The Christian tradition identifies the site with the Roman- and Byzantine-era Jewish village of Caphargamala (כפר גמלא‎), and believe that a cave there is the tomb of St. Stephen or to have conserved his relics.

Beit el Jemâl) as possessing a natural spring three-quarters of a mile to the east, while to the south were caves.

[3] Natural brushwood consisting mainly of oak, buckthorn and mastic trees can be seen on the adjacent hill country lying to its south.

In 415 their remains were disclosed in a dream and discovered by the priest Lucian,[6] and removed at the orders of John, Bishop of Jerusalem, for depositing in the Church of Hagia Sion on Mount Zion, at the site of today's Abbey of the Dormition.

This is therefore solid evidence for identifying Beit Jimal with the ancient Kfar Gamla, the traditional burial site of Saint Stephen.

[10] In 2017, extensive remains of a sixth-century Byzantine monastery were excavated; finds included a large mosaic featuring birds, foliage and pomegranates.

They paid a fixed tax-rate of 33.3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, olive trees, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 3,500 akçe.

Antonio Belloni, who set up the Beit Gemal School of Agriculture for the benefit of underprivileged youth, especially orphans in 1873.

[18] The land was purchased by the Marquis of Bute, and given by him to Don Belloni for the construction of an Agricultural School, similar to the one established by him in Bethlehem.

After the war's end, the Ottoman Empire was partitioned and Mandatory Palestine was accorded to the United Kingdom by the League of Nations.

[27] The large campus is in the possession of the Society of St Francis de Sales (Salesians of Don Bosco), who have a monastery.

A statue erected in 2000 commemorating Saint Stephen's martyrdom is the work of Israeli artist Igael Tumarkin.