A Lamentation for Jezebel
By Ava Perry
Author’s Note: Jezebel, a woman many are likely familiar with, first appears in 1 Kings Chapter 16, a book in the Old Testament that describes the rulers of the Northern Kingdom of Israel from the perspective of the Kingdom of Judah. She is the wife of the King Ahab, however, she was born in ancient Sidon and brought her foreign gods, like Ba’al, to the Northern Kingdom. Jezebel’s foreign religion draws the ire of the author of 1 Kings, who represents her as a deceitful woman, using her husband’s power to enact horrific demands. Because of orders she gave under her husband’s name, she caused a man’s death for an increase in King Ahab’s wealth. King Ahab and Jezebel’s unholy actions angered God, so He proclaimed that Jezebel’s death would result in her body being eaten by dogs. This came to fruition when supporters of Jehu, king of Judah, threw Jezebel out of the palace window on Jehu’s command. What follows is “A Lamentation for Jezebel.”
And Jezebel’s sister lamented over her and gave orders that everyone in Israel mourn with her.
“O Israel, listen to my voice;
Descendants of Jacob, hearken unto my words.
Glory to Jezebel, my sister and my companion.
Her beauty radiates,
Shining from the water of the Nile to the banks of the Euphrates.
Asherah herself covets her grace.
Jezebel the priestess, the consort of Gods,
Yahweh and Baal and Yamash and Yarikh and Mot and Astarte,
She gained the favor of all,
Her blessings will increase evermore.
‘Peace in our time!’ she cried,
As Sidon and Israel became one,
Joining our two nations and our gods in harmony.
O’ Jezebel, magnificent and magnanimous,
But whose fury is seething and righteous.
Who laid waste to Moab,
Trampling their cities, their palaces, and their coffers?
Who adorned our women with the finest of silks,
Gilded our men with gold,
With the plunder of Moab?
Could it not have been Jezebel,
Unmatched in her luxury, her beauty, her ruthlessness?
Who conquered the lands of Aram-Damascus
And cut through rows of soldiers like a sickle to grain?
Who smote the defiant, the wicked, who sought to unseat her?
Who ended the life of Naboth, the blasphemer,
Unleashing a hailstorm as if sent by Ba’al himself,
To strike him into the ground?
And who humiliated Elijah,
The false prophet,
Calling upon the powers of Ba’al and engulfing our sacrifice in flames,
While his lay untouched and abandoned?
Alas, the beauty of Israel is slain,
Torn by the dogs of Jehu,
Torn like the garments that lay in my chambers.
She left this world as the queen she was,
Adorned in her fineries, make-up, and jewelry.
Will the killing of Jehu avenge you, my queen?
He was laid upon a pyre and set aflame,
The scent of his flesh surely pleased the gods above.
But could there ever be enough bloodshed
To annul your defilement?
My queen!
How we weep for thee,
How our hearts swell with sorrow.
Sheol is not worthy of you,
Nor the heavens above, nor the dust beneath our feet.
But your light will shine regardless,
Leading us through the darkness that has descended upon us.
To the house of Omri,
We pray your lineage may never die.
To the enemies of our kingdom,
We pray your evil may never live.
And to dear Jezebel,
I would set the heavens ablaze
Just so you could feel its warmth.”