Until this week, I didn’t know I had something in common with Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for U.S. president. In our time, we’ve both been labeled Jezebel.
“Jezebel” has been the name for so many women whom men find threatening.
There’s Hollywood’s “Jezebel,” Bette Davis’ 1938 portrayal of a willful Southern belle who dares to wear a red dress at a debutante ball where only white gowns are decreed. There’s singer Frankie Laine’s “Jezebel,” an irresistible temptress. There’s Sade’s “Jezebel,” a woman who “wants to get what’s mine.” There’s the online publication Jezebel.com, which was resurrected less than a year ago by a publisher for the “unique voice” expressed in its original tagline, “sex, celebrity, politics — with teeth.”
Who is/was this Jezebel, and why should she matter to Christians today?
For those who may not be up on their Old Testament history, Jezebel was the wife of King Ahab of Israel. The story from 1st and 2nd Kings, one of the bloodiest in Hebrew Scriptures, says Jezebel was the worst sort of temptress/schemer/infidel one could imagine.
A Sidonian princess, she worshiped the god Baal and persecuted the Israelite prophets of Yahweh. She feuded with Elijah, who bested Baal’s prophets on Mount Carmel. She goaded ruffians to kill Naboth so her husband, Ahab, could acquire Naboth’s vineyard. She was accused of being the source of all “whoredoms and sorceries” in Israel.
Cynthia Astle
Her fate in 2 Kings 9:30-37 is grisly: She was thrown out a high window at Jehu’s command; her body smashed against a wall and onto the ground, splattering blood everywhere. When Jehu ordered his troops to bury her “for she is a king’s daughter,” only her skull, hands and feet could be found. The men claimed dogs had eaten Jezebel, as Elijah prophesied, so that she couldn’t be buried and venerated.
Jezebel appears once more in Scripture, in Revelation 2:18-23, when John of Patmos warns the church at Thyatira against a false prophet named Jezebel who he alleged practiced fornication and enticed believers to “eat food sacrificed to idols.” She, too, is to be destroyed for her transgressions, as are her consorts.
Hence, to call a woman “Jezebel” is to define her as a wicked woman, to say the least. It’s a term too often used in Judeo-Christian history, sometimes leading to ends as grisly as that of the biblical archetype.
I’ve come to see a Jezebel’s true crime is simply that she acquires and wields power — something many men think ought to be reserved for men.
Being from the Jezebel ranks myself, I’ve come to see a Jezebel’s true crime is simply that she acquires and wields power — something many men think ought to be reserved for them.
In my case, back in the 1980s, I was part of a citizens’ movement headed by my husband that used the power of Florida’s right of recall to vote a corrupt city councilman out of office by a margin of 8 to 1. Yes, there’s that power thing again — the power of the ballot box.
In Vice President Harris’ case, she, too, has gained power through the electorate and used it to great effect, such as when she interviewed Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. Her term as vice president was rocky early on, but in the past year, she has steadied to become an effective national leader.
So, does it really matter today that the term “Jezebel” is still used as a weapon against women thousands of years after Queen Jezebel reigned in Israel?
You bet it does.
Consider this quote from Steve Rabey’s Aug. 5 article for Baptist News Global, “Christian conservatives shift attacks from Biden to ‘childless’ Kamala Harris, a ‘Jezebel’”: “Christian nationalist pastor Clay Nash told Christians in Boise, Idaho, he had a dream in which a Jezebel spirit ‘was shot right through the brain,’ adding, ‘I believe we’re about to render Jezebel null and void.’”
Nash cleverly avoids mentioning the vice president by name, thus incurring Secret Service scrutiny as a potential threat. Nonetheless, the “Jezebel” moniker is a dog whistle loud and clear to conservative Christians who value Old Testament vengeance over New Testament love.
As a sister Jezebel, I’m deeply concerned for the vice president’s safety when such vicious rhetoric is used.
As a sister Jezebel, I’m deeply concerned for the vice president’s safety when such vicious rhetoric is used. As we’ve seen recently, violent words that demonize people can easily lead to violent actions, and they’re even more threatening when paired with biblical force.
I pray we Jezebels refute our wicked stereotype by standing up for the rule of law — and the social order it upholds — in this season of decision. That’s how we can wield power for everyone’s benefit.
Cynthia B. Astle is a veteran journalist who has covered the worldwide United Methodist Church at all levels for more than 30 years. She serves as editor of United Methodist Insight, an online journal she founded in 2011.
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