JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

BAALAH (Heb. הָלְ עַ ּב), name of several biblical localities, evidently
associated with the worship of Baal. (1) Mount Baalah is
mentioned as one of the demarcation points on the northwestern
boundary of the territory of Judah, between Shikkeron
and Jabneel in the vicinity of Ekron (Josh. 15:11). Its location is
dependent on the identification of *Ekron, but the prevailing
opinion is the ridge of Mughār, near Wadi Qaṭra. (2) A city
of Baalah is listed in the Negev district of Judah (Josh. 15:29).
It is also among the settlements of Simeon as Balah (Josh.
19:3) or Bilhah (I Chron. 4:29). Its identification is unknown.
(3) Baalah is mentioned as another name for *Kiriath-Jearim
(Josh. 15:9–10); in I Chronicles 13:6 it is called Baalath (Heb.
version). (4) A city of Baalath appears in the list of Danite settlements
(Josh. 19:44) after Eltekeh and Gibbethon; this is perhaps
identical with the Baalath fortified by Solomon (I Kings
9:18). It has been identified with the mound Mughār or of Qatra;
in this case it would be identical with (1).
The illuminated letter “B“ at the beginning of
the Psalms in Extracts from Gregory the Great
shows King David playing his harp and the
young David killing Goliath. N. France, 12 th
century, Douai, Bibliothèque Municipale, Ms.
315A, Vol. 1, fol. 5. Ba–Blo
Bibliography: (1) Kallai, in: BIES, 17 (1952), 63; Aharoni, in:
PEQ, 90 (1958), 28–30; Mazar, in: IEJ, 10 (1960), 70; (2) Abel, Geog, 2
(1938), 258; (3) Mazar, in: Sefer Dinaburg (1949), 317; EM, S.V.; Aharoni,
Land, index.
[Michael Avi-Yonah]
BAAL-BERITH (Heb. תירְ ִ ּב לעַ ַ ּב; “Lord of Covenant”), the
name of the deity worshiped in the earliest Israelite period
at the Temple of Shechem (Judg. 9:4). That temple was destroyed
in the 12th century B.C.E. by *Abimelech, the half-
Shechemite son of the great judge Gideon (Jerubbaal), after
his suppression of a counter-revolt. Abimelech himself had
come to power as “king” with the aid of funds from the Baal-
Berith temple. As Abimelech’s revenge moved apace, the terrified
populace sought refuge in the “stronghold of El-Berith”
(9:46), where they died en masse. The polemic of the narrative
is directed against Abimelech and the conspirators who had
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