roman conquest, the town was known as Betaris. In his account of the Jewish revolt in 68 CE, the Roman Jewish historian Josephus called it Betaris, describing it as one of two villages taken by the Romans "right in the heart of Idumea." The Egyptian-Roman geographer Ptolemy referred to it as Baitogabra. The Romans gave it a Greek name, Eleutheropolis, meaning “City of the Free". In the Peutinger Tables in 393 CE, Bayt Jibrin was called Beitogabri. In the 3rd-4th century Talmud, it was known as Beit Gubrin (or Guvrin).
To the Crusaders, it was known as Bethgibelin or Gibelin. Another name in medieval times may have been Beit Jibril, meaning "house of Gabriel". In Arabic, Bayt Jibrin or Jubrin (بيت جبرين) means "house of the powerful", reflecting its original Aramaic name. and the town was probably called Bayt Jibrin or Beit Jibril throughout its rule by various Islamic dynasties.
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