בַּעַל

From the study of Jeremiah 12:16

Range of meaning

As a common noun it means owner, master, lord, or husband. As a divine title it means 'the Lord', referring to the West Semitic storm and fertility god (Hadad) known from Ugarit and Phoenicia. In the plural, 'the Baals', it is a general term for foreign gods.

Against the English

English readers often take 'Baal' as one personal name, sometimes as a demon. In Hebrew it is a title, 'the Master', and Jeremiah often uses it loosely for the whole range of rival cults.

How it drifted

Later demonology (for example 'Beelzebub') turned Baal into a devil figure. The prophets were attacking a rival god people actually worshipped, one believed to bring rain and fertility.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Ugaritic texts (about the 14th–13th century BCE) Baal is the storm god who fights Death (Mot) and Sea (Yam). Jeremiah 2:8, 2:23, 7:9, 11:13, 11:17 and 19:5 condemn Baal worship in Judah. Hosea 2:16–17 plays on ba'al as 'husband/master'.

From the study of Hosea 11:2

Range of meaning

The common noun baʿal means owner, master, lord, or husband ("lord of the house", "husband of a woman"). As a divine title it means the Canaanite god Baal (Haddu/Hadad), the storm god who brought rain and fertility. The plural bĕʿālîm means the many local forms of Baal (Baal-Peor, Baal-Berith, Baal-Zebub, etc.), or false gods in general.

Against the English

English "the Baals" or "Baalim" sounds like a single foreign demon or an exotic name. In Hebrew it was also an everyday word meaning "lord" and "husband".

How it drifted

English keeps the word only as a pagan god's name, so the ordinary meaning ("master/husband") that drives Hosea's wordplay is lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hosea 2:13, 17 speaks of "the days of the Baals" and says God will remove "the names of the Baals" from Israel's mouth. Hosea 2:16 sets ʾîšî ("my man/husband") against baʿlî ("my lord/Baal"). The Ugaritic myths (14th–13th c. BC) present Baal as the cloud-rider who brings rain. Israelite personal names with baʿal (Eshbaal, Meribbaal; many names in the 8th-century Samaria ostraca) show the word was common in Israel itself, possibly at times as a title for YHWH.

From the study of 1 Kings 16:31

Range of meaning

As a common noun: owner, master, lord, husband ('master of a house,' 'master of a wife'). As a divine title, 'the Lord.' Across the Levant it named the storm-and-fertility god Hadad and many local 'lords' (Baal of Peor, Baal-Shamem 'Lord of Heaven,' Baal of Tyre).

Against the English

English treats 'Baal' as one god's proper name. The Hebrew has the article, ha-baʿal, 'the Lord,' a title that needed a context to say which god was meant.

How it drifted

Translations transliterate the title as a name. That hides the fact that it was a title which could even be applied loosely to Israel's own God (Hos 2:16).

Used elsewhere in the period

Ugaritic texts (Baal as rider of the clouds and giver of rain), Phoenician inscriptions (Baal-Shamem, Melqart 'king of the city' of Tyre), and Josephus' report that Ethbaal was a priest of Astarte (Against Apion 1.123).