Beelzebub
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Ba‘al Zebûb or Ba‘al Zəvûv (Hebrew בעל זבוב, with numerous variants<ref>In addition to
Beelzebub, Ba‘al Zebûb, and Ba‘al Zəvûv, (בעל זבוב), variants include Belzebud, Beezelbub, Beezlebub, Beazlebub, Belzaboul, Beelzeboul, Baalsebul, Baalzebubg, Belzebuth Beelzebuth, and Beelzebus.</ref>) appears as the name of a deity worshipped in the Philistine city of Ekron.
In ancient contexts, there appears to have been little, if any, meaningful distinction between Beelzebub and the polytheistic Semitic god named Ba‘al. Monotheistic Jewish reference to Baal was almost certainly pejorative, and grew to be used among other terms for Satan. The name later appears as the name of a demon or devil, often interchanged with Beelzebul.
Examination has sought to interpret the meaning of Baal in context to determine the specific reasons for this connotation, and varied religious speculations have run the gamut. It is generally unknown whether and to what extent the anti-pagan sentiment of early Hebrews was based in an anti-matriarchal view, or else a developed dislike for the customary pagan fertility rites.
Regardless, the demonization of the deity or deification is thought to have been one basis for the personification of Satan as the adversary of the Abrahamic God, though other influences such as the Zoroastrian Daeva may have contributed.
