In Hos 2:16 (Hebrew: v. 18), we read:
And it
shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt
call me no more Baali.
Commenting on the use of בַּעְלִֽי Baali for
Yahweh, Hans Walter Wolff wrote the following:
Yahweh as
Baal
The
Israelite names prevalent at the time can serve as an illustration of this. The
word יהוה and בעל occurred together, functioning as elements that signified the
respective divine names. Already in the earliest period of the monarchy, two of
Saul’s sons were named “Jonathan” (ינתן 1 Sam 13:16) “Eshbaal” (אשׁבעל 2 Sam
2:8, α’ σ’ θ’); among David’s sons there were “Adjonijah”
(אדניה) and “Shephatiah” (שׁפטיה 2 Sam 3:4) together with Beeliada” (בעלידע 2
Sam 5:16, GBL; cf. 1 Chr 14:7). On the Samaritan ostraca,
probably dating from the third decade of the 8th century, there are ten names
formed on the word Baal, with eleven names formed on Yahweh. The former occur
more frequently among lower classes (eight, compared with six Yahweh names)
than among the upper class (two, compared with five Yahweh names). In addition to
this evidence, the occurrence of the name בעליה most clearly indicates how Israel’s
life among the ancient, settled Canaanite population led to the identification
of one god with the other. It is difficult to determine in detail whether
Yahweh was worshipped as Baal, or whether they were worshiped together.
The papyri
from the Judean military colony Elephantine on the Nile peninsula (fifth
century) provides an unequivocal example of the “Baalization” of Yahweh. Here,
with the name of Yahweh, we find the name of the goddess Anathbethel, or
Anathyahu, and a third divinity, Ishumbethel. It appears that this group of
Jews in Egypt practiced the kind of syncretism against which Hosea speaks. “Yahweh”
is combined with a goddess as Baal is with Anath in Ugarit. In view of this,
the form of address “My Baal” might be understood as an element of the cultic
representation of the sacred marriage. (Hans Walter Wolff, Hosea [Hermeneia—A
Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible; Philadelphia: Fortress Press,
1974], 49-50)
