Who was Jezebel in the Bible?

from the old testament

• Jezebel was the wife of King Ahab (1 Kings 16:31), king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 16:30). Marrying Jezebel led Ahab to idolatry. We read, “he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made an Asherah” (1 Kings 16:31–33a). Thus, “Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him (1 Kings 16:33b). While Ahab was singled out as the husband and king, Jezebel was the primary driver of his wickedness.
• It was “at her table” that “the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah” ate (1 Kings 18:19). They were not only welcomed by Jezebel but given the high honor of eating with her. Because of this, Elijah accused Ahab, saying, “You have [troubled Israel], and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals” (1 Kings 18:18).
• In addition to driving Israel’s idolatry, she was also ruthless. For example, 1 Kings 21:1–16 describes a case in which her husband wanted property owned by another man and was disappointed that he wouldn’t give it to him. Jezebel devised a plan to have the man falsely accused and then killed, clearing a path to own the property.
• She also killed as many of the LORD’s prophets as she could find (1 Kings 18:13), trying also to kill Elijah, who ran for his life (1 Kings 19:1–3). Elijah returned only when God commanded him to return and appoint new leaders (1 Kings 19:15–16).
• Elijah would eventually kill all of the false prophets (1 Kings 18:40), and Jehu, one of the men God had Elijah anoint, was appointed by God to kill Jezebel (2 Kings 9:6–10). He did this by calling out to his supporters in Jezebel’s palace and telling them to throw her to the ground (2 Kings 9:32–33). They did, and as God prophesied, dogs ate her (2 Kings 9:35–37).

from the new testament

• There have been few as wicked as Jezebel. She was, in fact, so wicked that Jesus Himself used her name as a slur when referring to a prophetess in the church of Thyatira, saying, “I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead” (Revelation 2:20–23a).

implications for today

Just think about how wicked someone needed to be for Jesus to use her name as basically a slur! Even today, calling someone a “Jezebel” refers to a particular woman as wicked and deceitful. Perhaps the only other biblical figure whose name has become a wider term of disdain than Jezebel is Judas.

Jezebel was basically the polar opposite of who a godly woman is to be. She led her husband around (1 Kings 21:7; cf. Ephesians 5:22–24), worshipped idols instead of God (1 Kings 18:19; cf. Exodus 20:3–5), and was arrogant (2 Kings 9:30–31; cf. 1 Peter 5:5), and hateful (1 Kings 18:4; cf. 1 John 3:15). In the end, God punished her in the most humbling, disgusting way (2 Kings 9:33–37), giving her a lasting legacy fitting her wickedness.

As both men and women, let us learn from Jezebel and her husband Ahab. Though it’s unlikely any of us will ever have the influence they had, we all influence others: our spouses, our children, our friends, our employees.

Consider today what your influence is like: Are you leading them away from God as you satisfy your desires, or are you showing them a life of humility, entrusting yourself to God? While you cannot save those you influence, you do give them a taste of Christianity in how you live. Let them see it as a good thing in how you influence them!