Discovery BoxJudges 9:4 
Context9:4 They paid him seventy silver shekels out of the temple of Baal-Berith. Abimelech then used the silver to hire some lawless, dangerous 1 men as his followers. 2
Judges 9:46
Context9:46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem 3 heard the news, they went to the stronghold 4 of the temple of El-Berith. 5
1 tn Heb “empty and reckless.”
2 tn Heb “and they followed him.”
3 sn Perhaps the Tower of Shechem was a nearby town, distinct from Shechem proper, or a tower within the city.
4 tn Apparently this rare word refers here to the most inaccessible area of the temple, perhaps the inner sanctuary or an underground chamber. It appears only here and in 1 Sam 13:6, where it is paired with “cisterns” and refers to subterranean or cave-like hiding places.
5 sn The name El-Berith means “God of the Covenant.” It is probably a reference to the Canaanite high god El.
