Why Beth-El Was Renamed Beth-Aven and Idols Get Ugly Names

"And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-Aven, on the east side of Beth-El" (Joshua 7:2). Formerly they called it Beth-El [House of God], and now they call it Beth-Aven [House of Iniquity]. Rabbi Shmuel and Rabbi Abbahu in the name of Rabbi Elazar: of dung [tzo'ah] you say "his dung," his foulness. Whatever they call "face of my lord" they call "face of a dog"; "the eye of all" they call "the eye of a thorn"; a lion they call something rolled away. It was taught in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: he did not wish to call it Amalah [a name of honor], so he calls it Amadah. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: there they call a good worker amalah, and a stench of urine-waters amrah. The Rabbis said: "You shall utterly detest it" (Deuteronomy 7:26), detest it, declare it foul.