In Christian circles, someone might be described by saying “She has a real Jezebel Spirit”.
In this post, we will discover whether this is biblical or just a manner of speaking. The Bible speaks of Jezebel in two places: in 1 Kings 16 & Revelation 2. We will also see that there are some key features of someone who is described in this way. In order to rule if it is a myth or the truth, the literal and figural interpretations will be described. Finally, the practical theological implications of using this kind of language will be given.
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Historical and Biblical Overview
Is Jezebel in the Bible?
The name ‘Jezebel’ refers to two women in the Bible. We first read about a woman named Jezebel in the Old Testament book of First Kings. This book is a historical narrative and a record of monarchical succession. It tells us about all the kings of God’s people, the Israelites.
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In 1 Kings 16, we read about King Ahab, the king of Israel at the time. He married a wicked woman who was named Jezebel. She introduced Israel to Baal worship and ordered that all the prophets of the Lord be killed.
“Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.” – 1 Kings 16:30-33
Jezebel seemed to be the prototype wicked queen leading Israel astray from the 10 Commandments that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. Jezebel ticked them off like a checklist as she led the people into such sins as well. Queen Jezebel’s clear hatred of God’s prophets might be one of the reasons why her name is still so popular today. Modern believers reading the Bible will find that the prophets described how awful Jezebel was in great detail (like in 2 Kings 9).
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It’s often a good question to see if a theme or concept is present in both the Old and the New Testament since this can give us a good overview. As it turns out, the name Jezebel is also mentioned in the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation.
In the letters to the churches (Revelation 2), Jezebel is mentioned in the fourth letter as one who misleads the people to commit sexual immorality and eat things that were sacrificed to idols. In Revelation, they are speaking about a woman of Thyatira who was causing great division in the local church.
Most scholars believe they are not speaking of somebody whose name was really Jezebel. So this might be the first instance where the term is used to describe someone’s character – similar to how we use it today. It is noteworthy that in neither 1 Kings or Revelation, Jezebel is described as a spirit. In both Biblical accounts, it is a name of a woman or one woman is likened to another.
The woman causing divisions in the church of Thyatire was described as someone similar to queen Jezebel in the Old Testament. Therefore, it is important to ask where the idea of saying Jezebel spirit came from? Looking at the origins of the concept and some key characteristics will help us on our way to answering that question.
Defining the Jezebel Spirit
Origin of the concept
Although the concept of Jezebel has its roots in the Bible, it seems to be one of those things that have outgrown its origins… Nowadays the term “Jezebel spirit” is used to describe a certain type of person. It’s interesting when we think about other Biblical figures who are also set up as sort of prototypes for certain characteristics. For example, like saying ‘He is a doubtful Thomas’, or calling someone who betrayed you ‘Judas’. In the same way, it seems that features or characteristics of a Bible character, Queen Jezebel, are what people are referring to most often when they use the phrase ‘Jezebel Spirit’ nowadays.
Key characteristics
Some of the features that are usually ascribed to the “Jezebel Spirit” or the “Woman Jezebel” are…
Someone who is…
manipulative (spiritually controlling as well as seducing others into sexual sin)
evil or wicked (not taking no for an answer, being cunning, refusing to repent)
worshiping other gods (they are idolatrous and worship false gods)
abusing authority and misleading God’s people (false, prophets, false teaching)
Myth vs. Reality: Is the Jezebel Spirit real?
How we define the word spirit here
Sam Storms explained that the word ‘spirit’ can be interpreted in one of two ways “…either (a) of the human spirit, perhaps an attitude, disposition, habit, or set of characteristics displayed by a particular individual, or (b) of those whose supernatural ‘prophetic’ ability is energized by a demonic spirit.”
Let’s look at each one:
1. If we are just saying someone is like Jezebel, it is a real way to describe someone – albeit not very friendly or gracious.
(Remember Doubtful Thomas?) A person like this might have one or all of the characteristics listed above. From the list, idol worship is something that we might struggle to identify today in the West. It is not every day that we see somebody sacrificing to idols made of gold. However, someone might make money, success, or fame their idol and sacrifice time, relationships, and hearts to it.
The terminology ‘spirit’ is not used very often today and we can forget about it. However, some expressions are still used about a person’s spirit. For example, saying “we are kindred spirits” or “they have a free spirit”. In this sense, it does not talk about a spirit possessing someone, but about their character or nature. This interpretation of the meaning of the word ‘spirit’ would mean that someone is like Queen Jezebel.
2. On the other hand, if the “spirit of Jezebel” is an evil spirit…
According to the Bible, there is a spiritual realm as well as the natural realm where we live. We also read about the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, who brings freedom and peace. The power of the Holy Spirit is available to believers and can give them the power to overcome evil.
This definition of ‘spirit’ seems to indicate that a person can have a certain supernatural power dwelling with them. The New Testament is full of accounts where Jesus rebuked and sent evil spirits out of people. This interpretation of the word ‘spirit’ means that someone is being led by an evil spirit to act like Jezebel. Or, in other words, they are possessed by a spirit with the name ‘Jezebel’ (This is not in the Bible).
So is the Jezebel spirit a characteristic or a real demonic evil spirit? The answer is a combination of those points, perhaps. When people talk about the Jezebel Spirit, they are referring to a real person that has certain sins evident in their life. Furthermore, these characteristics might be because of the spiritual forces of evil that are present in the person’s life. T
Literal or figural Jezebel
The figural term, to call someone or something Jezebel has become fairly common. The name has been dubbed to lingerie lines, World War II missiles, and wine labels – anything claiming to be bad/wicked/evil, bringing a lot of destruction or challenging sexual boundaries. In the literal sense, very few people will name their daughter Jezebel because of the negative associations that now go hand-in-hand with the name.
Myth or reality?
We have seen that there was a real person in the Bible named Jezebel who was an evil queen. That was a reality. However, we have seen that other people have been described or dubbed as “a Jezebel” or having a “Jezebel spirit”. We also briefly explored the meaning of ‘spirit’ and concluded that the Bible says that believers can have authority over bad spirits by the power of the good spirit, the Holy Spirit. The Bible does not mention a spirit named Jezebel who brings great evil to those she possesses – that is the part that might be considered a myth.
Practical and Theological Implications
For the modern believer
It’s just language. This whole post, like so many other, is about the way that we speak and the words that we use to express certain things. Despite what the term might mean and where its roots come from, it is of the utmost importance to recognize that there is not a single place in the Bible where someone is referred to as “She has a Jezebel Spirit” – That is a modern “Christianese” way of speaking.
Furthermore, it is neither kind nor loving and can cause great division when we walk around putting labels such as these on people. Consider Jesus’ friendship with Mary Magdalene from whom seven demons had come out (Mark 16:9) as an example.
Spiritual leaders of churches have been criticized for focusing too much on Jezebel’s actions. This has caused some to overlook the prophetic gift completely. The Bible is clear (1 Cor. 14:4) that prophecy is a gift of the Holy Spirit that is meant to edify (build up) the church. We might throw out the baby with the bath water if we disregard all prophecy because we’re fearful of a Jezebel spirit.
Thinking about women
Others have asked why we speak of a Jezebel Spirit and not an Ahab Spirit as well, since the king was largely the enabler of his queen. The term ‘Jezebel’ has often been used as a derogatory term towards women and to justify abuse of especially black women. In recent years, feminist theologians have looked into rewriting and redeeming the stories of the “bad women” in the Bible, but Jezebel remained the exception: The majority said could find nothing good about her (Gaines, 2000).
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Conclusion: Is the Jezebel Spirit Truth, Myth, or a Combination of both?
We saw how the story of Jezebel from the Biblical text (the true event) came to be a metaphor or descriptor for any evil woman who is misleading a church community. This application of the term Jezebel is not in the Word of the Lord but it has become a common way of speaking in the Christian faith.
A short Bible study was done to discover who Jezebel was in the Biblical books of 1 Kings and Revelation. The origins of the concept and some key characteristics of somebody with a Jezebel spirit were then given. Two possible interpretations of the word ‘spirit’ was explained after this so that we could explore of the spirit of Jezebel is a myth or based in truth. Lastly, some practical theological implications were discussed like asking if name-calling is Christlike and discovering how this concept has been used as a derogatory term towards women.
In conclusion, the use of the term “Jezebel spirit” is based on truth. But the idea that the Jezebel spirit might possess someone is not found in Scripture. Whatever you want to believe about the Jezebel Spirit, the first verse of the Great Commission in Matthew 28 is applicable here. Jesus says: “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me“. Therefore, we do not need to fear any other spirit.
Eljoh Hartzer is combining theology and art to nurture faith journeys across generations. She is a Masters-level Practical Theologian with the University of Stellenbosch. She is also a writer and editor in the niche of Christianity and children's content and she illustrates children's books. Eljoh resides in the Swartland area in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
You can follow Eljoh on LinkedIn or Instagram.
