Baal-Berith

Baal-berith is the deity adopted by Israel after Gideon's death — a Baal whose name carries the covenant-word "berith." His house at Shechem holds a treasury that funds Abimelech's bid for kingship, and a stronghold inside that house becomes the last refuge of the men of Shechem's tower when Abimelech burns them out. The name appears only inside this short Shechem-cycle in the book of Judges.

Israel's Turn to Baal-Berith After Gideon

The first mention is the apostasy-notice closing the Gideon cycle: "And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel turned again, and went whoring after the Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god" (Jdg 8:33). The verse pairs the generic Baalim plural with the specific named deity Baal-berith — Israel's chosen god after the judge's death.

The Treasury at Shechem

The cult of Baal-berith centered on a temple at Shechem that held a working treasury. Abimelech draws his startup money from it: "And they gave him seventy [shekels] of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired vain and reckless fellows, who followed him" (Jdg 9:4). The seventy shekels — paralleling the seventy sons of Gideon Abimelech will go on to kill — come straight from this temple.

The Stronghold of El-Berith

When Abimelech later turns on Shechem, the men of Shechem's tower retreat into a stronghold inside the same temple complex, here named "El-berith": "And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered into the stronghold of the house of El-berith" (Jdg 9:46). UPDV's footnote at this verse notes that "El-berith" is another name for, or possibly changed from an original "Baal-berith" as at 8:33 and 9:4. The stronghold inside the house functions as the last refuge of the Shechemite faction before Abimelech burns it down.