Who was Beelzebub?

βεελζεβούλ. The meaning of this word is much disputed, some associate it with BAAL-ZEBUB 'lord of the fly,' in the O.T., but others believe it to be a term of contempt, signifying 'lord of dung.' The Jews, who blasphemously charged the Lord with casting out demons by Beelzebul (as it should be spelled), call him 'the prince of the demons,' which sufficiently explains their meaning to be that the one who was the head of those demons enabled the Lord to cast them out. Matt. 10:25; Matt. 12:24, 27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 18, 19. The Lord shows the folly of supposing that the same evil one who was seeking to build up a kingdom should be at the same time the means of pulling it down. He also denounces the dreadful blasphemy of saying that the work done by the Holy Spirit was accomplished by the influence of Satan: this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was the sin that should never be forgiven. Cf. also 2 Kings 1:2.

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.

Ahaziah, the wicked son of a wicked father, had an accident and sent his messenger to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron. Baal-zebub means "lord of flies." According to rabbinical tradition, he was worshipped in the form of a fly; and so addicted were the Jews to this cult that they carried a small image in their pockets, kissing it from time to time. Vile practices were also connected with its worship. What awful blasphemy the Pharisees uttered when they accused our Lord of using Beelzebub, the prince of demons! (Matt. 12:24. Beelzebub is given in the Greek as Beelzebul, which means "lord of idolatrous sacrificing.")

The Lord discerned the working of their minds and showed them their inconsistency. Satan claimed that the Lord is using his own (Satan's) power to cast out demons, but if this were the case Satan's kingdom would be divided against itself. It could not possibly stand: it would ruin itself immediately. Satan is certainly not going to use his power deliberately against himself. The word Beelzebub very likely comes from Baal-zebub the Old Testament, meaning "lord of flies," indicating the repulsive character of the evil one.

Be el’ze bub Lord of the dwelling

Ba al ze’bub Lord of the fly

293 Luke 11:15. — "Beelzebub." The final letter is not shown as b in any Greek MS., but is derived from the Vulgate. The critical reading is "Beelzeboul." So in Matt. 12:24-27; Mark 3:22. As to the meaning of this name, see 2 Kings 1:6, and cf. Dalman, "Aramaic Grammar," p. 137.

178 We pass on to some other remarks. The word δαιμόνιον, universally rendered "devil" where we read that Christ cast out "devils," is different from that used in speaking of the devil, διάβολος (Satan). The word "devil" means slanderer or evil accuser; therefore the great accuser of the brethren, who is also an evil spirit, is called "the devil." "The devils" (δαιμόνια) are, however, connected with Satan or Beelzebub (Matt. 12:22-27; Mark 3:22-26). The word δαιμόνια was employed by the heathen for certain intermediate spirits whom they regarded in a good sense as powerful ruling spirits affording protection to a nation or an individual. Scripture teaches us (Deut. 32:17; 1 Cor. 10:20) that the gods of the heathen were of these evil spirits. And as such Beelzebub, the god of the Philistines and of other Gentiles related to this tribe, is known to us. As we, however, could find no word in German corresponding to δαιμόνιον in Greek, we were compelled, like others, to translate it by "devil" (Teufel) in German, which is rather the equivalent of διάβολος in Greek.

A second judgement falls upon the king himself. "Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and was sick." But repentance was foreign to the heart of the king of Israel, and Jehovah had no place either in his thoughts or in his life. He was indifferent to the judgment of God; he saw but an ordinary accident in the blow that had struck him. "He sent messengers and said to them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this disease." His own Baal, before whom he bowed (1 Kings 22:54), was not enough for him; he sends to the Baal of the Philistines to learn his fate. Baal-zebub, the lord of flies, was much more valuable in his eyes than Jehovah. This god was doubtless invoked by this idolatrous nation to secure themselves from this plague of the lands of the East, flies. He was a powerful god to his votaries, for bowing down before him in their blindness they were worshipping or supplicating Satan himself, the Beelzebub so often mentioned in the New Testament.

It is, however, impossible to harden oneself against God and prosper. Troubles gather around the wicked king. Moab rebels, and he himself is prostrated by a fall from an upper chamber in his palace. Will this sickness sober the king and turn his thoughts to the Lord God of Israel? Alas! in prosperity he had lived without God, and in trouble he despises the chastening of the Lord. In health he had served idols with all the fanatical zeal of his mother, and in sickness his depraved mind is unable to escape from their demoniacal power. Instead of turning in contrition to the Lord God of Israel, he inquires of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether he will recover.

Ekron was the great heathen oracle of that day — the shrine of the Sidonian god Baal-zebub, literally the god of flies. By his devotees he was reputed to possess power to heal diseases and to cast out demons. Hence, in New Testament times, the Pharisees accuse the Lord of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub. Generations before, Saul, in his extremity, had turned to demons, only to hear his immediate doom pronounced by the prophet Samuel. Ahaziah, in his day, repeats the awful sin of King Saul. Overwhelmed by troubles, he too, in the most blatant and public way, affronts the living God by craving the help of demons, and in like manner hears his doom pronounced by the prophet Elijah.