But her character might not be as dark as we are accustomed to thinking. The story is not a pretty one, and some-perhaps most-readers will remain disturbed by Jezebel’s actions.
As we piece together the world in which Jezebel lived, a fuller picture of this fascinating woman begins to emerge. Furthermore, we must reread the narrative from the queen’s vantage point. To attain a more positive assessment of Jezebel’s troubled reign and a deeper understanding of her role, we must evaluate the motives of the Biblical authors who condemn the queen. Yet there is more to this complex ruler than the standard interpretation would allow. These other women may be bad, but Jezebel is the worst. Jezebel cannot even be compared with the Bible’s other bad girls-Potiphar’s wife and Delilah-for no good comes from Jezebel’s deeds. She is not a heroic fighter like Deborah, a devoted sister like Miriam or a cherished wife like Ruth. Rehabilitating Jezebel’s stained reputation is an arduous task, however, for she is a difficult woman to like. In recent years, scholars have tried to reclaim the shadowy female figures whose tales are often only partially told in the Bible. This ancient queen has been denounced as a murderer, prostitute and enemy of God, and her name has been adopted for lingerie lines and World War II missiles alike. Image: Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth, UK/Bridgeman Art Library.įor more than two thousand years, Jezebel has been saddled with a reputation as the bad girl of the Bible, the wickedest of women. As Jehu’s chariot races toward the palace to kill Jezebel, she “painted her eyes with kohl and dressed her hair, and she looked out of the window” (2 Kings 9:30). Jezebel’s reputation as the most dangerous seductress in the Bible stems from her final appearance: her husband King Ahab is dead her son has been murdered by Jehu. Israel’s most accursed queen carefully fixes a pink rose in her red locks in John Byam Liston Shaw’s “Jezebel” from 1896.
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