Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

BAAL-BERITH

(Heb. baʿal bĕrîṯ)

The name or title of a deity worshipped by the Israelites after Gideon’s death (Judg. 8:33) whose temple was at Shechem (9:4). Baal could be the Canaanite deity Hadad, known from Ugaritic and biblical texts, or the phrase could also be a title, “Lord or Master of the Covenant,” applied to another deity. In Judg. 9:46 the name El-berith (found also in RS 24.278) appears, which if equated could mean that El was the “lord of the covenant” or conversely that Baal was the “god of the covenant.” While many scholars equate the two temples and see the titles as referring to the same deity, some see separate sites for the two events recorded in Judg. 9.

The significance of the covenant and its deity or deities for the Shechemites cannot be determined by the context of Judg. 8–9. However, the covenant tradition of Shechem for Israel is important in Josh. 8; 24; Judg. 9; ; and 1 Kgs. 12. Shechem became the site of the fall festival of covenant renewal for Israel.

Bibliography. E. F. Campbell, “Shechem: Tell Balatah,” NEAEHL 4:1345-54; F. M. Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (Cambridge, Mass., 1973).

Russell D. Nelson

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

BAAL-BERITH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)