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BAAL-ZEBUB
Pagan god of the Philistine city of Ekron. After King Ahaziah of Israel fell from his upstairs porch (852 BC), he sent messengers to Baal-zebub to ask about his recovery (2 Kgs 1:2). He was severely rebuked for that by the prophet Elijah, who declared that his affront to Israel’s God would result in the king’s death.
Identification of Baal-zebub (which means “lord of the flies”) is somewhat uncertain. The god may have been thought to give oracles by the flight or buzzing of a fly, or may have protected his worshipers from plagues of flies. Excavations at Philistine sites have uncovered golden images of flies. Most scholars believe that the name is a corruption of Baal-zebul (“Baal the prince”). The distortion was probably a deliberate effort to demean the god.
See also Canaanite Deities and Religion.
Calling Jesus “Beelzebul”
By NT times, the name had changed to Beelzebul (KJB Beelzebub), from the Syriac language meaning “lord of dung.” It was a common practice to apply the names of the gods of enemy nations to the devils of one’s own religion. Thus, the title was applied by the Jews to the devil, or Satan, the prince of demons (Mt 12:24, 27). In their blasphemous criticism, the Pharisees called Jesus by this title to explain his ability to cast out demons (Mk 3:22; Lk 11:15). In Matthew 10:25 Jesus tells the disciples, “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household” (rsv). Here Jesus seems to make his point by relying on another possible meaning of the words from rabbinic usage, “lord of the house”—“house” having reference to the temple, the house of the Lord. Thus, in response to the Jewish leaders, a play on words involving contrast may have been employed. They call Jesus “Beelzebul, lord of the dung heap,” and Jesus calls himself “Beelzebul, lord of the house.” By this, Jesus claims lordship over the house of God.