Baalzebub
Morrish Bible Dictionary [1]
Name of Baal as the god of Ekron, signifying 'lord of the fly.' Josephus says with reference to king Ahaziah sending to this god, "Now it happened that Ahaziah, as he was coming down from the top of his house, fell down from it, and in his sickness sent to the Fly, which was the god of Ekron, for that was this god's name." Ant. ix: 2,1. It was regarded as a preserver from poisonous flies, and hence as a healer of diseases. 2 Kings 1:2,3,6,16 . In the N.T. there is the similar name of BEELZEBUB( q.v. ) to whom the miracles of the Lord in casting out demons were blasphemously attributed.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary [2]
Worshipped at Ekron; consulted by Ahaziah as to his recovery, for which Jehovah by Elijah declared he should die ( 2 Kings 1:2-3; 2 Kings 1:16). "Lord of flies," i.e., averter of the plague of flies, which often caused such ravages. A seal found near Gaza by DeHass represents a human figure with four wings like those of a fly, in low relief, probably the god of Ekron. Beelzebul was the Jewish contemptuous term, by a slight alteration, for Beelzebub; i.e., "god of dung". (See Beelzebul .)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [3]
bā - al - zē´bub בּעל זבוּב , ba‛al zebhūbh = "Lord of flies"; Βααλ-μυιαν , Βάαλ-μυῖαν , Báal - muı́an ̌ : A deity worshipped by the Philistines at Ekron ( 2 Kings 1:2 , 2 Kings 1:3 , 2 Kings 1:6 , 2 Kings 1:16 ). All that can be gathered from this one reference to him in ancient literature is that he had some fame as a god that gave oracles. Ahaziah, son of Ahab, and king of Israel, went to consult him whether he should recover of his sickness, and was therefore rebuked by Elijah, who declared that his death would be the result of this insult to Yahweh. Why he was called "lord of flies," or whether his real name has not be en corrupted and lost are matters of conjecture. See Baal , (1).
