Baal-Gad

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BAAL-GAD

BAAL-GAD (Heb. בַּעַל גָּד), biblical locality below Mount Hermon that was apparently sacred to *Gad, the god of fortune. Perhaps the name of the locale means "Baal is fortune." Baal-Gad is described as the northernmost point conquered by Joshua (Josh. 11:17; 12:7) and, accordingly, the "land that yet remaineth" (i.e., that the tribes did not conquer), extends "… from Baal-Gad under Mount Hermon unto the entrance of Hamath" (Josh. 13:5) or, as in a parallel passage "… from Mount Baal-Hermon unto Lebo-Hamath" (Judg. 3:3). The exact location of Baal-Gad is not known, but the sources clearly indicate that it must be situated in the southern part of the Lebanon Valley, at the foot of Mount Hermon, not far from Dan. It has been proposed to identify it with Ḥaṣbayyā on the Ḥasbani River.

bibliography:

Maisler (Mazar), in: bjpes, 12 (1946), 91ff.; Abel, Geog, 2 (1938), 258ff.; Aharoni, Land, index. add. bibliography: N.S. Ahituv, Joshua (1995), 214; Na'aman, in: ddd, 144.

[Yohanan Aharoni]