NMCSU Academic Talk with Laura Hare
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Jezebel: From Queen to Magazine
Jezebel has long captured the imagination of readers of the Hebrew Bible. A Phoenician princess who married the king of Israel, Jezebel is notorious for her clashes with the prophet Elijah, for murdering many of God’s prophets, and for her dramatic final moments. Though the biblical text does not suggest that she is unfaithful to her husband, she became associated with harlotry because of her loyalty to the gods of her homeland and thus her “infidelity” to the God of Israel.
The writer of the New Testament book of Revelation used the name Jezebel in reference to a female prophet who was “teaching and beguiling my servants to engage in sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.” Even those who are unfamiliar with the biblical story of Jezebel have likely heard the name used as a noun: a “jezebel” is a shameless or immoral woman. But what do we really know about this woman whose name has become a synonym for apostasy, immorality, and temptation? And how has the interpretation of Jezebel changed over time?
This lecture will begin with a close look at the texts of the Hebrew Bible that feature Jezebel. We will then follow the history of interpretation of Jezebel through time, looking at how she is presented in different religious, scholarly, and artistic traditions, up to the present day where “Jezebel” is, among other things, the name of an online feminist magazine.