Baal-hermon

Baal-hermon (meaning lord of Hermon or possessor of destruction) refers to a location near Mount Hermon associated with Baal worship. It appears in two distinct contexts: in Judges 3:3 as a northern boundary marker indicating Canaanite territory not yet subdued — the Hivites who dwell on Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to the entrance of Hamath — and in 1 Chronicles 5:23 as part of the territory settled by the half-tribe of Manasseh in the east, ranging from Bashan to Baal-hermon and Senir and Mount Hermon.

The name preserves the memory of a Baal sanctuary at or near Hermon, a prominent peak long associated with divine presence in the ancient Near East. Mount Hermon itself was called Senir by the Amorites and Sirion by the Sidonians, reflecting its regional significance as a landmark and sacred site. The presence of a Baal cult at this northern mountain illustrates the geographic reach of Canaanite religion into the territories Israel partially settled.