Baal-berit (Heb. Ba’al berîth, “Baal of a covenant”, and +Kl berîth, “god of a covenant”). Deity worshiped by the Israelites during the period of the judges (Jdg 8:33; 9:4), also called “the god Berit” (9:46). A temple dedicated to him was at Shechem, which, like most of them, was a repository of treasures (v 4). It is not known why he received the name he had and to what covenant he refers. The following suggestions have been made: The Shechemites traced their origins to Hamor (Jdg 9:28; see Gen 34:20; etc.), and Hamor literally means “ass.” The Mari documents show that among the Amorites the expression “to kill an ass” was synonymous with “to make a treaty.” Hence “sons of Hamor” or “sons of an ass” could mean “members of a confederation”, whence Baal-berit would have been the god called to witness the covenant. However, it is more likely that the covenant mentioned is the one that Joshua made with the people shortly before his death at Shechem. After he concluded the covenant, he set up “a great stone” as a memorial “beside the sanctuary of the Lord” (Josh 24:25-27). Excavations at Shechem have revealed that an open-air sanctuary existed there from patriarchal times until c 1650 BC At this time it was covered with a thick layer of earth to form another platform, on which a temple-fortress was built. which was destroyed by Abimelech in the 12th century BC In front of its ruins, an enormous stone was found set on a concave base, most likely the one raised by Joshua. It seems that in Joshua’s time the temple-fortress of Shechem was known as the “sanctuary of Yahweh”, and since the covenant between God and his people was made in that place, the god of this temple came to be known as the “god of God”. of the covenant” or “lord of the covenant”. Hence these terms referred to the God Yahweh of Israel. That Jehovah was worshiped in many places before and after the construction of the temple in Jerusalem is well documented in the Bible. Bib.: ARI 113; GE Wright, Shechem (New York, 1965), pp. 80-122. Baals. See Baal.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
(lord of the covenant).
A god of Israel worshiped after Gideon’s death (Jdg 8:33). Abimelech was given 70 pieces of silver from the temple of this god and he used this money and hired idle and reckless men, who followed him (Jdg 9:4).
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
(Lord of the covenant). Canaanite deity. His main sanctuary was at † ¢ Shechem. “When Gideon died, the children of Israel… chose B. as their god† (Judges 8:33). Shechem had not been conquered by Joshua and was a Canaanite enclave. †¢Abimelech, son of Gideon, in an attempt to establish a kingdom, made a covenant with its inhabitants, who “gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of B.† (Judges 9:4). With this money, Abimelech hired “idle and wandering men”, whom he used to kill his seventy brothers, from which only Jotham was spared.
Three years later, “God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem,” who rebelled (Judges 9:23). In the ensuing struggle, the Shechemites took refuge in “the tower of Shechem” or “the fortress of the temple of the god Berit”. But Abimelech ordered the people to cut branches and with them they set fire to it. The Shechemites are also called “sons of Hamor” (Jos 24:32; Jud 9:28; Acts 7:16). The word Hamor means “ass”. Among these Canaanites it was customary to sacrifice an ass to seal a pact or agreement, which is why it has been speculated that the alliance between the Shechemites and Abimelech possibly included that act.
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
(Owner of a Covenant; once, in Judg 9:46, El-berit, God of a Covenant).
The Baal of Shechem, whom the Israelites began to worship after the death of Judge Gideon. (Jg 8:33) The name “Baal-berith” may be due to the belief that this particular Baal watched over the observance of the covenants.
In the house or temple of Baal-berit, located in Shechem, there was some kind of treasure. (Jg 9:4) The Shechemites seem to have celebrated a harvest festival in honor of Baal-berith, culminating in a type of sacrificial meal in the temple of their god. It was in the temple of Baal-berith, when the Shechemites ate, drank, and cursed Abimelech, that Gaal, probably under the influence of wine, incited them to rebel against King Abimelech. (Jg 9:27-29) Later, when he threatened them, the landowners of the tower of Shechem (Migdal Shechem, BJ) sought refuge in the vault of the house of El-berit (Baal-berit), where they found death when Abimelech and his men set him on fire. (Jg 9:46-49.)
Source: Dictionary of the Bible
(heb. ba˓al berı̂ṯ, ‘Lord of the covenant’). The Canaanite deity originally worshiped at Shechem (Judg. 8.33; 9.4), probably the same deity as the one mentioned in Judg. 9.46 under the name of Berit or El-Berit (°bj). Joshua’s capture of Shechem is nowhere recorded; passed under the control of the habiru in the ss. XIV BC and was probably incorporated into Israel by treaty. The Abimelech episode (Judges 9) illustrates the tension between the true Israelites and this basically Canaanite enclave. Those of Shechem are called “men of Hamor” (‘ass’, Judges 9.28), which is equivalent to the phrase “sons of the covenant”, since the sacrifice of an ass was essential for the ratification of a treaty among the Amorites.
AEC
Douglas, J. (2000). New Biblical Dictionary: First Edition. Miami: United Bible Societies.
Source: New Bible Dictionary