בעל

בעל

Hebrew

Etymology 1

Root
ב־ע־ל‎ (b-ʿ-l)

From Proto-Semitic *baʕl-.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -al

Noun

בַּעַל • (bá'al) m (plural indefinite בְּעָלִים‎, singular construct בַּעַל־, plural construct בַּעֲלֵי־‎, feminine counterpart בַּעֲלָה‎) [pattern: קֶטֶל]

1. master, owner
2. husband, male spouse

בְּעָל • (bə'al) m

1. lord, idol

Usage notes

• To avoid any ambiguity or hint of sexism, most modern speakers keep the two senses of בעל strictly distinct as follows:
  • When בעל has the sense of husband, it is always inflected to indicate a possessor. In the case that its possessor is not a personal pronoun, this produces some redundancy; for example, "Miriam's husband" is translated as בעלה של מרים (ba`aláh shel Miryam), which literally means "her-husband of Miriam". (This sort of construction can occur with other nouns as well, but usually only in more formal contexts.)
  • When בעל has the sense of owner, it is seldom so inflected.
• However, some speakers do consider it sexist to use בעל with the sense of husband at all, instead preferring the word איש‎ ('ish, “man”), as it is more directly analogous to the word אישה‎ ('isháh, “woman, wife”).

Declension

Declension of בַּעַל

Number	Isolated forms		With possessive pronouns
	State	Form	Person	singular		plural
				m.	f.	m.	f.
singular	indefinite	בַּעַל	first	בַּעֲלִי‎		בַּעֲלֵנוּ‎
	definite	הַבַּעַל‎	second	בַּעַלְךָ‎	בַּעֲלֵךְ‎	בַּעַלְכֶם‎	בַּעַלְכֶן‎
	construct	בַּעַל־	third	בַּעֲלוֹ‎	בַּעֲלָהּ‎	בַּעֲלָם‎	בַּעֲלָן‎
plural	indefinite	בְּעָלִים‎	first	בעליי / בְּעָלַי‎		בְּעָלֵינוּ‎
	definite	הַבְּעָלִים‎	second	בְּעָלֶיךָ‎	בעלייך / בְּעָלַיִךְ‎	בַּעֲלֵיכֶם‎	בַּעֲלֵיכֶן‎
	construct	בַּעֲלֵי־‎	third	בְּעָלָיו‎	בְּעָלֶיהָ‎	בַּעֲלֵיהֶם‎	בַּעֲלֵיהֶן‎

Derived terms

• בַּעַל דִּין‎ (ba'al dín)
• בַּעַל זְבוּב‎ (bá’al zvuv)
• בַּעַל זָנָב‎ (bá'al zanáv)
• בעל חיים‎ (bá'al ḥayím)
• בַּעַל תְּשׁוּבָה‎ (ba'al-t'shuvá)

Descendants

• Yiddish: בעל־הבית‎ (balebos)
• Ladino: balabay

See also

• אָדוֹן‎

Proper noun

בַּעַל • (bá'al) m [pattern: קֶטֶל]

1. Baal (Canaanite deity)

Descendants

• English: Baal

Etymology 2

Root
ב־ע־ל‎ (b-ʿ-l)

Verbal form related to the above noun.

Verb

בָּעַל • (ba'ál) (pa'al construction)

1. (dated) to have sexual intercourse
   • a. 500 C.E., Babylonian Talmud, Chagigah 15a:

     ‏יכול אני לבעול כמה בעילות בלא דם‎‎

     I can have intercourse multiple times [with a woman with an intact hymen] without [causing] bleeding.

Conjugation

Conjugation of בָּעַל (see also Appendix:Hebrew verbs) 

non-finite forms		to-infinitive: לבעול / לִבְעֹל‎ action noun: בְּעִילָה‎ passive participle: בָּעוּל‎
finite forms		singular		plural
		m.	f.	m.	f.
past	first	בָּעַלְתִּי‎		בָּעַלְנוּ‎
	second	בָּעַלְתָּ‎	בָּעַלְתְּ‎	בְּעַלְתֶּם‎1	בְּעַלְתֶּן‎1
	third	בָּעַל	בָּעֲלָה‎	בָּעֲלוּ‎
present		בּוֹעֵל‎	בּוֹעֶלֶת‎	בּוֹעֲלִים‎	בּוֹעֲלוֹת‎
future	first	אֶבְעַל‎		נִבְעַל‎
	second	תִּבְעַל‎	תִּבְעֲלִי‎	תִּבְעֲלוּ‎	תִּבְעַלְנָה‎2
	third	יִבְעַל‎	תִּבְעַל‎	יִבְעֲלוּ‎	תִּבְעַלְנָה‎2
imperative		בְּעַל	בַּעֲלִי‎	בַּעֲלוּ‎	בְּעַלְנָה‎2
notes		Pronounced בָּעַלְתֶּם‎ and בָּעַלְתֶּן‎ in informal Modern Hebrew. Rare in Modern Hebrew.

References

• H1168 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible

Anagrams

• בלע‎