The small archaeological tell northwest of the modern city was identified in the late 1830s as Biblical Beth Shemesh – it was known as Ain Shams – by Edward Robinson.

The Ramat Beit Shemesh neighborhood area was the site belonging to the Arab village Bayt Nattif, which was built on remnants of an ancient Judean town, with various remnants of Jewish settlement from the time, such as a mosaic floor, wineries and other remains, especially from the period of the Hasmonean kings and earlier.

[citation needed] Under the proposed United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, the town was slated to be part of an internationalized Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Arab population of Bayt Nattif fled the village following an Israeli Air Force bombing campaign in October 1948, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

[10] On 6 December 1950, the Hartuv displaced persons camp "Ma'abarat Har-Tuv" was established on the site of the current-day Moshav Naham.

In 1977, following a writeup in Haaretz newspaper, Beit Shemesh was perceived as the main outpost for Menachem Begin's Likud party.

The Israel Police maintains a bomb disposal specialist unit and training center in Beit Shemesh.

Ramat Beit Shemesh started to be built on hills immediately south of Givat Sharett in the late 1990s, doubling the size of the city.

In 2017, the Israeli government approved a master plan to build 17,000 new housing units along with 53 hectares (130 acres) zoned as new commercial space for businesses and hotels.

[15] Beit Shemesh has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa),[16] with mild, rainy winters and hot, nearly rainless summers.

When the city was built in the 1950s, it was initially settled by new immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Romania, Bulgaria, Morocco, and Iraqi Kurdistan.

Religious communities represented in Beit Shemesh include Chabad Ger, Belz, American Modern Orthodox and American Yeshivish, French Sefardim, South African Modern Orthodox, Israeli Dati Leumi and more recently a Spanish speaking community.

[21] In 2016 the Israeli Land Authority published tenders for 3,268 new apartments, to be built in the newly proposed areas of Ramat Beit Shemesh Dalet and Hey.

With the majority being Olim (immigrants to Israel), in this case primarily from the US, much of the neighborhood is connected to an American Minyan such as the Gra, Pnei Shmuel, or others.

Points of interest in the Mishkenos Yaakov area include Lev Eliyahu, the synagogue with the most Minyanim in all of RBSA, and the Merkaz, the shopping center more than 130 stores of all types.

A further expansion to Ramat Beit Shemesh is the leafy suburbs of Mishkafayim located at the eastern edge of Aleph overlooking the Zanoah quarry.

Gimmel 1 which is heavily populated with over 3,000 apartments, developed into a thriving neighborhood in a very short time, and as of 2024 has many synagogues, stores, clinics, and schools.

As of 2024, Ramat Beit Shemesh Daled (Hebrew: רמת בית שמש ד) has become a sprawling multi sectional neighborhood.

In May 2020, Dozens of national and secular religious couples (hiloni and dathi leomi) took part in a tour of the Neve Shamir neighborhood with former Mayor Aliza Bloch and her deputy.

[31] The largest institution is Yeshivat Lev Hatorah, a Religious Zionist yeshiva founded by Rabbi Boaz Mori.

[21] During the municipal elections held on 22 October 2013, acting on several anonymous tips, police raided several private residences and recovered 200 ID cards and disguising materials such as hats, glasses and wigs which law enforcement suspected were used or going to be used for fraudulent voting.

[38] Following an unprecedented 76% voter turnout rate, incumbent mayor Moshe Abutbul beat contender Eli Cohen with a 51% majority vote during the reelection which took place on 11 March 2014.

Since the high tech boom began in the 1990s, Beit Shemesh has been host to several hi-tech startups including Omek Interactive.

Beit Shemesh Express operates over 40 bus routes with over 200 eco friendly electric busses serving all areas of the city as of 2021.

Israel Kung Fu and world Nunchaku champion (2001) Eli Ivgi was born in and lives in Beit Shemesh.

[41] King Hussein of Jordan went to Beit Shemesh a few days after the massacre to extend his condolences and ask forgiveness in the name of his country, a step which was seen as both courageous and touching.

[48][49] In 2011, conflicts erupted in Beit Shemesh between extremist anti-religious activists and devout Haredi men, possibly members of a group known as the Sikrikim,[50][51][52] and other residents of the town due to opposition to maintaining gender separation at local health clinics,[53] and so called ‘mehadrin buses’ where men and women sit separately.

[54] When the municipality removed a sign asking women to respect gender separation rules in a synagogue, hundreds of devout Haredim staged protests in which physical force was allegedly used against police officers and reporters.

[58] In December 2011, a national public outcry was raised when a television news channel interviewed 8-year-old Na'ama Margolese, who was allegedly cursed and spat at on her way to school by devout Haredim.

[61][62] After the incidents in Beit Shemesh were reported in foreign press, the US State Department updated its Jerusalem travel advisory advising visitors to "dress appropriately" when visiting ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, or to avoid them entirely.