Baali
1:
Baali — my lord, a title the prophet (Hos. 2:16) reproaches the Jewish church for applying to Jehovah, instead of the more endearing title Ishi, meaning “my husband.”
Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
2:
BAALI* Hebrew title meaning “my lord” or “my master” (Hos 2:16). The title was rejected by God because of its association with the Canaanite Baal. God chose instead to be addressed with the Hebrew word ’ishi, “my husband,” which has a similar meaning but is untainted by pagan associations. Thus, in a prophetic play on words, God stressed his covenantal love for his people and emphatically rejected any implication that he was for Israel only what Baal was for the Canaanites. See Baal (Idol); God, Names of.
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (135). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
3:
BA´ALI (bāʹa-lî; “my master”). “You will call Me Ishi / And will no longer call Me Baali” (Hos. 2:16). The meaning is that Israel will enter into right relation with God, in which she will look toward Him as her husband (Ishi) and not merely as Baal, “owner, master.” Calling or naming is a designation of the nature or the true relation of a person or thing. Israel calls God her husband when she stands in the right relation to Him, when she acknowledges, reveres, and loves Him, as He has revealed Himself, i.e., as the only true God. On the other hand, she calls Him Baal when she places the true God on the level of the Baals, either by worshiping other gods along with Jehovah or by obliterating the essential distinction between Jehovah and the Baals.
Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
