Jezebel’s story is told in 1 Kings and 2 Kings, where she is described as a worshiper of the god Baal and the goddess Asherah, not to mention being an enemy of God’s prophets.
Jezebel was a Phoenician princess, later the wife of King Ahab of Israel. In the centuries since her death, she has acquired numerous references in popular culture, none of them flattering.
Jezebel was a ninth-century Phoenician princess who married Ahab, the prince of Israel. Eventually, they ruled as king and queen.
Jezebel continued to worship the nature god Baal. His citizens and the prophet Yahweh Elijah despised such actions.
Preparing to be assassinated by General Jehu, she put on makeup and dressed in finery before being thrown off the balcony and eaten by dogs. Like Cleopatra, Jezebel’s story is one of intrigue, romance, and ultimately the downfall of a nation.
Meaning and origin of the name
Jezebel (אִיזָבֶל, Izavel) and translated from Hebrew as something meaning «Where is the Prince?» According to the Oxford Guide to People and Places of the Bible, «Izavel» was pronounced by the faithful during ceremonies honoring Baal.
Jezebel lived in the 9th century BC and was named in 1 Kings 16:31 as the daughter of Etba’al, king of Phoenicia/Sidon (present-day Lebanon), making her a Phoenician princess.
She married the Israelite king of the north, Ahab, and the couple settled in the northern capital, Samaria. As a foreigner with foreign forms of worship, King Ahab built Ba’al in Samaria and an altar to appease Jezebel.
queen of israel
In the year 922 BC, the nation of Israel was divided into two nations, Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Israel was rocked by internal tribal differences and subsequently became susceptible to frequent invasions.
However, he solidly followed the beliefs of Yahweh, the «one true» God, according to the Bible. Phoenicia (now known as Lebanon) was situated to the north of Israel and was generally just the opposite: cosmopolitan, populous, and religiously diverse.
At the beginning of the 9th century, a Phoenician princess named Jezebel was born, daughter of King Ethball. The Bible does not describe her childhood, but from deductive reasoning it is assumed that she lived in a good home and was educated by the best tutors.
His family worshiped many gods, the most important being Baal, a nature god. As Jezebel became a woman, Israel crowned a new king.
alliances
To create an alliance with Israel, the king arranged for his son Ahab to marry Jezebel. Her marriage cemented a political alliance, but it was a dramatic event for the young woman. After enjoying a life of luxury, she was suddenly brought into a conservative society and forced to supervise it.
Jezebel eventually became the Queen of Israel. She continued to worship the god Baal, and in doing so, she made many enemies.
His citizens’ disgust came to a head when, at their expense, he brought 800 Baal prophets to Israel and ordered the murder of several Yahweh prophets.
At this important moment, Elijah, a Jewish prophet, appeared. According to the Biblical Book of Kings, Elijah gave a prophecy: That terrible current of air would fall on Israel. Amazingly, famine and drought spread throughout Jezebel’s land, according to the story.
Jezebel and the vineyard of Naboth
Although Jezebel was one of King Ahab’s many wives, one and two kings suggests that she wielded considerable power. The first example of her influence is found in 1 Kings 21, when her husband wanted a vineyard that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. Naboth refused to give his land to the king because he had been in his family for generations.
In response, Ahab turned sullen and angry. When Jezebel noticed her husband’s state of mind, she asked why and decided to get the vineyard for Ahab.
He did this by writing letters on behalf of the king, ordering Naboth’s city elders to accuse Naboth of insulting both God and his king. The elders agreed and Naboth was convicted of treason and then stoned. After his death, his ownership reverted to the king and Ahab eventually got the vineyard he wanted.
By God’s command, the prophet Elijah then stood before King Ahab and Jezebel and proclaimed him by their actions:
«This is what the Lord says: In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs lick your blood—yes, yours!» (1 Kings 21:17).
Furthermore, he prophesied that Ahab’s male descendants would die, his dynasty would end, and that dogs would «devour Jezebel on the wall of Jezreel» (1 Kings 21:23).
Final years
Naboth’s story is perhaps the best known of Jezebel’s life. Naboth, a common landowner who lived near the king’s residence, was asked to give his land to King Ahab in exchange for some compensation.
Due to Jewish law, Naboth refused to give up his family’s ancestral land. Goaded by Naboth’s refusal of King Ahab, Jezebel falsely accused him of treason and blasphemed «God and the king», and sentenced him to death by stoning. So she took the plot of land from her for the king.
At this point, Elijah arrived and confronted King Ahab about this brutal transgression, and then predicted that Ahab and all his heirs would be killed and Jezebel would be eaten by dogs, according to the famous story.
Several years later, Ahab was killed in battle against the Syrians, and a man named Jehu was promised the crown if he killed Jezebel’s son, thereby seizing power from Jezebel. As the story goes, Jehu went to Jezebel’s palace to assassinate her, and she, waiting for him, put on makeup and dressed up.
The actions
His actions have been variously interpreted: some people believe that he was simply dressing for a dignified death.
Others believe that she «painted» herself in hopes of seducing Jehu and becoming his lover. In the end, she was thrown out of her bedroom window, trampled by horses and eaten by dogs.
The name Jezebel has been used for thousands of years to describe cunning, ruthless, and reprehensible women. Some believe that she typifies evil and her name has also become synonymous with idolaters, prostitutes, and sorcerers. In the centuries since Jezebel’s death, she has become legendary.
There are numerous references to her in popular culture, none of them flattering, while there are others who believe that Jezebel was an early suffragette and that it is time to change that definition to «a strong, courageous, and loyal woman who stands up for what she stands for.» believe… at any cost.»
Jezebel’s death
Elijah’s prophecy at the end of the Naboth vineyard narrative comes true when Ahab dies in Samaria and his son Ahaziah dies two years after he ascended the throne. He is killed by Jehu, who appears as another pretender to the throne when the prophet Elisha declares him king. The Jezebel influence is also evident here. Although Jehu killed the king, he has to kill Jezebel to seize power.
According to 2 Kings 9:30-34, Jezebel and Jehu meet shortly after the death of their son Ahaziah. When he learns of his death, he adorns himself, combs his hair, and looks out the palace window to see Jehu entering the city.
She calls out to him and he responds by asking his servants if they are on his side. «Who’s on my side? Who?» he asks her, «throw them down!» (2 Kings 9:32).
Jezebel’s eunuchs then betray her by throwing her out of the window. She dies when she goes out into the street and is trampled by horses. After stopping to eat and drink, Jehu orders her to be buried «because she was a king’s daughter» (2 Kings 9:34), but when her men go to bury her, her dogs have her feet and her hands. her as well as hers.
Jezebel and the prophets of God
As the wife of King Ahab, Jezebel decreed that her religion should be the national religion of Israel and organized brotherhoods of prophets of Baal (450) and Asherah (400).
As a result, Jezebel is described as an enemy of God who «slew the prophets of the Lord» (1 Kings 18:4). In response, the prophet Elijah accused King Ahab of abandoning the Lord and challenged Jezebel’s prophets to a contest. They were to meet him at the top of the mountain.
Carmel Then Jezebel’s prophets sacrificed a bull, but did not set it on fire as required for an animal sacrifice. Elías would do the same on another altar.
The bull
The god who set the bull on fire is then declared to be the true god. Jezebel’s prophets asked their gods to set their bull on fire, but nothing happened. When Elijah’s turn came, he drenched the bull in water, prayed, and «then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice» (1 Kings 18:38).
Seeing this miracle, the people who watched them prostrated themselves and believed that the God of Elijah was the true one. Elijah ordered the people to kill Jezebel’s prophets, and they did. When Jezebel finds out about this, he declares Elijah an enemy and vows to kill him as he killed his prophets.
Elijah then fled into the desert, where he lamented Israel’s devotion to Baal.
What is the spirit of Jezebel
The name of Jezebel comes from the Hebrew root Izével, whose meaning is interpreted as not exalted or without sublimity. In the world of darkness, this spirit has the property of passing from one generation to another, hence it is one of the generational curses.
But even within its characteristics there are several traits that can be observed in the people who operate the spirit of Jezebel, these are:
Main
He likes to discredit the character of the leaders, in the church his main objective is the leaders with a prophetic voice. She feels threatened in his presence, even though she seems to have prophetic gifts, she tries to stay close to authority, looks for its weaknesses and is able to exert her dominance. In the church, his ultimate goal is to reign in it.He establishes strategic relationships with those who he believes have influence over others.He seems to have qualities, in search of recognition.He manipulates situations to gain an advantage.When he receives any type of recognition, he shows a deceptive humility. When confronted, she becomes defensive and justifies her actions. If he is a church person, he hides behind the fact that God told him or that he is only doing God’s will. He boasts of great revelations in church matters to non-leaders. Wherever he moves, He looks for people to follow him, that gives him security. He does not like to be accountable or follow an order of authority, he is rebellious and disobedient. As he likes to dominate and control, he gathers his followers to implement his own teachings. When she is in church, she implants in her followers false teachings that are not based on the Word of God.
other properties
The spirit of Jezebel is very dangerous within the Church of Jesus Christ because it deceives with a false prophetic voice. He prophesies messages that he knows the other person wants to hear, his prophecies are spiritual and not from the voice of God.
It also takes advantage of bad memory or…