Who's Afraid of Jezebel?

Scripture: 2 Kings 9:30 – “When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window.” (NRSVUE)

In church this past Sunday, I asked, “what is in a name?” Well, here is another name that has a lot of baggage: Jezebel. What is a “Jezebel”? I know it is frowned upon to quote a dictionary, but Miriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines a Jezebel as “an impudent, shameless, or morally unrestrained woman.” The name Jezebel is also applied to African American women who are especially promiscuous, often to land wealthy partners. Being a “Jezebel” is a bad thing.

So, who was Jezebel anyway? She is a character from the Books of Kings from the Hebrew Bible. She was a princess from Phoenicia, modern Lebanon, who married King Ahab of the northern Kingdom of Israel. Jezebel was especially pious, but it was toward Ba’al, the Phoenician warrior god. She convinced her husband to worship Ba’al, too, and then encouraged him to outlaw the worship of the Jewish God, the Lord. This was a declaration of war against the Jewish prophets Elijah and his successor Elisha. Things got very violent as persecutions led to executions of Jews and to fiery displays of God’s wrath against Jezebel’s priests. Finally, Elisha anointed a man named Jehu to take over Israel after Ahab died in battle. As he entered Jezebel’s fortress, he convinced her servants to throw her off the palace walls to be devoured by dogs, as humiliating a death as possible for God’s greatest enemy. In some ways, those Books of Kings were the original Game of Thrones.

However, when we use the name “Jezebel” today, it is not because the queen was a ruthless zealot on the wrong side of history. It is for her obsession with beauty and her ability to trick others because of it. As you can see in the verse quoted above, the last thing she did before her ignominious death was to put on makeup. In the Hebrew Bible, there are many kings and prophets who worship Ba’al or otherwise choose idols over the true God. But Jezebel is especially singled out, and I think this is in part because she was a woman. Even today, women are expected to be loving and supportive, and when a woman is outspoken, she is especially condemned and the first to be distrusted. Think of people like Amber Heard, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or Marjorie Taylor Greene.

So, what lesson can we learn from this? I wouldn’t say that Jezebel was some misunderstood hero, but I think that her story can challenge the way we treat each other. It is more important to judge people for what they do than who they look like, what they wear, or what category they belong to. Take a moment today to think about someone, whether a celebrity or someone you know personally, about whom you jumped to a conclusion. Were you being fair? Take a moment to re-examine your prejudices. It will make it a lot easier to love your neighbor, even if they appear to be an enemy. People are always more than their names.

Prayer: God, help me to see below the surface before I judge other people as that I might love as you do. Amen.