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~ The life of Jezebel part IX ~

Phoenician women enjoyed enormous liberty and were considered nearly the equals of males. Both men and women presided over religious gatherings as priests and priestesses and, as daughter of a High Priest, Jezebel would have naturally been initiated into the priesthood. Her ongoing conflict with Elijah has been interpreted by some as simply an impossible clash of cultural understanding as the Israelites were not accustomed to a strong female ruler and Jezebel was not used to being regarded as a second-class citizen.

Her actions may not always have been the most prudent and, sometimes, they were simply evil (as in the case of Naboth) but can be understood as the way in which a Phoenician princess would handle a situation without regard for the cultural norms of her husband's culture. Jezebel clearly rejected the prohibitions against women fully participating in religious rituals and the restrictions placed on them

Jezebel rejected this kind of life for herself and the women of the kingdom she came to rule over, attempting to replace the patriarchal monotheistic culture she found intolerable with the one she had grown up in. Whether Jezebel is to be considered along these lines or those of her traditional image is naturally up to each individual. A careful examination of the text, however, keeping in mind the narrative focus and purpose of the writers of I and II Kings, may give a reader cause to rethink the popular image of the 'wicked' queen Jezebel and see her, and her infamous name, in a new and better light.

Illustration : Phillip Medhurst's Bible in pictures 080 Jezebel. By Harold Copping (1863-1932) from "The Women of the Bible" (c 1920).

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~ The life of Jezebel part VIII ~

The famous scene from II Kings 9:30 in which Jezebel applies make-up before her death, which has traditionally been interpreted as her attempt to seduce Jehu to spare her life, and has largely led to her reputation as a 'whore', is now believed by some scholars to be the appropriate action of a Princess of Sidon and Queen of Israel, preparing for her end with dignity as a monarch and true priestess of her gods.

After trampling her body under his horses' hooves, Jehu goes into the city to eat and drink and only later gives the command that someone should go and bury Jezebel since “she was a king's daughter” (II Kings 9:34). When the people go to bury her, however, they find nothing except her skull, her feet, and her hands; the rest of her body has been eaten by dogs beneath the walls of Jezreel in accordance with Elijah's prophecy.

Painting : Jezebel eaten by dogs, by Luca Giordano

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~ The life of Jezebel part VII ~

Elijah had earlier anointed a successor, Elisha, who now anoints the general Jehu as the new king of Israel to destroy the house of Ahab and Jezebel. Ahab has died by this time, killed by wounds sustained in battle, and the narrative notes how the dogs lick his blood from the ground as prophesied by Elijah. Ahab's son Joram succeeds him but is killed by Jehu, as is Joram's nephew, Ahaziah King of Judah.

Jehu then approaches the walls of the city of Jezreel as Jezebel “put on eye makeup, arranged her hair, and looked out of a window” (II Kings 9:30) which has traditionally been interpreted as an effort to seduce Jehu and save herself. If this interpretation is correct, it is difficult to understand why she insults Jehu, calling him a murderer, as he arrives beneath her window.

Jehu ignores her insult and rallies those around him to his cause. At Jehu's cry asking who stood with him against Jezebel, “two or three eunuchs looked down at him [from Jezebel's window]. Throw her down!” Jehu said. So they threw her down and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot” (II Kings 9:32).

Illustration : Jezebel being eaten by dogs, by Léon Auguste Perrey

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~ The life of Jezebel part VI ~

When Jezebel hears of what Elijah has done, she threatens his life and he flees the land (I Kings 19:1-3). This is hardly the end of their power struggle, however. I Kings 21 relates how Jezebel orchestrates the murder of the landowner Naboth (allegedly using Ahab's signet ring unlawfully to seal the messages sent) in order to give Ahab his vineyards.

Ahab had demanded that Naboth sell him the vineyards since he, Ahab, was king and the vineyards were close to his palace. When Naboth refused, Jezebel had him framed for treason and executed. This is all reported as though Jezebel was duplicitous in her dealings in using Ahab's ring to sign Naboth's death warrant. Recent archaeological discoveries, however, reveal she had her own ring and, accordingly, authority as a monarch to take what actions she deemed necessary. While there is no doubt that the murder of Naboth was unjust, to a queen used to having her own way, it may have seemed a simple policy to remove a subject who refused the will of the monarchy.

However that may be, Elijah returns to confront Ahab for the murder and predicts Ahab and Jezebel's deaths, claiming that dogs will lick Ahab's blood from the ground where Naboth's blood was spilled and will “devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel” (I Kings 21: 17-23). Ahab hopes to escape this fate by repenting and putting on a sackcloth which appeases God who puts off the day of reckoning until the reigns of Ahab's sons.

Illustration : The Death of Jezebel, by Gustave Doré

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~ The life of Jezebel part V ~

In order to draw the attention of their god, the 850 priests of Baal “performed a hopping dance about the altar” (I Kings 18:26). They also called on his name to hear their petitions and send fire to the altar. All day they danced and prayed and yet no answer came. Elijah, sitting nearby watching them, mocks the priests and asks where their god is. Perhaps, he suggests, Baal is too busy off somewhere eating or having sex or engaging in some other pleasure which prevents him from answering their prayers.

Once they have given up, and Elijah rises for his turn, the writer of I Kings makes it clear which deity is the true one by having Yahweh answer Elijah's prayer immediately : Fire from the Lord descended and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones and the earth; When they saw this, all the people flung themselves on their faces and cried out: 'The Lord alone is God, the Lord alone is God!' (I Kings 18:38–39).

Elijah has won his challenge and his god is proven to be the only true God, ruler of the heavens and earth. As this god's champion, it is up to Elijah to now impose his god's will on the people of Israel.

Painting : Queen Jezabel Being Punished by Jehu, by Andrea Celesti

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~ The life of Jezebel part IV ~

Jezebel was married, by contract, to King Ahab of the Kingdom of Israel as a means to cement an alliance between that kingdom and her home state of Sidon.

Upon arrival in her new home, she almost immediately comes into conflict with the religious class by importing her own priests and priestesses and setting up shrines and temples to the gods of her own understanding and beliefs. Her seemingly rebellious attitude toward the religion of her husband upsets the prophet Elijah who opposes her from the first. Elijah announces that there will be a great drought on the land, as God is displeased with Ahab and Jezebel's actions, and then exiles himself to the wilderness where he is directed by his god and famously brings the son of the Widow at Zarephath back to life (I Kings 17) but then returns to challenge Ahab and Jezebel to a showdown.

By the time he returns, the drought has become severe and the people are suffering from widespread famine. God tells Elijah to tell Ahab to summon the people to witness a duel between Jezebel's priests of Baal and himself on Mount Carmel. Elijah will call on Yahweh to light a sacrificial bull on fire on an altar and Jezebel's priests will call on Baal; whichever deity is able to light the bull will win the challenge and be acknowledged as the true God. Ahab accepts the challenge and the people, priests of Baal, and Elijah gather at Mount Carmel.

Painting : Jezebel Advises Ahab, by James Tissot

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~ The life of Jezebel part II ~

Her name has become synonymous with the concept of the evil seductress owing to the interpretation of some of her actions (such as putting on make-up in order to, allegedly, seduce her adversary Jehu, who is anointed by Elijah's successor, Elisha, to destroy her) and calling a woman a “jezebel” is to label her as sexually promiscuous and lacking in morals.

Recent scholarship, however, has tried to reverse this association and Jezebel is increasingly recognized as a strong woman who refused to abide by what she saw as the oppressive nature of her husband's religious culture and tried to change it.

The story as given in I and II Kings presents Jezebel as an evil influence from the moment of her arrival in Israel who corrupts her husband, the court, and the people by trying to impose her “godless” beliefs on the Chosen People of the one true god.

Painting : Jezabel and Ahab, by Frederic Leighton

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~ The life of Jezebel part I ~

Jezebel (d. c. 842 BCE) was the Phoenician Princess of Sidon who married Ahab, King of Israel (r. c. 871 - c. 852 BCE) according to the biblical books of I and II Kings, where she is portrayed unfavorably as a conniving harlot who corrupts Israel and flaunts the commandments of God.

Her story is only known through the Bible (though recent archaeological evidence has confirmed her historicity) where she is depicted as the evil antagonist of Elijah, the prophet of the god Yahweh. The contests between Jezebel and Elijah are related as a battle for the religious future of the people of Israel as Jezebel encourages the native Canaanite polytheism and Elijah fights for the monotheistic vision of a single, all-powerful male god.

In the end, Elijah wins this battle as Jezebel is assassinated by her own guards, thrown from a palace window to the street below where she is eaten by dogs. Her death was prophesied earlier by Elijah and is shown to have come to pass precisely according to his words and, so, in accord with the will of Elijah's god.

Painting ; Jezebel, by John Liston Byam Shaw

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