Beelzebub

Beelzebub, also called Ba'al Zabub or Ba'al Zvuv, is an old name from a Philistine god. People worshipped this god in a place named Ekron.

Later, some Abrahamic religions used the name Beelzebub for a powerful demon. The name comes from the Canaanite god Baal.

In stories, Beelzebub is one of the important demons. He is often linked to feelings like gluttony and envy. A book called the Dictionnaire Infernal says Beelzebub can fly and calls him the "Lord of the Flies." The name appears in the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding because of its themes.

Judaism

Hebrew Scriptures

The name Beelzebub comes from the Books of Kings. It was written as Baʿal zəvuv and refers to a god worshipped by the Philistines in the city of Ekron.

The story tells of King Ahaziah of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, who fell and hurt himself. He sent messengers to ask Baʿal-zəvuv, the god of Ekron, if he would get better.

Elijah told the king that he should ask God instead and said Ahaziah would not recover from his injuries.

Testament of Solomon

In the Testament of Solomon, a book said to be written by King Solomon, Beelzebul is described as a leader among bad spirits. The story says Beelzebul used to be an important angel connected to the bright planet Venus. The book talks about how Beelzebul causes trouble.

Rabbinical literature

In Jewish writings, Baʿal-zəvuv from Ekron is called the “lord of the flies.” Jewish teachers saw this as a way to make fun of people who followed Baal.

Christianity

Christian Bible

In the stories about Jesus Christ, some people said he used powers from Beelzebub, the leader of bad spirits. Jesus replied that a kingdom divided against itself cannot last. He said he used God's power, showing that God's kingdom had come.

Gnostic tradition

Christian tradition

Beelzebub is often described as one of the most important bad spirits in stories about Hell. Writers from long ago, like Johann Weyer and Sébastien Michaëlis, told stories about Beelzebub. The writer John Milton wrote about Beelzebub in his poem Paradise Lost.

People in history have sometimes blamed Beelzebub for strange events. For example, during the Salem witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts, people often talked about Beelzebub.

Translation concerns

We do not know if Symmachus the Ebionite was right when he talked about these names. The word Zeboul might come from a slurred way of saying zebûba, or from zebel, a word meaning "dung" in the Targums. It could also come from the Hebrew word zebûl, used in 1 Kings 8:13 as bêt-zebûl, meaning "lofty house". The Septuagint used the name Baalzebub (Βααλζεβούβ) and also Baal muian (Βααλ μυῗαν, "Baal of flies"). Symmachus might have been using an old insulting name when he wrote Beelzeboul.

The name Beelzebub replaced Beelzeboul in the Syriac translation and the Latin Vulgate translation of the gospels. This change was also used in the King James Version. The older form Beelzeboul was not well known in Western European cultures until newer translations brought it back.

Another idea is that the deity’s real name was Baʿal zəvul, meaning "lord of the (heavenly) dwelling". The name Baʿal zəvuv might have been an insulting joke made by the Israelites.

In Arabic translations, the name is written as Baʿl-zabūl (بعلزبول).

Etymology

The word Baal means "Lord" in ancient Ugaritic and Cananitic languages. It was used for many local gods. The name Baʿal zəvuv is found in the Hebrew Bible as the god of the Philistine city of Ekron. Some think the name means "lord of (the) flies." In ancient times, flies were sometimes seen as pests or linked to sickness. There are also stories of gods, like Zeus Apomyios or Myiagros (“fly-averting Zeus”), who were thought to keep people safe from flies.

Some experts believe the name Baʿal zəvuv might have been a real local god of Ekron, possibly connected to healing. This idea comes from a story where a king asked Baʿal zəvuv for help in getting better after an injury.