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בַּעֲלָה

𐤁𐤏𐤋𐤄

baʻălâh

H1172 noun

SILEX Entry

Root בעל to possess, to own, to rule

Definition

A woman who possesses or exercises ownership, authority, or control; specifically, a female owner or mistress, often in relation to property, house, or servants. In rare cases, may refer to a female figure who holds power or status analogous to that of a male 'baʿal' (master, lord).

Semantic Range

female owner, mistress of property, woman who exercises authority or control, presumably wife (rare, later usage), figurative mistress (personified city or nation as Baalah)

Root / Etymology

From the root בַּעַל (b-ʿ-l), meaning 'to possess, own, rule'. The feminine form is created using the standard Hebrew feminine suffix -ָה (-ah). Thus, בַּעֲלָה (baʿălâh) signifies a female possessor or mistress.

Historical & Contextual Notes

The word occurs infrequently in the Hebrew Bible, primarily in poetic or legal contexts. While the masculine בַּעַל (baʿal) is common as 'owner, master, husband' and sometimes as a divine title, the feminine form is rare and may reflect specific social roles where women are recognized as having authority or proprietary rights. In some post-biblical and later Hebrew, בַּעֲלָה became the standard word for 'wife', paralleling the semantic evolution of בַּעַל for 'husband'. However, in most biblical contexts, terms like אִשָּׁה (ishshah, 'woman, wife') and גְּבֶרֶת (gəveret, 'lady, mistress') are more common for female social roles. English translations rendering בַּעֲלָה as 'mistress' may fail to capture the nuance of 'female owner' or 'woman in a position of authority'.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

feminine of בַּעַל; a mistress; that hath, mistress.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

בעל (b-ʿ-l) — to possess, to own, to rule

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1010 בֵּית בַּעַל מְעוֹן master
H1120 בָּמוֹת master
H1166 בָּעַל I possessed
H1167 בַּעַל master
H1168 בַּעַל master

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1172-01 בַּעֲלַת baalat HNcfsc mistress female owner 4

Occurrences in Scripture

4 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1172-01 1 Samuel 28:7 בַּעֲלַת baalat HNcfsc who has female owner
H1172-01 1 Samuel 28:7 בַּֽעֲלַת baalat-2 HNcfsc who has female owner
H1172-01 1 Kings 17:17 בַּעֲלַ֣ת baalat HNcfsc mistress female owner
H1172-01 Nahum 3:4 בַּעֲלַ֣ת baalat HNcfsc mistress female owner
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