Editing Mount Gerizim (section)

== Etymology ==
It is possible that the name of the mountain may mean ''mountain of the Gerizites'', a tribe in the vicinity of the [[Philistines]] that, according to the Hebrew Bible, was conquered by [[David]].<ref name=Peakes/> Another possible meaning is ''mountain cut in two''.<ref name="Cheyne" />

According to the narrative about [[Jotham (son of Gideon)|Jotham]] in the [[Book of Judges]], Shechem was a site where there was a sanctuary of ''El-Berith'', also known as [[Baal Berith]], meaning "God of the covenant" and "Lord of the covenant", respectively;<ref>Judges 9</ref> scholars have suggested that the Joshua story about the site derives from a covenant made there in Canaanite times.<ref>Judges 9; ''[[Peake's commentary on the Bible]]'' et passim</ref> In the narrative of Judges, the "pillar that was in Shechem" is seemingly significant enough to have given its name to a nearby plain ({{bibleverse|Judges|9:6}}), and this pillar is thought to be likely to have been a [[baetylus]] of El-Berith; the Joshua story, of a stone being set up as a witness, simply being an attempt to provide an [[etiology]] in accordance with later Israelite theology.<ref name=Cheyne/>