Jezebel the Historical and Biblical

Jezebel

The historical and biblical name 'Jezebel' has assumed a meaning in everyday usage that refers to all that is evil and corrupt in woman.

In common parlance the appellation 'Jezebel' refers to certain very negative qualities in the person described as a Jezebel. These meanings have their roots in the historical and biblical figure of Jezebel. This paper will attempt to delineate and describe both the biblical and the historical nature of this figure. It is also the intention of this paper to show that modern scholarship and opinion indicates a certain discontinuity between the biblical and historical interpretations of this character. These and other interpretations of the character and reality of Jezebel will be examined.

The Biblical and historical Jezebel

The central reference to the figure of Jezebel comes fiom the Tanakh or the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Old Testament. In the Old Testament we read of Jezebel in 1st and 2nd Kings. Jezebel is a princess from Phoenicia and is the daughter of Ithobaal I of Sidon. She marries King Ahab of Israel. It is interesting to note that from a more historic point-of-view, the marriage between Ahab and Jezebel is seen as a positive political arrangement that is intended to promote progress and peace in the region.

In the ninth century BCE, King Ahab brought the Phoenician princess to Israel as his bride. His actions suggest a worldview that encompassed the hope of drawing diverse groups of Semites together in harmony and prosperity. Marrying the daughter of a powerful neighbor, attempting later in his reign to form alliances in the Middle East, and eventually uniting his daughter with the king of Judah point to Ahab's breadth of outlook. His political policy was devoted to establishing his country's military and financial security.

In this light the marriage of Ahab and Jezebel is seen as politically and socially expedient form an historical point-of-view. However, the central accusation against Jezebel in the Biblical context is that she was responsible for turning Ahab away from the true God of the Jews. She brought with her the Phoenician gods and the worship of Baal and succeeded in convincing Ahab to allow temples of Baal in Israel. This has enormous and serious implications in a Biblical context.

These aspects need to be seen in the context of both the Bible and the creation of the nation of Israel in relation to the Covenant with their God. The worst sin that could be committed against Yahweh, the God of Israel, is the worship of other 'false 'gods or alien deities. The first commandment of this faith demands that the faithful worship only the one true God. In this light the coming of Jezebel to Israel in the ninth century B.C. As the consort of King Ahab is seen by some scholars as a "....perfect opportunity for the Bible writer to teach a moral lesson about the evil outcomes of idolatry, for she is a foreign idol worshiper who seems to be the power behind her husband."

From the Biblical point-of-view she "...embodies everything that must be eliminated from Israel so that the purity of the cult of Yahweh will not be further contaminated."

Therefore in the Bible and in the historical context, Jezebel arrives in the Northern Kingdom of Israel to marry King Ahab, son of Omri (1 Kings 16:31). As stated, the central criticism in the Bible of Jezebel is the fact that she imports or brings with her the gods and idols of the Phoenicians into Israel. Central to these gods is Baal. Baal is the "....general term for 'lord' given to the head fertility and agricultural god of the Canaanites."

It is also historically possible that Jezebel due to her position in Phoenician society would have served as priestess in the temple of Baal. It is therefore relatively obvious that she would revere the gods of her home country and this places her in a very theologically contentious position with regard to the God and religious principles of the Israelites and the importance in their faith of not tolerating the worship of other or ' false' gods. It should also be noted that Jezebel would also have brought other gods such as Asherah, Baal's consort.

The most important aspect however from a Biblical perspective is that Jezebel as queen of the Israelites does not accept the God of the Israelites. What is also significant is that her views also seem to have a direct influence on Ahab who builds a sanctuary for Baal. We read in 1 Kings that,

And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.

In essence, Jezebel is seen as a woman who leads Ahab astray and convinces him to allow and tolerate the worship of Baal in the county in contravention of the holy commandments. This is clearly seen in the Biblical text. Jezebel therefore becomes the opposite of a figure like the Biblical Ruth, who was also an alien to the culture, but accepts the Jewish God and customs.

On the other hand, the political alliance that is forged by the marriage between Jezebel and Ahab is, from a more historical perspective, a union that "... provided both peoples with military protection from powerful enemies as well as valuable trade routes: Israel gained access to the Phoenician ports; Phoenicia gained passage through Israel's central hill country to Transjordan and especially to the King's Highway...."

However, this more positive perspective contrasts with the Biblical and religious view of her influence.

While there are many alterative views about the actual nature of the 'threat' that Jezebel poses to the religious society, what is very clear from the Biblical texts that she was perceived as being extremely dangerous in that she defied and seemingly attempted to depose the one true god of Israel. This can be seen in 1 Kings 18:4, where Jezebel is actuality described as being responsible for the organized deaths of Yahweh's prophets. "While Jezebel was killing off the LORD's prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water."

The Bible emphasizes the great threat that Jezebel poses to the society and the religion in the contest that is devised between the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal. According to the Biblical text, the priests of Baal are challenged to a contest on Mount Carmel to show which god is the most powerful. The god that succeeds in setting a bull on fire would be adjudged the most powerful and hence the true God. The priests of Baal fail the contest. The test also describes the priests or prophets of the god Baal in a derogatory light.

And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed [it], and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But [there was] no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.

Compared to the extreme and unfruitful attempts of the Priests of Baal, the efforts of Elijah are swift and produce the desired results. After a short exhortation by Elijah, "Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that [was] in the trench."

At the end of the contest the priests of Baal are all slaughtered. (1 Kings 18:40)

The enmity between Elijah as representative of the Jewish God and Jezebel continues in the Biblical text, with Jezebel threatening to kill Elijah. Elijah is alarmed by her threat and, despite the protection of God, he flees to Mount Horeb.

The saga of Jezebel's character and deeds continues in the Bible. This refers to the story of Naboth. Ahab requests Naboth to sell him his vineyards which are next to the royal palace. Ahab offers payment as well as alternative land. However, Naboth declines to sell his land. According to the Bible text, Ahab is upset and even depressed by this response. Jezebel then asserts her influence and encourages her husband to use his political power.

This situation brings another set of issues to bear on the way we are intended to view the character of Jezebel. Naboth is well within his rights in terms of Judaic law and custom. However, being from another culture Jezebel would, in terms of an historical and cultural interpretation of the situation, possibly not be aware of these legal and customary laws. But the fact that she does not recognize these laws as they pertain to legal inheritance is indicative of the fact that she is painted as a figure who is not only opposed to the religion of the country but is also disdainful of the legal and governmental laws and statues of Israel. In other words she is seen in this light as a double threat to the country.

Consequently, she interferes in the issues and "frames" Naboth in a clever and callous plot. She succeeds in enlisting others in the community to support her actions against Naboth and he is accused of blaspheming against God and going against the King. She encourages the King to kill Naboth and to "...take him out and stone him to death." As a result Naboth is murdered and Jezebel is seen as being a cold and manipulative figure who will go to any lengths to achieve her ends.

However, from a more pragmatic historical perspective some scholars question the Biblical text. As one study states,

The fantastical tale of Naboth's death... stretches the reader's credulity. If Jezebel were as hateful as the Deuteronomist claims, surely at least one nobleman in Jezreel would have refused to assist in the nefarious scheme. Surely one individual would have had the courage to expose the detestable deed and become the Deuteronomist's hero by spoiling the plan."

In the Biblical text the God of Israel intervenes and sends Elijah to tell Ahab that he is to die. Instead Elijah predicts the death of Jezebel in a grotesque way. She is to die a terrible death as a result of her crimes and the murder of Naboth. "The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the field of Jezreel."

There then follow a series of events which further show Jezebel as an unredeemable and immoral character. This is evidenced in the order from God to destroy the entire house or Ahab and his lineage as a result of her crimes and lack of faith."... thus will I avenge on Jezebel the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of the other servants of the Lord."

In this process Jezebel is also termed as a witch and a whore. Her despicable character is once again emphasized in her final days when the attempts to seduce Jehu, the new King of Israel in an attempt to save her life. This seduction is however disputed by some scholars. Finally Jehu orders that Jezebel should be thrown from her window. This is done and the prophesy of Elijah comes true when her body falls to the ground and is eaten by the dogs. '(2 Kings 9:33-34).

In the book of revelations Jezebel is also mentioned, although scholars are divided as to whether this is a rather a reference to a type of person or to the actual figure of the Old Testament. Jezebel is mentioned in connection with the church of Thyatira (Revelation 2:20). This refers to a woman who was promoting immorality. As one commentator notes, "There are differences of opinion on whether this woman's name was actually Jezebel or if John may have used the name to symbolize the extant of the evil that the woman caused. " Nevertheless, her name is associated in the Book of Revelations with sin and immortality and continues the negative image that we have of her.

Differing interpretations and views.

As discussed above from a purely theological Old Testament point-of-view, Jezebel is an agent of evil and the enemy of the true religion. On the other hand, from a more objective and historical point-of-view it can also be argued that the marriage of Ahab and Jezebel can be seen in a more positive light. As Janet Howe Gaines states in, Music in the Old Bones: Jezebel through the Ages (1999), "Today their regional unification policies would surely win Ahab and Jezebel a respected, if not an honored, place in history. Yet they are depicted in the Bible as reprobates..."

This also relates to ambiguities in interpretations of this character from various Biblical and historical perspectives. For example, there have in recent years been efforts by scholars to "reclaim" various female figures in the Bible, such as Jezebel. In other words, scholarship has attempted to shed more light on this character by questioning certain Biblical interpretations. There is a general view however that Jezebel is one of the female characters in the Bible who portrayed in an almost unredeemable bad light.

She is not a heroic fighter like Deborah, a devoted sister like Miriam or a cherished wife like Ruth. Jezebel cannot even be compared with the Bible's other bad girls 'Potiphar's wife and Delilah'for no good comes from Jezebel's deeds. These other women may be bad, but Jezebel is the worst.