Jezebel #59

Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and the wife of Ahab, king of Israel in the ninth century BC. She is the most notorious queen in the Old Testament, remembered for using royal power to promote the worship of Baal and to destroy her opponents. Her story appears in 1 Kings 16 to 21 and 2 Kings 9, and her name later became a symbol of idolatry and manipulation.

Biblical Significance

Ahab’s marriage to Jezebel is described as a low point in his reign. He married her, served Baal, and built a temple and altar to Baal in Samaria (1 Kings 16:29-33). Under her influence, Baal worship became prominent in the royal court, and 1 Kings says that she supported hundreds of prophets of Baal and Asherah who ate at her table (1 Kings 18:19). At the same time she killed the prophets of the Lord, and Obadiah, Ahab’s palace steward, hid a hundred of them in caves (1 Kings 18:4).

The conflict came to a head on Mount Carmel, when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest, and the Lord answered with fire (1 Kings 18). When Ahab told Jezebel what had happened, she sent Elijah a message swearing to have him dead by the next day, and he fled into the wilderness (1 Kings 19:1-3).

Her most notorious act involved a vineyard. Ahab wanted the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel, but Naboth refused to sell his family inheritance. When Ahab sulked, Jezebel told him she would get it. She wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed with his seal, ordering the elders of Naboth’s city to hold a public fast, seat Naboth in a prominent place, and bring two false witnesses to accuse him of cursing God and the king. Naboth was stoned, and Jezebel told Ahab to take possession (1 Kings 21:5-16). Elijah then announced God’s judgment, saying dogs would eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel (1 Kings 21:23).

Years later, when Jehu was anointed to end Ahab’s dynasty, he came to Jezreel. Jezebel painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out a window, and Jehu had her thrown down by her own servants. Her body was trampled, and by the time servants went to bury her, dogs had eaten most of it, fulfilling Elijah’s word (2 Kings 9:30-37).

Legacy

In Revelation 2:20 the risen Christ rebukes the church in Thyatira for tolerating “that woman Jezebel,” who calls herself a prophetess and leads believers into sexual immorality and idolatry. Most interpreters understand this as a symbolic use of the name for a false teacher, since the original queen lived centuries before. Her story is also a study in how power without accountability corrupts, since the queen used the forms of law to carry out an unjust killing. The biblical writers present her fate as a sign that God sees and answers such acts, even when justice is delayed.