Baal-Gad was a Canaanite town at the foot of Mount Hermon. It is mentioned in the Bible three times, all of them in the Book of Joshua (Josh. 11:17; 12:7; 13:5). In all cases, it is described as the northernmost point of Joshua's conquests. The name may relate to Gad, a Semitic deity of fortune, but more likely simply refers to Baal with the epithet “of fortune”.
Identification
The exact location of Baal-gad is uncertain, but it is generally accepted as being in the vicinity of Wadi al-Taym in southeastern Lebanon. The earliest suggestions identified it with Banias or Baalbek, while Abel suggested identifying it with Hasbaya. However, archeological evidence suggests that neither Banias nor Hasbaya were inhabited before the Hellenistic period, while Baalbek is too far north to fit with the geographical details in Joshua. Simons proposes identifying Baal-Gad with the site of Tell Haush/Tell ez-Zeitun, a small tell just north of Haouch El-Qenaabeh (about 8.5 kilometers southwest of Rachaiya and 12 kilometers north of Hasbaya). Jericke accepts this identification, as Tell Haush/Tell ez-Zeitun is the only site with Late Bronze Age and Iron Age remains between Iyyon [he] (near Marjayoun) to the south and Kumidi to the north.
References
- Na’aman, Nadav (1999). "Baal-Gad". In van der Toorn, Karel; Becking, Bob; van der Horst, Pieter (eds.). Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Leiden: Brill.
- Easton, Matthew George (1897). "Baal-gad" . Easton's Bible Dictionary – via Wikisource.
- Jericke 2001, p. 133.
- Jericke 2001, p. 131.
- Simons, Jan Jozef (1959). The Geographical and Topographical Texts of the Old Testament. Leiden: Brill. p. 277.
- Jericke 2001, p. 136.
- Sources
- Jericke, Detlef (2001). "Baal-Gad". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins (in German). 117 (2): 129–139.
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