MISTRESS

mis'-tres (ba`alah, gebhereth): Is the translation of ba`alah, "lady," "owner" (1 Kings 17:17; Nahum 3:4); in 1 Samuel 28:7, "a woman that hath a familiar spirit" is literally, "the mistress of a familiar spirit"; of gebhereth (Genesis 16:4,8-9; 2 Kings 5:3; Psalms 123:2; Proverbs 30:23; Isaiah 24:2); in Isaiah 47:5,7, we have the King James Version and the English Revised Version "lady," the American Standard Revised Version "mistress."

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.