בַּעַל זְבוּב
ba.al ze.vuv
Baal-zebub
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Baal-zebub: A Divine Name in Ancient Near Eastern Context Baal-zebub appears eight times in the Hebrew Bible as a specific divine name, transliterated as two distinct elements: *ba'al* (lord/master) and *zebub* (fly). The compound designation suggests either "lord of the flies" or possibly "lord of filth," reflecting titles associated with a deity in the ancient Near Eastern religious landscape. This particular form of address identifies a specific god rather than a generic deity, distinguishing it from the broader category of Baal worship that appears elsewhere in biblical texts. The limited number of occurrences (eight instances) and the term's consistent use as a proper name indicate that Baal-zebub represented a recognized religious entity within the ancient world that biblical authors encountered and recorded. The Hebrew Bible's preservation of this exact title suggests the authors were documenting actual religious practices and beliefs they encountered, rather than inventing the name. The specific combination of elements—linking a divine title with an unclean insect—may reflect how the Israelite tradition understood or characterized this foreign religious concept.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
8 total occurrences across the text
Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper room that was in Samaria, and was sick. So he sent messengers, and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover of this sickness.”
2 Kings 1:2Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper room that was in Samaria, and was sick. So he sent messengers, and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover of this sickness.”
2 Kings 1:3But Yahweh’s angel said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and tell them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you go to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?
2 Kings 1:3But Yahweh’s angel said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and tell them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you go to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?
2 Kings 1:6They said to him, “A man came up to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you, and tell him, “Yahweh says, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you send to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you will surely die.’ ” ’ ”
2 Kings 1:6They said to him, “A man came up to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you, and tell him, “Yahweh says, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you send to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you will surely die.’ ” ’ ”
2 Kings 1:16He said to him, “Yahweh says, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore you will not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you will surely die.’ ”
2 Kings 1:16He said to him, “Yahweh says, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore you will not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you will surely die.’ ”