Difference between revisions of "Ethbaal"

<p> (Hebrews Ethba'al, '''''אֶתְבִּעִל''''' , ''With Baal, I.E.,'' enjoying his favor and help; Sept. '''''Ε᾿Θβάαλ''''' ) '','' a king of Sidon, father of the infamous Jezebel, the wife of Ahab (&nbsp;1 Kings 16:31). According to Josephus ''(Ant'' . 8:13, 1 and 2; ''Apion,'' 1:18), Ethbaal is called ''Ithobalus'' ( '''''Ι᾿Θόβαλος''''' or '''''Εἰθώβαλος''''' , ''I.E., '''''אַתּוֹבִעִל''''' =Baal With Him)'' by Menander, who also says that he was a priest of Astarte, and, having put the king Pheles to death, assumed the scepter of Tyre and Sidon, lived sixty-eight years, and reigned thirty-two (comp. Theophil. ''Autol.'' 3, page 132). As fifty years elapsed between the deaths of [[Hiram]] and Pheles, the date of Ethbaal's reign may be given as about B.C. 940-908. The worship of [[Baal]] was no doubt closely allied to that of Astarte, and it is even possible that a priest of [[Astarte]] might have been dedicated also to the service of Baal, and borne his name. We here see the reason why Jezebel, the daughter of a priest of Astarte, was so zealous a promoter of idolatry, the taint of which, with its attendant tyranny, eventually extended to the throne of Judah in the person of Athaliah; and as, twenty-one years after the death of Ethbaal, his granddaughter [[Dido]] built Carthage, and founded that celebrated commonwealth (Josephus, as above), we may judge what sort of a spirit animated the females of this royal family. (See Ahab). Another Phoenician king of the same name ( '''''Ι᾿Θόβαλος''''' or '''''Εἰθώβαλος''''' ) appears as a contemporary of [[Nebuchadnezzar]] (Josephus, Ant. 10:11, 1; Apion, 1:21; Eusebius, Chron. Armen. 1:74). (See [[Phoenicia]]). </p>

<p> ''''' eth ''''' - ''''' bā´al ''''' , ''''' eth´bā̇ ''''' - ''''' al ''''' ( אתבּעל , <i> ''''' 'eth ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' ba‛al ''''' </i> , "with Baal"): "King of the Sidonians," and father of Jezebel whom Ahab king of Israel took to wife (&nbsp;1 Kings 16:31 ). </p>