Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George Athas <gathas AT mail.usyd.edu.au>]

yochanan bitan wrote:

> (george athas wrote)
> >Take the name Jezebel (Iy-zebel) - I don't think a queen would have
> >really had such a name. It's probably been changed to reflect a value
> >judgment of the writer's ideology.
>
> with 'i' 'coast/island' and 'honorable' names like zvulun, what's wrong
> with i-zevul/izevel?
> 'island of Honor' for the daughter of the king of tyre?
> granted it may also have been punned: heb: zevel, arab: zibl //--dung. (cf
> 2K9.37)

I always understood the name Iy-zevel to mean "Without Honour" - couching it
as a pejorative characterisation, much the same way as Saul's son Esh-ba`al is
called Ish-boshet. Compare the name Iy-khavod in I Sam 4:21. I think the
context where Iy-zevel is continuously looked down upon in the narratives, I
think that is the slur intended.

Best regards,
GEORGE ATHAS
Dept of Semitic Studies,
University of Sydney
- Email: gathas AT mail.usyd.edu.au
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