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  • From: Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
  • To: b-hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Baal-Hermon
  • Date: Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:57:38 +0300

Dear Kelton,

More up-to-date archaeological data make it clear that there was never a
"city" on the peak of Mt. Hermon. There are a few villages and some open-air
cult sites, although none that I know of go back to the early Iron Age, which
would be the relevant period. However, the Bible never actually says that
Baal-Hermon was a "city". It makes a lot of sense to assume that there was a
site dedicated to the worship of Baal on the peak of Hermon - we know that
Baal was often associated with such peaks, such as Carmel and Baal-Zaphon.
The name Hermon even seems to be derived from the root XRM - "consecrated".
However there is no evidence, from either inscriptions or archaeology that
such a place actually existed. PLUS, as I wrote before, Judges 3:3 seems to
be a textual conflation of Josh. 13:5, which actually mentions "Baal-Gad
under Mount Hermon".

Yigal Levin
----- Original Message -----
From: kgraham0938 AT comcast.net
To: Yigal Levin ; b-hebrew
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 2:22 AM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Baal-Hermon


BDB, seems to think BA'AL HERMON is an actual city.

BA'AL HERMON a city so named as seat of the worship of Baal. ‘The crest of
Hermon is strewn with ruins and the foundations of a circular temple of large
hewn stones,’ Tristr:Tpg, cf. on sacredness, Euseb. Lag:Onom 217: possibly =
BA'AL GAD

I'm wondering if it is possible that the various names in 1 Chron may refer
to two different peaks?

BDB says that Sener and Hermon are probably referring to these two peaks in
1 Chronicles

It has three peaks; and the names Hermon and Sener aredistinguished in 1 Ch
5:23 Ct 4:8, may refer to two of these peaks;

So maybe Ba'al Hermon is referring to an actual city & Hermon in 1 Ch is
referring to one of the peaks of the mountain.

--
Kelton Graham
KGRAHAM0938 AT comcast.net

-------------- Original message --------------
From: Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>

> I'll re-state the problem. While (Mount) Hermon is well-known and
appears quite
> a few times in the Bible, the specific form "Baal-Hermon" appears in
ONLY two
> sources, and both are problematic:
> The first is in the boundary description of Judges 3:3: instead of
Joshua's
> "Baal-Gad under Mount Hermon", Judges has "Baal-Hermon". Were this the
ONLY
> source, there would be little doubt that this is a "ghost name" created
by
> Judges' abbreviation of Josh. 13:5
>
> However, there's 1 Chr. 5. The geographical context is close enough to
make it
> unlikely that this is a different place with the same name (unless
there's
> another Hermon as well...). Where did Chr.'s description come from? If
it is
> tak en from a source that is ultimately independent of Judges 3:3, that
would be
> evidence of "Baal-Hermon" being a real place, which would force a
re-asessment
> of the realationship between Judges 3:3 and Josh. 13:5 (that the former
is NOT
> just an abbreviation of the latter). If not, then we have to understand
why Chr.
> took only that term from Judges 3:3, in a description that seems
related to
> Deut. 3.
>
> Yigal Levin
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: kgraham0938 AT comcast.net
> To: Yigal Levin ; b-hebrew ; biblical-studies AT yahoogroups.com ;
> biblicalist AT yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sunday, September 07, 2008 4:24 AM
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Baal-Hermon
>
>
> I'm wondering if BAAL-HERMON is referring to the high places that exist
on top
> of Mt Hermon. Or maybe the NIV rendering is correct and take those vavs
as
> appositional.
>
> ; 1 Chr onicles 5:23 The people of the half-tribe of Manasseh were
numerous;
> they settled in the land from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to Senir
(Mount
> Hermon).
>
>
> --
> Kelton Graham
> KGRAHAM0938 AT comcast.net
>
> -------------- Original message --------------
> From: Yigal Levin
>
> > Baal-Hermon appears in the boundary of the land not conquered by
Joshua,
> > according to the abbreviated description in Judges 3:3: "From Mount
> Baal-Hermon
> > unto Lebo-Hamath". In the more complete text in Josh. 13:5, the same
> boundary is
> > described as stretching "from Baal-Gad under Mount Hermon unto
> Lebo-Hamath."
> > While some scholars have attempted to explain the name "Baal-Hermon"
as
> > designating the peak of Mount Hermon, overlooking Baal-Gad itself
> (probably in
> > the sout hern Ba qa', near Hasbayeh), most assume either that the
names are
> > synonymous, or even that the version in Judges is erroneous, a "ghost
> > place-name" caused by the abbreviated boundary-list. However
Baal-Hermon
> is also
> > given as part of the bounda ry of the Transjordanian half-tribe of
> Menasseh in 1
> > Chr. 5:23: "from Bashan unto Baal-Hermon and Senir and Mount Hermon".
This
> could
> > be seen either as evidence of there actually being such a place,
which was
> known
> > to either the Chronicler or his immediate source, even though
> > it is not mentioned anywhere else, or of the fact that the Chronicler
or
> his
> > immediate source, when composing his description of the Menassite
> territory,
> > chose to combine this particular element from Judges 3:3 with the
other
> names
> > that seem more based on Deut. 3:8-13 (w hich is the only other place
in
> which
> > Hermon, Senir and Bashan are listed together, in a description of the
> > Transjordanian tribes).
> >
> > So which is it: is there such a place (and where is it), or did the
> Chronicler
> > pick up a "ghost-name" from an unexpected source?
> >
> > Yigal Levin
> > _________________________________ _______ _______
> > b-hebrew mailing list
> > b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
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