Baal Berith
| Deities of the ancient Near East |
|---|
| Religions of the ancient Near East |
Baʿal Berith (Hebrew: בעל ברית, lit. 'Baʿal of the Covenant') and El Berith (Hebrew: אל ברית, lit. 'God of the Covenant') are titles of a god or gods worshiped in Shechem, in ancient Canaan, according to the Bible.
The term for "covenant" (Hebrew: ברית, romanized: bərīt) appears also in
In the Bible
According to Yehezkel Kaufmann, "Baal-berith and El-berith of Judges 9:4,46 is presumably YHWH", as "ba'al was an epithet of YHWH in earlier times".[4]
Elsewhere, some of the Shechemites are called "men of Hamor";[5] this is compared to "sons of Hamor", which in the ancient Middle East referred to people who had entered into a covenant sealed by the sacrifice of a hamor, an ass.[6] "Children of Hamor" or "sons of Hamor" itself appears in the Book of Genesis[7] and the Book of Joshua,[8] in both of which, as in Judges,[5] Hamor is called the father of Shechem. Genesis also[9] features a man named Hamor who ruled in the area of Shechem[10] and had a son named Shechem.
Proposed relation to Berouth
In his
Rabbinic literature
Rabbinic tradition equates Baʿal Berith with Beelzebub, "the lord of flies," the god of Philistine Ekron (2 Kings 1:2).[12] He was worshipped in the shape of a fly; and Jewish tradition states that so addicted were the Jews to his cult that they would carry an image of him in their pockets, producing it, and kissing it from time to time. Baʿal Zebub was called Baʿal Berith because such Jews might be said to make a covenant of devotion with the idol, being unwilling to part with it for a single moment.[13] According to another conception, Baʿal Berith was an obscene article of idolatrous worship, possibly a simulacrum priapi.[14] This is evidently based on the later use of the word "berit" to refer to circumcision.[12]
Christianity
According to the Admirable History written by Father
See also
Mythology portal
Asia portal
.svg){kind=small}
References
- ^ a b Judges 8:33.
- ^ Judges 9:4
- ^ Judges 9:46
- ^ Yehezkel Kaufmann, The Religion of Israel: From Its Beginnings to the Babylonian Exile (1972), p.138
- ^ a b Judges 9:28.
- ISBN 978-90-04-11119-6.
- ^ Gen. 33:19.
- ^ Joshua 24:32.
- ^ Gen. 34.
- ^ Gen. 33:18.
- ISBN 978-0-931464-49-2.
- ^ a b "JewishEncyclopedia.com - BAAL-BERITH". Retrieved 2010-04-06.
- Sanhedrin63b
- ^ Yerushalmi Shabbat 9 (11d); Avodah Zarah 3 (43a)
Further reading
- J.C. DeMoor, בעל, Theologisches Wörterbuch zum Alten Testament, hrsg. G.J. Botterweck, H. Ringgren, Bd. 1, Col. 706–718.
- S. L. MacGregor Mathers, A. Crowley, The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King (1904). 1995 reprint: ISBN 0-87728-847-X.
- "Berith - Goetia, the Lesser Key of Solomon the King: Lemegeton." DeliriumsRealm.com - Demonology, Fallen Angels, and the Philosophy of Good and Evil. 30 Apr. 2009 <http://www.deliriumsrealm.com/delirium/articleview.asp?Post=120>.
External links
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Baal-berith". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 88–89.
