A master ; hence, a husband , or (figuratively) owner (often used with another noun in modifications of this latter sense)
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H1167, baʿal, is a Hebrew noun whose meaning depends heavily on what it relates to. It can name an owner responsible for property, a creditor who holds a claim, a husband, a political leader or citizen of a place, a master associated with collected sayings, or a person characterized by a quality such as anger.
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Full entry for בַּעַל (H1167) · Open the biblical lexicon
H1167, baʿal, is a Hebrew noun whose meaning depends heavily on what it relates to. It can name an owner responsible for property, a creditor who holds a claim, a husband, a political leader or citizen of a place, a master associated with collected sayings, or a person characterized by a quality such as anger.
The BSB source-word alignment has 83 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the leaders (11), . . . (7), the owner (5), and its owner (2), Her husband (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 14:13. Its strongest book concentrations include Judges (19), Exodus (14), Proverbs (14), Ecclesiastes (7).
H1167, baʿal, is a Hebrew noun whose meaning depends heavily on what it relates to. It can name an owner responsible for property, a creditor who holds a claim, a husband, a political leader or citizen of a place, a master associated with collected sayings, or a person characterized by a quality such as anger. English translations therefore vary widely. The shared center involves possession, standing, mastery, or close association, but a reader should not force every occurrence into literal ownership. Hebrew constructions can use the noun idiomatically where English says an angry man, a dreamer, or leaders of a city.
Legal passages often attach standing to responsibility. The owner of an uncovered pit must make restitution when an animal dies, and an owner who entrusts property must accept a governed oath when wrongdoing is not established. Deuteronomy orders a creditor to release a neighbor's debt at the appointed time. Authority and ownership are not presented as unlimited permission; they create obligations, limits, and accountability before God. This matters for modern application. Property language cannot be transferred to persons as a claim of absolute control, and ancient legal arrangements are not a blank authorization for exploitative employment, debt, marriage, or leadership.
When H1167 is rendered husband, it reflects ancient social and legal language but does not make a wife her husband's property or excuse coercion. Proverbs 31 describes a husband trusting his capable wife, while 2 Samuel 11 exposes David's abuse of royal power and records Uriah's wife mourning after David arranges her husband's death. The word also appears in dangerous political settings, such as the leaders of Shechem choosing Abimelech through kinship manipulation. Faithful teaching should distinguish description from moral endorsement, recognize every person's dignity as God's image-bearer, and test all authority by responsibility, truth, justice, covenant faithfulness, and protection of the vulnerable. H1167 is the common noun; the proper name Baal is separately indexed as H1168 and must not be collapsed into every H1167 use.
H1167 spans responsible ownership, entrusted property, debt claims, marriage, civic leadership, character idioms, trusted partnership, collected wisdom, and prophetic critique of a people who fail to know their true Lord.
The owner of the pit shall make restitution; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.
Ownership of a dangerous pit carries liability for preventable loss. Standing over property creates responsibility to repair harm rather than immunity from consequence.
An oath before the Lord shall be made between the parties to determine whether or not the man has taken his neighbor’s property. The owner must accept the oath and require no restitution.
The property owner remains within an evidentiary process and must accept the result when theft is not established. A claim of ownership does not authorize endless suspicion or extraction.
This is the manner of remission: Every creditor shall cancel what he has loaned to his neighbor. He is not to collect anything from his neighbor or brother, because the Lord’s time of release has been proclaimed.
A creditor's legitimate claim is limited by the Lord's appointed release. Economic authority remains accountable to covenant mercy and a neighbor's life.
When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.
The relational sense appears in a narrative where David has abused power, arranged Uriah's death, and taken his wife. The narrator soon declares David's action evil before the Lord.
“Please ask all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.”
H1167 identifies Shechem's leading citizens or power-holders. Abimelech manipulates kinship to win their support, and the resulting rule becomes violent and self-destroying.
Do not make friends with an angry man, and do not associate with a hot-tempered man,
The Hebrew construction characterizes a person by anger. It illustrates why H1167 should not always be translated with literal owner or master language.
The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he lacks nothing of value.
The husband is portrayed trusting a wife whose wisdom, enterprise, strength, generosity, and teaching bless the household. The passage does not depict her as passive property.
The words of the wise are like goads, and the anthologies of the masters are like firmly embedded nails driven by a single Shepherd.
Here H1167 participates in a phrase for recognized masters or collectors of sayings. Their words remain gathered under the image of one Shepherd rather than independent absolute authority.
The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.”
The animal-owner analogy exposes Israel's failure to recognize and respond to the Lord who raised and cared for His people. The image rebukes covenant rebellion rather than defining people as disposable property.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. Master through possession and control; extends from literal ownership to relational authority as husband or lord
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 83 lexical occurrence verses.
בַּעַל is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
H1167 names standing or possession, but biblical context consistently prevents that standing from becoming limitless domination. A pit owner must repair preventable harm. A property owner accepts a fair evidentiary outcome. A creditor releases a claim when the Lord's remission arrives. A husband trusts a capable wife, while David's treatment of Uriah and his wife exposes royal abuse rather than authorizing it.
Shechem's power-holders choose violent rule through kinship politics and reap destruction. The noun can even function idiomatically for a person marked by anger or for recognized masters of collected sayings. Faithful interpretation therefore resists a single rigid English gloss and rejects any claim that H1167 makes people property. Authority is morally answerable to God and ordered toward responsibility, truth, restitution, mercy, trust, and neighbor protection.
Modern leaders, spouses, employers, creditors, and property holders should hear obligation before privilege and remain subject to law, accountability, consent, and the equal dignity of every image-bearer.
Exod.21.34
H1167 is a masculine Hebrew common noun occurring in singular and plural, absolute and construct forms. Construct phrases can indicate an owner or master of something, a husband, a citizen or leader associated with a place, or a person characterized by a trait. English idiom often cannot preserve the same structure, so translations such as angry man, creditor, leaders, dreamer, or husband may all represent H1167.
The exact single-code artifact is preferred over ten compound artifacts. H1167 should also be distinguished from H1168, the proper name Baal, and from H1166, the related verb.
The New Testament continues to place property, wealth, household power, and marriage under God's judgment and neighbor-love. Jesus identifies God and money as rival masters, commands leaders to serve, and condemns domination. Apostolic marriage teaching addresses spouses as fellow heirs and calls husbands toward self-giving love, never treating a wife as property or authorizing coercion.