Baal-Hermon
1:
BAAL-HERMON (PLACE) [Heb ba˓al ḥermôn (בַּעַל חֶרְמֹון)]. A border point on the land inhabited by the Hivites (Judg 3:3) and intended for the half-tribe of Manasseh on the E side of the Jordan River (1 Chr 5:23). The Deuteronomistic historian concludes that the sons of Manasseh failed to conquer the Hivite lands, including Baal-Hermon, so that Yahweh could test Israel’s rebellion in future generations. By this explanation the historian can rationalize Israel’s inability to fulfill the potential of completely possessing the promised land.
Baal-Hermon belongs to the mountains of the Anti-lebanon (see Josh 11:17) range at the edge of ancient Hivite territory, and it is most likely a place on the top of Mt. Hermon, if not one of the 3 peaks comprising Mt. Hermon. The half-tribe of Manasseh is located by 1 Chr 5:23 in 3 places (Baal-Hermon, Senir, and Mt. Hermon). Senir is one of the peaks (see Cant 4:8 and the dual hermônı̂m in Ps 42:7—Eng 42:6) and Mt. Hermon is the name of another. Baal-Hermon is possibly the third peak, which means that the E-Jordan tribe of Manasseh is restricted by the Chronicler to the base of this mountain.
Bibliography
Dar, S. 1988. The History of the Hermon Settlements. PEQ 120:26–43.
Paul Nimrah Franklyn
Freedman, D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary (1:552). New York: Doubleday.
2:
Baal-Hermon — lord of Hermon. (1.) A city near Mount Hermon inhabited by the Ephraimites (1 Chr. 5:23). Probably identical with Baal-gad (Josh. 11:17).
(2.) A mountain east of Lebanon (Judg. 3:3). Probably it may be the same as Mount Hermon, or one of its three peaks.
Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
3:
BAAL-HERMON Hivite territory in Transjordan near Mt Hermon, not captured in the Israelite conquest. It was one of the regions God wanted to use to test the younger generation of Israel (Jgs 3:1–6). Baal-hermon may refer to a place on the mountain. It seems to be another name for Baal-gad (Jos 13:5).
See also Hermon, Mount.
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (135). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
4:
Baal-hermon (bayʹuhl-huhrʹmuhn; Heb., ‘Baal of Hermon’), a Hivite town (Judg. 3:3) on the north border of Manasseh’s tribal land (1 Chron. 5:23). Some scholars consider it identical to Baal-gad (Josh. 11:17; 12:7; 13:5). If so, it was situated somewhere on the western side of Mount Hermon about equidistant from Tyre and Sidon on the Mediterranean coast. The precise location is unknown.
Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index. (1st ed.) (85). San Francisco: Harper & Row.
5:
Baal-Hermon (Heb. ba˓al ḥermôn)
A place in the Lebanon Mountains occupied by the Hivites (Judg. 3:3) and assigned to the half-tribe of Manasseh (1 Chr. 5:23). It is likely a Hivite town or shrine on the slopes or in the foothills of the Hermon massif. Although the site of Baal-hermon has not been identified, nearly two dozen ancient cult sites are known from the Hermon area dating from the Hellenistic and Roman periods, indicating that the local populace considered Mt. Hermon a sacred area. Like most of the higher mountains in Palestine, Mt. Hermon probably was the seat of a local deity.
Thomas W. Davis
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (136). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
