10/17/2018
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wiseGEEK
clear answers for common questions
Who is Jezebel?
Jezebel may refer to a seductive and
alluring woman.
The Bible mentions a Phoenician princess
by the name of Jezebel in the Book of 1
Kings.
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Jezebels may use their sexuality for
personal gains.
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Who is Jezebel?
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Jezebel is a character mentioned in the Bible in the Book of 1 Kings. She is a Phoenician
princess who becomes the wife of the Israeli King Ahab. Jezebel brings the worship of
Baal, a Phoenician god, to Israel, angering Jewish prophets, and is eventually executed.
Another Jezebel appears in the New Testament Book of Revelation, but she may be given
that name in reference to the Old Testament character. In Christian Western culture, her
name has come to refer to a wicked, seductive woman. The name may be used as an
insult, or it may simply mean that a woman is seductive and alluring, but not necessarily
evil.
Jezebel is portrayed as a deceitful woman who uses her husband and later her sons to
gain and retain power over Israel. In addition to instituting the worship of her god in
Israel and causing temples to be built in his honor, she is responsible for the execution of
many prophets of Jehovah, the God of the Jewish people she rules. After Jezebel engineers
the death of a man named Naboth and his sons by wrongly accusing them of treason, so
that Ahab may take possession of their vineyard, the prophet Elijah prophesies her violent
death.
She survives both Ahab and her elder son, Ahaziah, as queen. Her younger son, Joram,
succeeds to the throne, but is killed by Jehu, who thereafter becomes king of Israel.
During the revolt led by Jehu, Jezebel is also killed, fulfilling Elijah's prophecy. She is
pushed out of her window and her corpse is eaten by dogs. Part of her reputation as a
seductress comes from a verse in 1 Kings that describes her applying cosmetics in
preparation for her death.
The Jezebel in Revelation is a priestess who institutes blasphemous practices among her
followers in Thyatira, in modern-day Turkey. Some scholars believe that this passage
referred to a contemporary figure whom readers would have recognized from the
description. Jezebel was likely used as a nickname to point to the woman's wickedness
and worship of gods other than Yahweh, much as the name is sometimes used today.
Though the term Jezebel has been used for centuries as an insult towards women who
are seen as immoral or sexually threatening, it has more recently lost some of its religious
connotations. Today, someone called by this name may be simply an attractive,
headstrong woman who takes control of her sexuality. Authors Tom Robbins and Isaac
Asimov have both offered alternate views of Jezebel in their work, suggesting that the
Biblical story is biased and that she was a strong woman who promoted the worship of
the god of her people and supported the male rulers in her family.
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