Beit Shemesh (Hebrew: בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ‎, officially also spelled Bet Shemesh, also spelled Beth-shemesh; Arabic: بيت شيمش‎; Greek: Βαιθσαμυς; Latin: Bethsames) is a city in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of 72,600 people. The modern day city was founded in 1950, although settlement has been on the site since pre-Biblical periods.