אִיזֶבֶל H0348
Jezebel; Phoenician princess and queen of Israel, wife of Ahab, who championed Baal worship.
The proper name of the Phoenician princess who became queen of Israel through her marriage to King Ahab (1 Kgs 16:31). Jezebel actively promoted Baal worship, supported hundreds of pagan prophets, and systematically persecuted the prophets of YHWH (1 Kgs 18:4, 13). Her name may derive from a Phoenician phrase meaning 'Baal exalts,' though BDB suggests the Hebrew form could be a deliberate alteration to avoid invoking Baal's name. She remains one of Scripture's most vivid portraits of idolatrous royal power confronted by prophetic faithfulness.
Senses
1. Jezebel (proper name, queen of Israel) — The proper feminine name Jezebel (אִיזֶבֶל), referring to the daughter of Ethbaal king of Tyre who married Ahab and became queen of the northern kingdom of Israel. All 22 occurrences appear in 1 Kings 16–21 and 2 Kings 9, spanning her introduction, her campaign against YHWH's prophets, the Naboth incident, and her dramatic death. Multilingual renderings—Jezabel (Spanish), Jézabel (French), Isebel (German)—preserve the Phoenician name with minor phonological adaptation. 22×
AR["إيزابَلَ", "إيزابَلُ", "إيزَبَل", "إِيزَابَلَ", "لِ-إيزَبَل"]·ben["ঈশেবল", "ঈশেবলকে", "ঈশেবলের", "ঈষেবল", "ঈষেবলকে", "ঈষেবলের।", "ঈসেবেল"]·DE["Isebel", "Izavel", "ist-Isebel", "zu-Isebel"]·EN["Izavel", "Izevel", "Jezebel", "is-Jezebel", "to-Izevel"]·FR["Izavel", "Jézabel", "est-Jézabel", "à-Jézabel"]·heb["איזבל", "ל-איזבל"]·HI["ईजेबेल", "ईजेबेल-के-पास", "ईजेबेल-को", "ईजेबेल-ने", "ईजेवेल"]·ID["-Izebel", "Izebel", "kepada-Izebel"]·IT["Izavel", "Izebel", "Izevel", "a-Izevel", "è-Izebel"]·jav["Izebel", "Izébèl", "dhateng-Izébèl"]·KO["이세벨", "이세벨에게", "이세벨을", "이세벨의", "이세벨이다"]·PT["'Izevel", "Jezabel", "a-'Izevel"]·RU["Иезавели", "Иезавель", "Изевели", "Изевель", "к-Изевели"]·ES["Izevel", "Jezabel", "a-Jezabel"]·SW["Yezebeli"]·TR["İzebel'i", "İzevel", "İzevel'e", "İzevel'i", "İzevel'in"]·urd["ایزبل", "ایزبل-نے", "ایزبل-کو", "ایزبل-کے"]
1 Kgs 16:31, 1 Kgs 18:4, 1 Kgs 18:13, 1 Kgs 18:19, 1 Kgs 19:1, 1 Kgs 19:2, 1 Kgs 21:5, 1 Kgs 21:7, 1 Kgs 21:11, 1 Kgs 21:14, 1 Kgs 21:15, 1 Kgs 21:15 (+10 more)
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
אִיזֶבֶל n.pr.f. (sense uncertain, CIS i. 158 there occurs the n.pr.f. בעלאזבל Baal exalts? or is husband to? [v. זָבַל], of which אִיזֶבֶל is conjectured by DHM to be an intentional alteration, made for the purpose of avoiding the name Baal. If so, א׳ perhaps suggested to the Hebrew ear the idea of un-exalted or un-husbanded), queen of Ahab, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre 1 K 16:31; 18:4, 13, 19; 19:1, 2; 21:5 +; 2 K 9:7 +.