Jezebel

Jezebel (jez'ubel) [key], in the First Book of Kings, Phoenician princess who was the wife of King Ahab and the mother of Ahaziah, Jehoram, and Athaliah. She encouraged worship of Baal, including the worship of Asherah and persecuted the prophets of her day. Jezebel was the bitter foe of Elijah. Elijah's prophecy of Jezebel's doom was fulfilled when Jehu triumphed over the house of Ahab. In Revelation, her name is applied to a false prophetess of Thyatira. A Jezebel in common usage is a wicked woman.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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