בַּעַל

From the study of Proverbs 1:17

Range of meaning

baʿal = owner, lord, husband, citizen; in phrases with a following noun it describes a person or thing by a quality ('owner of dreams' = dreamer, Gen 37:19; 'owner of anger' = hot-tempered, Prov 22:24). kānāp̄ = wing, edge, corner of a garment.

Against the English

Translations rightly simplify to 'bird'. The Hebrew is a little more poetic: 'any owner of a wing', 'any winged thing'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ecclesiastes 10:20 'the owner of wings (baʿal kənāpayim) will tell the matter'. Proverbs regularly uses baʿal-phrases (1:19 'owners of it' = those who take it; 22:24; 23:2; 24:8).

From the study of Proverbs 1:19

Range of meaning

Owner, possessor, master, husband, lord. With a suffix, 'its owner(s)' is a common legal and proverbial expression (Exod 21:29, the owner of a goring ox; Exod 22:11–14).

Against the English

KJV 'owners thereof,' BSB and ESV 'possessors,' NIV 'those who get it.' 'Possessors' and 'owners' keep the irony of ownership. 'Those who get it' is clearer but loses it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Wisdom literature uses the same phrase for wealth that turns on its owner: Eccl 5:13 (Heb 5:12), 'wealth hoarded by its owner (liḇʿālāyw) to his harm.' Compare Prov 17:8, 'a bribe is a gem in the eyes of its owner (bəʿālāyw).'

From the study of Proverbs 18:9

Range of meaning

Owner, master, lord, husband, citizen. It is also the title of the Canaanite storm god. Placed before another noun, it forms an idiom: "possessor of X", someone characterised by X.

Against the English

WEB's "master of destruction" keeps the idiom. KJV's "great waster" treats ba'al as making the noun stronger. BSB, NIV and ESV fold it into "one who destroys", which is idiomatic but flatter.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 37:19, "master of dreams" for a dreamer. Prov 22:24, "master of anger" for a hot-tempered man. Prov 23:2, "master of appetite". Prov 24:8, "master of schemes" for a schemer.