![]() The Bible writer’s antagonism stems primarily from Jezebel’s religion. Phoenicia consisted of a loose confederation of city-states, including the sophisticated maritime trade centers of Tyre and Sidon on the Mediterranean coast. Her father is Ethbaal of Tyre, king of the Phoenicians, a group of Semites whose ancestors were Canaanites. Image: Robert RobergĪs the Books of Kings recount, the princess Jezebel is brought to the northern kingdom of Israel to wed the newly crowned King Ahab, son of Omri (1 Kings 16:31). She is, if anything, a too-devoted wife, willing even to commit murder in order to help her husband maintain his authority as king. Yet the Book of Kings offers no hint of sexual impropriety on Queen Jezebel’s part, argues author Gaines. Jezebel’s name appears once in the New Testament Book of Revelation, where it is attached to an unrepentant prophetess who has beguiled the people “to practice fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols” (Revelation 2:20). The apocalyptic message seems to associate the Biblical queen with the “mother of whores and of abominations” who “rules over the kings of the earth” and who has committed fornication with them (Revelation 17:2, 5, 18). “In the last days, the daughters of Jezebel shall rule over nations,” warns the scrawling inscription that surrounds the face of Jezebel in this 1993 painting by American folk artist Robert Roberg. From the Deuteronomist’s viewpoint, Jezebel embodies everything that must be eliminated from Israel so that the purity of the cult of Yahweh will not be further contaminated. When Jezebel enters the scene in the ninth century B.C.E., she provides 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. The first commandments from Sinai demand monotheism, but the people are attracted to foreign gods and goddesses. They sin against Yahweh in many ways, the worst of which is by worshiping alien deities. As the Israelites settle into the Promised Land, establish a monarchy and separate into a northern and a southern kingdom after the reign of Solomon, God’s chosen people continually go astray. One of the main purposes of the entire Deuteronomistic History, which includes the seven books from Deuteronomy through 2 Kings, is to explain Israel’s fate in terms of its apostasy. Scholars generally identify 1 and 2 Kings as part of the Deuteronomistic History, attributed either to a single author or to a group of authors and editors collectively known as the Deuteronomist. The story of Jezebel, the Phoenician wife of King Ahab of Israel, is recounted in several brief passages scattered throughout the Books of Kings. Her evilness is not always as obvious, undisputed and unrivaled as the Biblical writer wants it to appear. But her character might not be as dark as we are accustomed to thinking. The story is not a pretty one, and some-perhaps most-readers will remain disturbed by Jezebel’s actions. As we piece together the world in which Jezebel lived, a fuller picture of this fascinating woman begins to emerge. Furthermore, we must reread the narrative from the queen’s vantage point. To attain a more positive assessment of Jezebel’s troubled reign and a deeper understanding of her role, we must evaluate the motives of the Biblical authors who condemn the queen. Yet there is more to this complex ruler than the standard interpretation would allow. ![]() These other women may be bad, but Jezebel is the worst. 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. ![]() She is not a heroic fighter like Deborah, a devoted sister like Miriam or a cherished wife like Ruth. Rehabilitating Jezebel’s stained reputation is an arduous task, however, for she is a difficult woman to like. In recent years, scholars have tried to reclaim the shadowy female figures whose tales are often only partially told in the Bible. This ancient queen has been denounced as a murderer, prostitute and enemy of God, and her name has been adopted for lingerie lines and World War II missiles alike. ![]() Image: Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth, UK/Bridgeman Art Library.įor more than two thousand years, Jezebel has been saddled with a reputation as the bad girl of the Bible, the wickedest of women. As Jehu’s chariot races toward the palace to kill Jezebel, she “painted her eyes with kohl and dressed her hair, and she looked out of the window” (2 Kings 9:30). Jezebel’s reputation as the most dangerous seductress in the Bible stems from her final appearance: her husband King Ahab is dead her son has been murdered by Jehu. Israel’s most accursed queen carefully fixes a pink rose in her red locks in John Byam Liston Shaw’s “Jezebel” from 1896.
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