Her name, which means "chaste" or "where is the prince," became so associated with evil that even today women who are deceitful are called a "Jezebel." Her story is told in the books of 1 Kings and 2 Kings.
Earlier in Israel's history, King Solomon had entered many alliances with neighboring countries by marrying their princesses. Ahab did not learn from that mistake, which led Solomon into idolatry. Instead, Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Sidon, and she too took him down the path of Baal worship. Baal was the most popular Canaanite god.
Ahab built an altar and temple to Baal in Samaria, and a place of worship for the pagan goddess Asherah. Jezebel plotted to wipe out the prophets of Jehovah, but God raised a mighty prophet to stand against her: Elijah the Tishbite.
The confrontation took place at Mount Carmel, where Elijah called down fire from heaven and slaughtered hundreds of Jezebel's prophets. She, in turn, threatened Elijah's life, causing him to flee.
Meanwhile, Ahab coveted a vineyard owned by an innocent man, Naboth. Jezebel used Ahab's signet ring to issue a royal order that Naboth be stoned for blasphemy. After the murder, Ahab prepared to take the vineyard, but Elijah stopped him. Ahab repented, and Elijah cursed Jezebel, saying she would be killed and dogs would eat her body, not leaving enough to bury.
Then came Jehu, a violent avenger for God, to destroy the wickedness in the land. When Jehu entered the city of Jezreel, Jezebel painted her face and eyes and mocked Jehu. He ordered some eunuchs to throw her out a window. She fell to her death, and Jehu's horses trampled over her.
After Jehu had eaten and rested, he ordered men to bury Jezebel's body, but all they found was her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands. Dogs had eaten her, just as Elijah had foretold.
Accomplishments of Jezebel:
Jezebel's accomplishments were sinful, establishing Baal worship throughout Israel and turning people away from the God who had rescued them from slavery in Egypt.
Jezebel's Strengths:
Jezebel was smart but used her intelligence for wrong purposes. Although she had great influence over her husband, she corrupted him, leading both him and herself to downfall.
Jezebel's Weaknesses:
Jezebel was selfish, deceitful, manipulative, and immoral. She refused to worship the True God of Israel, leading the entire country astray.
Life Lessons:
Only God is deserving of our worship, not the modern idols of materialism, wealth, power, or fame. Those who disobey God's commandments for their own greedy desires should expect horrible consequences.
Hometown:
Jezebel came from Sidon, a Phoenician seacoast city.
Referenced in the Bible:
1 Kings 16:31; 18:4, 13; 19:1-2; 21:5-25; 2 Kings 9:7, 10, 22, 30, 37; Revelation 2:20.
Occupation: Queen of Israel.
Family Tree:
Father - Ethbaal
Husband - Ahab
Sons - Joram, Ahaziah
Ithabaal was the Phoenician Princess of Sidon (9th
ReplyDeletecentury BCE) whose story is told in the Hebrew Tanakh
(the Christian Old Testament) in I and II Kings where
she is portrayed unfavorably as a conniving harlot who
corrupts Israel and flaunts the commandments of
God.
Her name has been claimed to mean, `Where is God?’
or, alternately, `Where is The Prince’ and even `Not
Exalted’ but, as all these claims come from sources
antagonistic to Jezebel (and make little sense when one
considers her father was King Ethbaal of Sidon, a
Phonecian High Priest, who would hardly have given
his daughter a name which literally meant she was not
exalted, nor one which asked a question he already
knew the answer to) it is far more likely that her name
means `Daughter of Baal’ or, as we would say today,
`Daughter of God’.
Phoenician women enjoyed enormous liberty and
were considered the equals of males. Both men and
women presided over religious gatherings as priests
and priestesses and, as daughter of a High Priest,
Jezebel would have naturally been initiated into the
priesthood. Her on-going conflict with the Prophet
Elijah chronicled in I Kings has been interpreted by
some as simply an impossible clash of cultural
understanding as the Israelites were not accustomed to
a strong female ruler and Jezebel was not used to
second-class citizen status (phoenicia.org).
Jezebel was married, by contract, to King Ahab of the
Northern Kingdom of Israel as a means to cement an
alliance between that city and her home state of
Sidon. She almost immediately came into conflict with
the religious class by importing her own priests and
priestesses and setting up shrines and temples to the
gods of her own understanding. In I Kings she
orchestrates the murder of the landowner Naboth
(slyly using Ahab’s signet ring unlawfully to seal the
messages sent) in order to give Ahab his vineyards
which the Yahwehist Prophet Elijah seized upon as
proof of her wickedness. Recent archaelogical
discoveries, however, reveal she had her own ring and,
accordingly, authority as a monarch to take what
actions she deemed necessary (science daily). She
imposed a death sentence on Elijah himself after his
massacre of her priests following the contest on Mount
Carmel (causing Elijah to flee). Elijah’s successor, Elisha,
moved the Israelite General Jehu to revolt and Jezebel
was murdered by two eunuchs (at Jehu’s command) by
being thrown from her window to the street below.
The famous scene from II Kings 9:30-33 in which
Jezebel applies make-up before her death (which has
traditionally been interpreted as her attempt to
seduce Jehu to spare her life and which has largely lead
to her reputation as a `whore’) is now believed by
some scholars to be the appriate action of a Queen of
Israel and Princess of Sidon, preparing for her end with
dignity as a monarch and true priestess of her gods.
Joshua J. Mark, published on 18 January 2012
Amen. Prophet Dr Sir Robert Murray and my mother Prophetess Carrie Scurry.
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