Baal-Berith
1:
BAAL-BERITH (DEITY) [Heb ba˓al bĕrı̂t (בַּעַל בְּרִית)]. The phrase Baal-berith, “lord of the covenant, ” which appears only in Judg 8:33 and 9:4 (a similar form “El Berith” occurs in Judg 9:46) has attracted many different interpretations. Albright, in his 1941 Ayer Lectures (ARI 110), thought that Baal-berith was an appellation of the god Haurôn, yet this proposal has found few adherents. While no other proposal has met with consensus among scholars due primarily to the scant evidence, there is a good deal of speculation centering around the identity of Baal-berith of Shechem and any connection between this deity and the development of covenant theology in ancient Israel.
Many scholars have speculated on the relation between Baal-berith and El Berith. Some favor 2 separate deities. Soggin (Judges OTL, 170–71, 186) sees 2 different deities corresponding to the 2 sanctuaries at Shechem (cf. TDOT, 2:194). Others (Good HBD, 84) have argued that Baal-berith and El Berith are one and the same. Clements (1968:26 n.3) believes that “the title El-Berith was simply an alternative for Baal-berith, with El used in a purely appellative sense.” Cross (CMHE, 49) has argued that what we have here is an original epithet of the Canaanite deity El who was known at Shechem as both ˒ēl˒ĕlōhê yiśrā˒ēl, “El, the god of (the patriarch Jacob) Israel” and ˒ēl ba˓l bĕrı̂t “El, the lord of the covenant.” Cross (CMHE, 39) also pointed out that ˒il brt ( = El Berith) occurs in a Hurrian text (RS 24.278) published in Ugaritica V (so too Lipiński 1973:50–51).
Another topic of discussion is the relation of Baal-berith and El Berith to Yahweh. Most scholars (e.g. Cooke Joshua CBSC, 221) describe a process whereby as the Israelites took over the LB Canaanite sanctuary at Shechem (cf. Dever’s remarks on Migdal Temple I [1987:232]), the Canaanite god Baal-berith/El Berith came to be regarded as a manifestation of Yahweh. Kaufmann (KRI 138–39, 260) argues that ba˓al was an epithet for Yahweh in early times which fits with his theory that “during the age of the judges . . . there are no Baal priests or prophets, nor any other intimation of a vital effect of polytheism in Israel’s life.” Tigay, who has followed up on Kaufmann’s work, holds out the possibility that we have polytheism in Judges 9:4, 46 (Tigay 1986:41 n.13). See also the discussion of the relation of Yahweh and El in Cross (CMHE, 44–75) who suggests that Yahweh was “recognized as originally a cultic name of ˒El. ” It is further advocated by Cross that El may have borne the epithet ḏū yahwī saba˒ôt, “He who creates the heavenly armies” (CMHE, 71).
In later biblical tradition, as evidenced by the Deuteronomistic editing in Judg 8:33, ba˓al bĕrı̂t was seen to be a pagan deity. Mulder (TDOT, 2:194) has pointed out the association of this deity with wine festivals in Judges 9:27, which would support the notion that Baal-berith was “a god of vegetation and a local manifestation of the Baal par excellence.”
Baal-berith has also attracted a good deal of attention by those who have speculated on the origin of the idea of covenant in ancient Israel. How did Baal-berith, “the lord of the covenant, ” function in the treaty itself? Two viable options have been proposed. Outside of the Bible, there are few parallels in the ancient Near East to deities entering into covenant relationships with peoples. Weinfeld (TDOT, 2:278) says that “the idea of a covenant between a deity and a people is unknown to us from other religions and cultures” yet compare the inscription from Arslan Tash (KAI 27; see Zevit 1977:110–18) and ˒il brt mentioned above. Baal-berith and El Berith could be seen as rare examples of a deity in the role of a divine partner or suzerain in the covenant. The Shechemites, who would be seen as the vassal party, are referred to as bĕnê hămôr, “sons of the ass, ” which seems to be a covenantal designation to judge from parallel Mari texts (ARI 110; Noth 1984:108–17). Some who follow this line of interpretation have gone so far as to suggest that the Israelites’ development of covenant theology was influenced by the cult of Baal-berith which they encountered when they came to Shechem. Clements (1968:31–32), however, argues that though Baal-berith played the role of divine partner, this does not imply that there was any profound influence on the Israelite notion of covenant.
Alternatively, Baal-berith could refer not to a deity in the role of a divine partner (parallel to “unique” biblical usage) but rather to a deity in the role of witness or guardian to the treaty. Here there are abundant parallels in ANE treaties where this was the normal role of the gods. Following this line of interpretation, Baal-berith’s function would be as the witness or guarantor of the covenant between two peoples. There is no reference to any battle or conquest of Shechem and most scholars agree that this is due to a covenant which was made between the Israelites and the Shechemites. In fact, every fragment of Shechemite tradition which has come down to us refers to some type of treaty. See SHECHEM (PLACE); COVENANT.
Bibliography
Campbell, E. F., and Ross, J. F. 1963. The Excavation of Shechem and the Biblical Tradition. BA 26:2–27.
Clements, R. E. 1968. Baal-Berith of Shechem. JSS 13:21–32.
Dever, W. G. 1987. The Contribution of Archaeology to the Study of Canaanite and Early Israelite Religion. Pp. 209–47 in AIR.
Lipiński, E. 1973.Recherches Ugaritiques. Syr 50:35–51.
Noth, M. 1984. Old Testament Covenant-making in the Light of a Text from Mari. Pp. 108–17 in The Laws in the Pentateuch and Other Studies. Trans. D. R. Ap-Thomas. Philadelphia.
Tigay, J. H. 1986. You Shall Have No Other Gods:Israelite Religion in the Light of Hebrew Inscriptions. HSS 31. Atlanta.
Zevit, Z. 1977. A Phoenician Inscription and Biblical Covenant Theology. IEJ 27:110–18.
Theodore J. Lewis
Freedman, D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary (1:550). New York: Doubleday.
2:
Baalbec — called by the Greeks Heliopolis i.e., “the city of the sun”, because of its famous Temple of the Sun, has by some been supposed to be Solomon’s “house of the forest of Lebanon” (1 Kings 7:2; 10:17; 2 Chr. 9:16); by others it is identified with Baal-gad (q.v.). It was a city of Coele-Syria, on the lowest declivity of Anti-Libanus, about 42 miles north-west of Damascus. It was one of the most splendid of Syrian cities, existing from a remote antiquity. After sustaining several sieges under the Moslems and others, it was finally destroyed by an earthquake in 1759. Its ruins are of great extent.
Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
3:
BAAL-BERITH Pagan god worshiped in central Canaan around the city of Shechem (Jgs 9:1–4, 44–46). Baal-berith (“lord of the covenant”) was probably a local form of Baal, the leading Canaanite fertility god. During the period of the judges, the people of Israel turned from the Lord to worship the idols Baal and Baal-berith (Jgs 8:33). See Canaanite Deities and Religion.
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (135). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
4:
BA´AL-BE´RITH (bāʹal-be-rithʹ). A god worshiped in Shechem. See Gods, False.
Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
5:
BAAL-BERITH (Heb. ba‘al berı̂ṯ, ‘Lord of the covenant’). The Canaanite Baal-deity worshipped originally at Shechem (Jdg. 8:33; 9:4), probably to be equated with El-berith (Jdg. 9:46). The capture of Shechem by Joshua is nowhere recorded; it came under Habiru control in the 14th century bc and was probably incorporated into Israel by treaty. The Abimelech episode (Jdg. 9) illustrates the tension between the true Israelites and this basically Canaanite enclave. The Shechemites are called ‘the sons of Hamor’ (‘ass’, Jdg. 9:28) which is equivalent to ‘the sons of the covenant’ since the sacrifice of an ass was essential to the ratification of a treaty amongst the Amorites. a.e.c.
Wood, D. R. W., Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996, c1982, c1962). New Bible Dictionary. Includes index. (electronic ed. of 3rd ed.) (108). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
6:
Baal-Berith (Heb. ba˓al bĕrɩ̂ṯ)
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
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (135). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
