n.
died 0441; 843 BC
In the Hebrew scriptures, the wife of King Ahab of Israel.
The daughter of the priest-king Ethbaal of Tyre and Sidon, she persuaded Ahab to introduce the worship of the Tyrian god Baal-Melkart into Israel, thus interfering with the exclusive worship of Yahweh. The book of 1 Kings tells how she was opposed by Elijah . After Ahab's death Jezebel's son Jehoram became king of Israel, but Elisha encouraged a general, Jehu, to revolt. Jehoram was killed, and Jezebel was thrown from a window to her death. Dogs consumed most of her body, fulfilling a prophecy by Elijah. In history and literature she became the archetype of the wicked woman.