Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Jezebel"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Jezebel
chaste, the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of the Zidonians, and
the wife of Ahab, the king of Israel (1 Kings 16:31). This was
the "first time that a king of Israel had allied himself by
marriage with a heathen princess; and the alliance was in this
case of a peculiarly disastrous kind. Jezebel has stamped her
name on history as the representative of all that is designing,
crafty, malicious, revengeful, and cruel. She is the first great
instigator of persecution against the saints of God. Guided by
no principle, restrained by no fear of either God or man,
passionate in her attachment to her heathen worship, she spared
no pains to maintain idolatry around her in all its splendour.
Four hundred and fifty prophets ministered under her care to
Baal, besides four hundred prophets of the groves [R.V.,
'prophets of the Asherah'], which ate at her table (1 Kings
18:19). The idolatry, too, was of the most debased and sensual
kind." Her conduct was in many respects very disastrous to the
kingdom both of Israel and Judah (21:1-29). At length she came
to an untimely end. As Jehu rode into the gates of Jezreel, she
looked out at the window of the palace, and said, "Had Zimri
peace, who slew his master?" He looked up and called to her
chamberlains, who instantly threw her from the window, so that
she was dashed in pieces on the street, and his horses trod her
under their feet. She was immediately consumed by the dogs of
the street (2 Kings 9:7-37), according to the word of Elijah the
Tishbite (1 Kings 21:19).
Her name afterwards came to be used as the synonym for a
wicked woman (Rev. 2: 20).
It may be noted that she is said to have been the grand-aunt
of Dido, the founder of Carthage.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Jezebel \Jez"e*bel\, n. [From Jezebel, Heb. Izebel, the wife of
Ahab king of Israel.]
A bold, vicious woman; a termagant. --Spectator.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
Jezebel
n 1: wife of Ahab who was king of Israel; according to the Old
Testament she was a cruel immoral queen who fostered the
worship of Baal and tried to kill Elijah and other
prophets of Israel (9th century BC) [syn: {Jezebel}]
2: a shameless impudent scheming woman
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