Jezebel and Ahab meeting Elijah, print by Sir Francis Dicksee
(1853-1928) |Occupation||Princess of Phoenicia, Queen of Israel|
|Children||Ahaziah, Jehoram, and Athaliah| Jezebel (/ˈdʒɛzəbəl/,
/ˈdʒɛzəbɛl/; Hebrew: אִיזֶבֶל / אִיזָבֶל, Modern Izével / Izável
Tiberian ʾÎzéḇel / ʾÎzāḇel) (fl. 9th century BCE) was a
princess, identified in the Hebrew Book of Kings as the daughter
of Ethbaal, King of Tyre (Phoenicia) and the wife of Ahab, king
of north Israel. According to genealogies given in Josephus and
other classical sources, she was the great-aunt of Dido, Queen
of Carthage. Jezebel was a power behind the throne. Ahab and
Jezebel allowed temples of Baal to operate in Israel, and that
religion received royal patronage. After Ahab's death, Ahaziah
and Jehoram, his sons by Jezebel, acceded to the throne. The
prophet Elisha had one of his servants anoint Jehu as king to
overthrow the house of Ahab. Jehu killed Jehoram as he attempted
to flee in his war chariot. Jehu confronted Jezebel in Jezreel,
where he incited