ע
ABARIM
Publications
Discover the meanings of thousands of Biblical names in Abarim Publications' Biblical Name Vault: Baale-judah

Baale-judah meaning

בעלי יהודה

Source: https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Baale-judah.html

🔼The name Baale-judah: Summary

Meaning
Lord Of Judah, Let The Lord Be Praised
Etymology
From (1) the verb בעל (ba'al), to be lord, and (2) the verb ידה (yada), to praise.

🔼The name Baale-judah in the Bible

The name Baale-judah occurs only one time in the Bible. The city named as such is mentioned in 2 Samuel 6:2, as the home town of Abinadab, the man in whose house the Ark of the Covenant was stored after it was captured by the Philistines. King David's incorrect transport of the Ark from this location cost Abinadab's son Uzzah his life.

Baale-judah is commonly called Kiriath-jearim, but also Kiriath-baal (Joshua 15:60), Balah (Joshua 19:3), and Bilhah (1 Chronicles 4:29).

🔼Etymology of the name Baale-judah

The name Baale-judah consists of two parts. The first part is the familiar word בעל (ba'al), Baal, meaning lord or master:

Excerpted from: Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary
בעל

The verb בעל (ba'al) means to exercise dominion over; to own, control or be lord over. The ubiquitous noun בעל (ba'al) means lord, master and even husband, and its feminine counterpart בעלה (ba'ala) means mistress or landlady.

God is obviously called 'lord' all over the Bible and the sin of the Baal priests (1 Kings 18:40) was not that they called upon some other deity but rather their incessant howling of the word 'lord' without any further responsibility or effects (see Matthew 7:21 and 11:4-5).

The word בעל (ba'al) is extended with the letter י (yod), which in this case probably creates a possessive form: Baal of.

The second part of the name Baale-judah is obviously the name Judah, meaning Let Him Be Praised. It comes from the verb ידה (yada), meaning to praise:

Excerpted from: Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary
הוד  ידה

The related verbs ידה (yada), to praise, and הוד (hod), to be worthy of praise, conjugate into such similar forms that it's often not clear which verb in which tense is used. From the verb ידה (yada), to praise, come:

  • The plural noun הידות (huyyedot), meaning songs of praise.
  • The noun תודה (toda), meaning confession or praise.

From the verb הוד (hod), meaning to be praise-worthy, comes the noun הוד (hod), meaning splendor, majesty, vigor, glory or honor.

🔼Baale-judah meaning

None of the sources used makes a separate entry for Baale-judah (except NOBSE Study Bible Name List, but this shows a typo, which erroneously makes it seem as if Baale means Judah). But it's pretty sure that Baale-judah means Baal (=Possessor, Master) Of Judah, or Baal Of Let Him Be Praised.