The Life of Jesus in Harmony |
Index
Beelzebub
BEEL'ZEBUL (be-el'ze-bul), a heathen deity.
[bee EL zih bub]-- New Testament form of Baal Zebub
Believed to be the prince of evil spirits (Lk 11:15-28). By some Beelzebul is
thought to mean ba`al zebel, the "dung god," an expression intended to
designate with loathing the prince of all moral impurity.
It is supposed, at the same time, that the name Beelze bub, the Philistine god
of flies, was changed to Beelze bul ("god of dung") and employed in an
approbrious way as a name of the
devil.
Others prefer to derive the word from ba`al zebul, the "lord of the dwelling"
in which evil spirits dwell.
The fact that
Jesus designates Himself as "master of the house" would seem to indicate that
Beelzebul had a similar meaning.