BAAL - ZEBUB

So called from Baal, lord, and Zebub, a fly. And this was the ridiculous idol worshipped at Ekron, to whom Ahaziah, king of Israel, sent to enquire concerning his recovery from a fall he had from his terrace. (See 2 Kings i. 2, 3.) How very sadly this weak prince answered to his name! The man that was called Ahaziah should have had better views of the Lord, Achaz and Jah, meant, vision of the Lord. Whereas, his was a vision of folly! The Egyptians, it should seem, as well as the being near neighbours, paid divine to thiscontemptible idol. It is possible, the folly of this idolatry might take its rise from the plague of the flies, which Egypt suffered on account of Israel. (See Exod. 8. 20, &c.) But it said also by historians, that the rivers of Egypt abound with flies whose sting is very painful. It is worthy remark, that the name of this idol changed only from Baal - zebub in Hebrew, to Beel - zebub in Greek, was given to the devil, in the days of our Lord’s ministry upon earth. It doth not appear that was worshipped at that time; but it is evident so generally known and acknowledged by this name, that the Pharisees made use of it as a well known, and in a daring blasphemy, the miracles of the Lord Jesus to his power (See Matt. x2: 24.)

BEELZEBUB, or BELZEBUB, signifies the god of flies, and was an idol of the Ekronites. It is not easy to discover how this false deity obtained its name. Some commentators think that he was called Baal Samin, or the lord of heaven; but that the Jews, from contempt, gave him the name of Baal-zebub. Others with greater reason believe that he was denominated “the god of flies” by his votaries, because he defended them from flies, which are exceedingly troublesome in hot countries; in the same manner as the Eleans worshipped Hercules under the appellation of ‘Απομυιος, fly chaser. Pliny is of opinion, that the name of Achor, the god invoked at Cyrene against flies, is derived from Accaron, or Ekron, where Baal-zebub was worshipped, and where he had a famous temple and oracle. Winkelman has given the figures of two heads, “both of them images of Jupiter, called by the Greeks ‘Απομυιος, and by the Romans Muscarius; that is to say, fly driver; for to this Jupiter was attributed the function of driving away flies.”

It is evident that Beelzebub was considered as the patron deity of medicine; for this is plainly implied in the conduct of Ahaziah, 2 Kings 1. The Greek mythology considered Apollo as the god of medicine, and attributed also to him those possessions by a pythonic spirit which occasionally perplexed spectators, and of which we have an instance in Act 16:19. Apollo, too, was the sun. Hence we probably see the reason why Ahaziah sent to Beelzebub to inquire the issue of his accident; since Beelzebub was Apollo, and Apollo was the god of physic. The Jews, who changed Beelzebub into Beelzebul, “god of a dunghill,” perhaps had a reference to the Greek of pytho, which signifies putrefied. In Scripture Beelzebub is called “the prince of devils,” Mat 12:24; Luk 11:15; merely, it would seem, through the application of the name of the chief idol of the Heathen world to the prince of evil spirits. This was natural, since the Jews were taught in their own Scriptures to consider all the idols of the Heathens “devils.” Those commentators who think that the idol of Ekron himself is intended, have indulged in an improbable fancy. See HORNET.

(Hebrews Ba’al Zebub’, בִּעִל זְבוּבfly-lord; Sept. ὁ [v. r. ή] Βάαλ μυϊvαν) occurs in 2Ki 1:2-3; 2Ki 1:16, as the god of the Philistines at Ekron, whose oracle Ahaziah sent to consult. Though such a designation of the god appears to us a kind of mockery, and has consequently been regarded as a term of derision (Selden, De Diis Syris, p. 375), yet there seems no reason to doubt that this was the name given to the god by his worshippers, and the plague of flies in hot climates furnishes a sufficient reason for the designation. See FLY. Similarly the Greeks gave the epithet ἀπόμυιος, to Zeus (Clem. Alex. Protrept. 2, 38) as worshipped at Elis (Pausan. v. 14, 2), the Myiagrus deus of the Romans (Solin. Polyhist. 1), and Pliny (29. 6, 34, init.) speaks of a Fly-god Myiodes. As this name is the one used by Ahaziah himself, it is difficult to suppose that it was not the proper and reverential title of the god; and the more so, as Beelzebul (Βεελζεβούλ) in Mat 10:25, seems to be the contemptuous corruption of it. SEE BEELZEBUB. Any explanation, however, of the symbolical sense in which flies may have been regarded in ancient religions, and by which we could conceive how his worshippers could honor him as the god offlies, would appear to us much more compatible with his name than the only sense which can be derived from the Greek parallel. This receives some confirmation, perhaps, from the words of Josephus (Ant. 9, 2, 1), who says, “Ahaziah sent to the Fly (τῆς Μυῖαν), for that is the name of the god” (τῷ θεῷ). The analogy of classical idolatry would lead us to conclude that all these Baals are only the same god under various modifications of attributes and emblems, but the scanty notices to which we owe all our knowledge of Syro-Arabian idolatry do not furnish data for any decided opinion on this phasis of Baal. SEE BAALIM.

By: Morris Jastrow, Jr., J. Frederic McCurdy

Name of a god of the Philistine city of Ekron, mentioned only in connection with the illness of Ahaziah, king of Israel, in 842 B.C. (II Kings i. 2, 3, 6, 16), when the sick monarch sent messengers to Ekron to consult him on the prospects of his recovery. There has been much speculation as to the character of the god. As the word stands, it means "Baal of flies." This is usually explained as the god who expels or destroys flies; though it may also mean the patron or controller of flies. The two explanations may be combined in one, or rather the second may include the first; for the god who has power to drive away any plague has also power to send it. A Zεῦς Απόμνως was worshiped at Elis in Greece as a disperser of flies, and further analogies drawn from the occurrence of "fly gods" among other nations (see Frazer's note to his ed. of Pausanias, v. 14) warrant us in retaining the common explanation until decisive proof to the contrary is forthcoming. It has been suggested that the second element of the name has been modified from an original "Zebul," or rather "beth Zebul," so that the name would mean "lord of the high-house" (compare I Kings viii. 13). The dropping of "Beth" is not without example (see Baalpeor); but the warrant for assuming textual corruption is not sufficient. It was not unusual to call a god by the name of things that were particularly troublesome, and which he was asked to destroy (Nowack, "Hebr. Arch." p. 304; compare Apollo Smintheus as the destroyer of mice among the Greeks). The New Testament form "Beelzebub" (Matt. x. 25, etc.) is probably not based upon any Old Testament reading, but is due to phonetic dissimilation. See Beelzebub.