Baal-perazim
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Ba'al-Perazim (Hebrew Owner of Breakings Through) was a place in ancient Israel.
It was the scene of a victory gained by David over the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:20; 1 Chronicles 14:11). It is called Mount Perazim in Isaiah 28:21. It was near the Valley of Rephaim, west of Jerusalem.
Some scholars[who?] suggest a site 4 km northwest of Jerusalem, named Sheikh Bodr, to be identical with Ba'al-Perazim.
There is also a valley near Mount Sodom in the Judaean Desert, called "Wadi Perazim".
Etymology[edit]
It is not certain whether the occurrence in 2 Sam.5:20 name is:
- (a) a word play - David is punning on an existing local name.[1]
- (b) an anachronism - such as "Abraham came to Dan" Genesis 14:14.
Yoshitaka Kobayashi considers it an anachronism,[2] but the use of Baal rather than El may indicate a play on an existing local name.
If the reference is to Mt. Perazim in Isaiah 28 then that suggests a mountain with a high ground position for David to attack. Alternatively, since David says "Yahweh burst-through" (פָּרַץ יְהוָה) "like bursting of waters" (פֶרֶץ מָיִם) it may be a reference to waters.
Cultural influences[edit]
This place name is the origin of term "God of the Breakthrough" in the Gospel music song of that name by Robert Critchley, sung by Lara George.[citation needed]