The Tragedy of Jezebel (1 Kings 16-21) In much of the Tanakh, the stories of the ancient Kings of the Jews

are recounted. Often, these are not merely histories, but rife also with lessons about right living, and the wrath of G-d. In The Books of Kings, there is a story about the wife of King Ahab, a Phoenician princess named Jezebel, whose name even today is synonymous with a fallen woman. Throughout the history of the Jewish people, the monarchs often took wives of non-Jewish ancestry, primarily to cement peace treaties with their neighbors, and while it was certainly preferred that these foreign women forsake their gods and accept the Jewish faith, many chose to retain the beliefs of their ancestors. Jezebel is one such woman, but she was not content simply to keep her own faith, but to turn all of the people of Israel to the worship of Baal. It is hard to identify a hero or heroine in the story of Ahab and Jezebel. As undoubtedly the wickedest monarchs of ancient Israel, they themselves are portrayed in a greatly negative light, and while Elijah and Elisha are, as prophets, portrayed as great and godly men, they are not without some flaws. As a monarch, Ahab came to the throne in a difficult time, and he became weary of Elijahs prophecies, filled as they were with doom and darkness. He drew into himself, spurning the attentions of the Prophet, and in this way opened himself up to corruption at the hands of his wife. Indeed, Ahab went so far as to order the wholesale slaughter of the Prophets of the Lord, although the slaughter is attributed to the machinations of Jezebel. (1st Kings 18:4) The weaknesses of Ahab and Jezebel are myriad, but there are some who read the story and see in Jezebel not a pagan harlot, but a strong woman, unwilling to let the rule of Men stomp out her beliefs and traditions. This is perhaps an unorthodox reading of the text, but nevertheless a point of view that adds an interesting counterpoint to the vitriol spewed by Elijah. After a

tremendous display of power in which the fire of the Lord rains down upon Elijahs sacrifice, drenched with water though it is, and Baals priests receive no such blessing, he has them all herded into the Kishon Valley, and slaughtered like livestock. (1st Kings 18:38-40) Of course, this mass murder may be justifiable in its desire to rid the land of G-d of the foul priests and prophets of Baal and Asherah, it is still murder, and in it, Elijah shows that he is a man as much as Jezebel is a woman, capable of the same seething anger and hatred. Afterwards, of course, Elijah is forced to flee the wrath of Jezebel, and in this journey is told by G-d to anoint his successor, Elisha, who would carry on his fight against the horrible evil of Jezebels influence. As the successor to the prophet Elijah, one of Elishas first duties is to anoint in turn a new and righteous king of Israel, Jehu. Even after the death of her husband Ahab, Jezebel continues to rule Israel through her weak and ineffectual sons, Ahaziah and Jehoram. To fulfill his role as King of Israel, Jehu, who is but a general in Jehorams army, slays his king and leader, albeit with the blessings of the Most High. It is through Jehu that Elijahs prophecy of Jezebels death would come to fruition. In Jezreel, as prophesied, Jezebel is thrown from her high palace window, and left in the street to be eaten by dogs. Only her hands and feet remain untouched by the carnage. This is, according to legend, due to the fact that as it is a mitzvah to clap and dance in joy at a wedding, Jezebel did manage to honor G-d with her hands and feet while performing this duty, while profaning him with every waking breath. Even at the very hour of her death, Jezebels evil is with her, as the place where she is murdered in Jezreel is the former home of a man named Naboth, whom she had killed, along with his heirs, to gain access to it. Of course, the main thrust of the storys message is the power of G-d to overcome even the most evil influences. Even the devotion that Jezebel shows to her god is not enough to overcome

the power of the One True G-d, and he, as always, prevails. No doubt, when it was written, there was still much pagan idol worship going on, if not within Israel, then certainly around it, and a fear that perhaps it would again come to power in G-ds land, among His people. As a teaching story, the central tenet of the tale is that abandonment of G-d gets you nowhere, and can get you killed, but that is perhaps not the meaning that it holds to people today. To many people, the name of Jezebel has come to mean any ill-behaved woman, or a woman of loose morals. The part about keeping the faith and standing strong against outside influences that would cause you to lose track of what is most important to you has been lost, tempered by the storys ability to inflame the small minds of those predominately concerned with control and power. As literature, the story itself does not employ a great range of devices to convey its point. Were the author a scholar of Hebrew, there would no doubt be a whole other level of linguistic convolution that would add new and more interesting layers to the story, but in English, the story lays forth more like a historical vignette than a parable. In essence, however, this is a story that teaches a lesson not by employing literary devices and parabolic structure, but rather by simple stated facts: Jezebel denied and defamed the Lord, and attempted to draw his worshipers away from him; for this she and her followers were punished severely. This legacy of punishment certainly stands alone as an admonition against the mistakes of Jezebel to any future generations who may be tempted to follow in her footsteps. The appeal of this tale to the author is not an easily explicable one. It is perhaps not as literarily intriguing as some others, and is certainly hard to chronicle, as disjointed as its narrative is, but something about it simply spoke to me, and always has. This demonized woman, this destroyer of faiths and nations; this mother of ill-begotten cowards; this single feminine

force that brought the military, political and religious might of Israel to its knees. As evil as she may have been, and as misguided her choices, it cannot be denied that there was a power about Jezebel, an animal magnetism that convinced the King of Israel to forsake the G-d of his fathers and follow her into the Jaws of hell. One wonders if, perhaps, under different circumstances, Jezebel could have been the greatest Queen Israel had ever seen?