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בְּעָלוֹת

𐤁𐤏𐤋𐤅𐤕

Bealot

H1175 noun

SILEX Entry

Root בעל to possess, to own, to rule, to act as lord

Definition

Proper noun referring to a specific locality in southern Judahite territory, attested as Bealoth. The form appears as a plural but functions as a singular toponym. In historical passages, designates a settlement or region, not 'mistresses' in the usual sense. The word does not refer to multiple female owners or deities in context, despite its plural form.

Semantic Range

(in this form) a place name—Bealoth; (in related forms) mistress, female owner, ruler; possible association (in toponyms) with possession, lordship, or local deity titles

Root / Etymology

Derived from the Hebrew root בעל (b-'-l), meaning 'to own, possess, lord over.' The word is constructed with a feminine plural ending -ות (-oth), rooted in בָּעֲלָה (baʿalah, 'mistress, female owner') but here refers to a place name, not the actual sense of 'mistresses.' The formation may reflect an older toponymic tradition wherein places were named in collective or plural forms, sometimes linked to the concept of possession, or potentially to local deities, but in the biblical context it is a place name. The suggestion that it derives from "`alah" (עָלָה, 'to go up') with a prepositional prefix is textually incorrect for this word.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Bealoth appears in Joshua 15:24 within a list of southern Judahite towns. Though its form is the feminine plural of "baʿalah" ('mistress'), it functions solely as a toponym. There is no evidence that the place was named for multiple female landowners or deities, though onomastic practices sometimes gave towns names derived from divine or ownership-related root terms. The name is related to other biblical toponyms, such as Baalah and Baalath, which likewise derive from the בעל (baʿal) root. English translations render it as 'Bealoth,' accurately preserving its status as a place name. Later traditions and some ancient translators may have misunderstood or confused the form due to the similarity with common and divine titles, but the textual setting clearly establishes Bealoth as a Judahite locality.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

plural of בַּעֲלָה; mistresses; Bealoth, a place in Palestine; Bealoth, in Aloth (by mistake for a plural from עָלָה with prepositional prefix).

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

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

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
H1175-01 וּ/בְעָלֽוֹת uvealot HC/Np and Bealoth Bealoth 2

Occurrences in Scripture

2 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1175-01 Joshua 15:24 וּ/בְעָלֽוֹת uvealot HC/Np and Bealoth Bealoth
H1175-01 1 Kings 4:16 וּ/בְעָלֽוֹת uvealot HC/Np and in Aloth Bealoth
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