What's in a name?

My mom used to call me Jezebel (actually, she still does). The nickname never caught on in larger contexts, but I've always loved that nickname. It sounds devilish. And that is what it has come to mean, somewhat. I've done some research so I could find out exactly what Jezebel is all about. What I thought before I did this research was that Jezebel was a woman from the bible who did "evil" acts, some of those sexual in nature. What I've found is that I'm more Jezebel than I realized.

Bible stuff:

In the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Old Testament), Jezebel is a queen of ancient Israel. Her story is told in 1st and 2nd Kings. She is introduced as a Phoenician princess, the daughter of King Ithobaal I of Sidon, who marries King Ahab. She turns Ahab away from the God of the Israelites ( The One and Only Most True High God) and of the Jews (being the inhabitants of Judah in this context) and toward the worship of Phoenician god, Baal. Ahab and Jezebel let temples of Baal operate in Israel, and the pagan religion receives royal patronage.

Furthermore, the queen uses her control over Ahab to lead the Hebrews into sin and subject them to tyranny.

After she has the prophets of Yahweh slaughtered, the prophet Elijah challenges 450 prophets of Baal to a test (1 Kings 18), exposes their god as powerless, has them slaughtered (1 Kings 18:40), and incurs Jezebel's furious enmity. After Ahab's death, Jezebel continues to rule through her son Ahaziah. When Ahaziah is killed in battle, she exercises control through her other son, Jehoram.

As recounted in 2Kings 9:1-10, God speaks through the prophet Elisha (Elijah's successor), and has one of his servants anoint Jehu as king in Jehoram's place, adding "thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master." Acting on this divine commission for revolution, Jehu kills King Jehoram as he attempts to flee in his war chariot. Jehu then confronts Jezebel in Jezreel and urges her eunuchs to kill the queen mother by throwing her out a window (defenestration).

They comply, tossing her out the window and leaving her in the street to be eaten by dogs. Only Jezebel's skull, feet, and hands remained.

Her ignominious end thus fulfills Elijah's prophecy.

Cultural connotations:

The name Jezebel has come down through the centuries to be used as a general name for all wicked women.

In modern usage the name of Jezebel is sometimes used as a synonym for sexually promiscuous and sometimes controlling women.

From a biblical and Christian point of view, a comparison to Jezebel would suggest that a person would be a pagan or an apostate masquerading as a servant of God, who by manipulation and/or seduction misleads the saints of God into sins of idolatry and sexual immorality, making them ineffective.

From a Christian point of view, it has also been used to refer to those who challenge evidence and belief in God.

The name is used in reference to a woman who rules her husband.

Favorite Cultural Examples:

In Tom Robbins's novel Skinny Legs and All, Jezebel is presented as a down to earth, sympathetic, and strong female character, wrongfully slandered in the Bible because of her religious beliefs.

From Lauryn Hill's 1998 rap hit "Doo Wop (That Thing)": "Now that was the sin that did Jezebel in / Who you gonna call when the repercussions spin?"

In a Saturday Night Live skit, Gus Chiggins (portrayed by Will Ferrell) mutters "Oh Jezebel, why are you so sweet? I'll take you down to the market, and put you in my shoe" as he is leaving the room.

In season 6 of "The Simpsons", episode "Bart's Girlfriend," the church marquee reads: "Evil women in history: from Jezebel to Janet Reno."

In Ken Kesey's classic novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. At the end of the novel when Nurse Ratched discovers a patient, Billy Bibbit with a prostitute, she is at a loss for words as how to describe the women, when another patient, Harding, offers that she is a Jezebel.

Jezebel, spelled Dyesebel locally, is a mermaid made popular in comic strips, television and movies in the Philippines.

The Butterfly Effect:

The Common Jezebel (Delias eucharis) is a medium sized pierid butterfly found in Asia. It is among the commoner species in the genus Delias, the Jezebels, consisting of about 200 species. The Delias group of butterflies are considered as having their evolutionary origins in the Australian region.

I like some of those descriptions. Wicked woman. Sexual promiscuity. And, my favorite, challenging evidence and belief in God. Although I appreciate promiscuity and the harlot connotation, I am by far the most Jezebel in that fact that I have a hard time believing that there is only one "God" to save us from hell. I suppose those thoughts will be for another post.

Source: Wikipedia