The identity and function of Baal and the baals in Hos is a much-discussed issue in the Hebrew Bible. The lexeme occurs in three chapters (Hos 2; 11; 13) and is probably alluded to in Hos 9:10. But who is this Baal? Is he the storm god, a cipher for any foreign deity venerated in Israel, or a canaanized YHWH figure? Is the usage of the word in any way homogeneous?