(Baʹal·ah) [Place of the Mistress].

1. A city on the N border of Judah, also called Kiriath-baal but better known as Kiriath-jearim. It is tentatively identified with Deir el-ʽAzar (Tel Qiryat Yeʽarim), about 13 km (8 mi) WNW of Jerusalem.​—Jos 15:9, 10, 60; 18:14; 1Ch 13:6; see KIRIATH-JEARIM.

2. A mountain in the NW corner of Judah, between the towns of Shikkeron and Jabneel, forming part of the N boundary of Judah’s territory. (Jos 15:11) It may possibly be identified with the hill of Mughar just N of the torrent valley of Sorek and 3 km (c. 2 mi) ESE of Jabneel (modern Yavne).

3. A town in the Negeb region of Judah (Jos 15:29), evidently referred to as Balah in Joshua 19:3 and Bilhah in 1 Chronicles 4:29. It was subsequently allotted to the tribe of Simeon as an enclave city. Its specific location is unknown, but evidently it lay to the SE of Beer-sheba.