BAALI bā’ ə lī (בַּעְלִֽי, my lord). A name used by some in Hosea’s day to describe God (Hos 2:16). This name was not approved by God because it implied a view of the Lord that was degrading. It used a pagan term for “god” and thus carried with it the pagan concepts of God. God preferred and demanded that He be called “Ishii” (my husband) which emphasized the covenant relationship that God had established between His people and Himself.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

ba`ali, ("my master"): Baal, a common name for all heathen gods, had in common practice been used also of Yahweh. Hosea (Ho 2:16,17) demands that Yahweh be no longer called Ba`ali ("my Baal" = "my lord") but ’Ishi ("my husband"), and we find that later the Israelites abandoned the use of Ba`al for Yahweh.