Beelzebub

Biblical Occurrences

Old Testament. The name appears in 2 Kings 1. Ahaziah, king of the northern kingdom of Israel, fell through a lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria and became ill. To learn whether he would recover, he sent messengers to inquire of Baalzebub, the god of the Philistine city of Ekron. Elijah intercepted the messengers and rebuked them: "Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?" He then announced that the king would die (2 Kings 1:2–16). Ahaziah died just as Elijah had said.

New Testament. In the Gospels the name is written Beelzebul (rendered "Beelzebub" in the KJV). When Jesus cast out demons, his opponents accused him of casting them out "by Beelzebub the prince of the devils" (Matthew 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15). Matthew identifies the accusers as Pharisees, while Mark describes them as scribes who had come down from Jerusalem. When sending out the apostles, Jesus also said, "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?" (Matthew 10:25).

Meaning and Background of the Name

The name is connected with Baal (meaning "master" or "lord"), a title for deities in the Canaanite region. The Hebrew Baal Zebub is usually interpreted as "lord of flies." The Septuagint is said to have rendered the name in a way that reflects this sense.

Another interpretation has also been proposed. According to this view, the original name was Baal Zebul, meaning "exalted lord," and the Israelites mockingly altered it to "lord of flies." Scholars, however, are divided on this point. The spelling of the name also varies among the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

In the Old Testament, Baalzebub is a foreign god on whom an Israelite king relied instead of God. In this passage, seeking him is portrayed as an instance of idolatry.

In the New Testament, the name designates the chief of the demons. Jesus answered his accusers, "And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself" (Matthew 12:26). In this reply, Beelzebub is treated as identical with Satan.

Jesus went on to say that if he cast out demons by the Spirit of God (Luke has "the finger of God"), then "the kingdom of God is come unto you" (Matthew 12:28; Luke 11:20). Through the parable of binding the strong man before plundering his house, he also showed that the power of Satan was being overthrown.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

Immediately after this controversy comes the saying that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven. Mark gives the reason: "Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit" (Mark 3:28–30).

For this reason, many interpreters understand this sin not as a mere slip of the tongue but as a persistent refusal that attributes to Satan what is plainly the work of the Holy Spirit. Church traditions and interpreters differ in how they explain its scope and whether it applies to believers today.

Portrayals of Beelzebub as a specific high-ranking devil distinct from Satan, depicted as a kind of "Lord of the Flies," are not grounded in the biblical text. They developed in Western demonology and literature from the Middle Ages onward. One example is John Milton's Paradise Lost, in which Beelzebub appears as a fallen angel second only to Satan.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, the term is discussed chiefly in sermons on Matthew 12 and Mark 3, where it frequently appears in explanations of the "sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit" (seongnyeong hwebangjoe).