Beelzebub as depicted in Collin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal (Paris, 1863). Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy (1793-1887 was a French occultist demonologist and writer he published several works on Cultism and Demonology. The Dictionnaire Infernal (Infernal Dictionary is a book on Demonology, organised in hellish hierarchies.

Ba‘al Zebûb or Ba‘al Z^əvûv (Hebrew בעל זבוב, with numerous variants)^[1] appears as the name of a deity worshipped in the Philistine city of Ekron. See also List of deities A deity is a Postulated Preternatural or Supernatural Being, who is always The Philistines ( Hebrew פלשתים plishtim) (see "other uses" below were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan, The city of Ekron (עֶקְרוֹן ʿeqrōn, also transliterated Accaron)

In ancient contexts, there appears to have been little, if any, meaningful distinction between Beelzebub and the polytheistic Semitic god named Ba‘al. Polytheism is belief in or worship of multiple Gods (usually assembled in a pantheon) together with associated Mythology and Rituals In Linguistics and Ethnology, Semitic (from the Biblical " Shem " Hebrew שם translated as "name" Arabic: ساميّ God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. Ba'al (pronounced; Hebrew בעל (ordinarily spelled Baal in English is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" Monotheistic Jewish reference to Baal was almost certainly pejorative, and grew to be used among other terms for Satan. For the Celtic Frost album see Monotheist (album In Theology, monotheism (from Greek grc [[wiktμόνος μόνος]] Words and phrases are pejorative if they imply disapproval or contempt Satan, ( Standard Hebrew Satan'el, English accuser) is a term that originates from the Abrahamic faiths, being traditionally The name later appears as the name of a demon or devil, often interchanged with Beelzebul. The Devil is the

Examination has sought to interpret the meaning in context to determine the specific reasons for this connotation, and varied religious speculations have run the gamut.

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. Demonization is the reinterpretation of polytheistic deities as Demons by other religions generally monotheistic and Henotheistic ones Daeva ( daēuua, daāua, daēva) is the Avestan language term for a particular sort of supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics

Religious meaning

Ba‘al Zebûb might mean 'Lord of Zebûb', referring to an unknown place called Zebûb, or 'Lord of things that fly' (zebûb being a Hebrew collective noun for 'fly', thus the common lay translation 'Lord of the Flies'). Lord of the Flies is an allegorical Novel by Nobel Prize -winning author William Golding. Thomas Kelly Cheyne suggested that it might be a derogatory corruption of Ba'al Zebul, 'Lord of the High Place', or 'Lord of Heaven'. Thomas Kelly Cheyne (1841 &ndash 1915 was an English divine and Biblical Critic. ^[2] The Septuagint^A renders the name as Baalzeboub, Septuagint^B as Baal myîan 'Baal of flies', but Symmachus the Ebionite may have reflected a tradition of its offensive ancient name when he rendered it as Beelzeboul (Cath.Ency.). The Septuagint (ˈsɛptuədʒɪnt or simply " LXX " is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the Symmachus the Ebionite (Ἐβιωνίτης Σύμμαχος (fl The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia

The source for the name Ba‘al Zebûb / Beelzebub is in 2 Kings 1. The Books of Kings ( Sefer Melachim, ספר מלכים are a part of Judaism 's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. 2–3,6,16 where King Ahaziah of Israel, after seriously injuring himself in a fall, sends messengers to inquire of Ba‘al Zebûb, the god of the Philistine city of Ekron, to learn if he will recover. This entry is not about King Ahaziah of Judah. Ahaziah (אחזיהו המלך was king of Israel and the son of Ahab and Jezebel For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. The city of Ekron (עֶקְרוֹן ʿeqrōn, also transliterated Accaron)

Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber at Samaria and was injured. Ahaziah ("held by Jehovah" was the name of two kings Ahaziah of Israel Ahaziah of Judah Samaria, or the Shomron ( שֹׁמְרוֹן, Standard Šoməron Tiberian Šōmərôn So he sent messengers whom he instructed: "Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury. " (JPS translation)

Elijah the Prophet then condemns Ahaziah to die by Yahweh's words because Ahaziah sought counsel from Ba‘al Zebûb rather than from Yahweh. Elijah or Elias ( was a Prophet in Israel in the 9th century BC For information about Yahweh see God in Abrahamic religions, which provides useful links

In Christianity, the name Beelzebub or Beelzebul may appear as an alternate name for Lucifer, the fallen angel or else may appear to refer to the name of a lesser devil. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth As with several religions, the names of any earlier foreign or "pagan" deities often became synonymous with the concept of an adversarial entity.

In Mark 3, verse 22, the Pharisees accuse Jesus of driving out demons by the power of Beelzeboul, prince of demons, the name also appearing in the expanded version in Matthew 12. Mark 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The word Pharisees ( lat. pharisæ|us, - i) comes from the Hebrew פרושים perushim from פרוש parush, meaning "separated" Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Exorcism (from Late Latin exorcismus, from Greek exorkizein - to adjure is the practice of evicting Demons or other evil The Gospel of Matthew (Gk Κατά Ματθαίον Ευαγγέλιον is one of the four Canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a Synoptic gospel 24,27 and Luke 11. The Gospel of Luke (Gk Κατά Λουκάν Ευαγγέλιον) is a synoptic Gospel, and is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the 15,18–19. The name also occurs in Matthew 10. 25.

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Lucifer, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (NIV translation)

It is unknown whether Symmachus was correct in identifying these names or not since we otherwise know nothing about either of them. Zeboul might derive from a slurred pronunciation of zebûb; from 'zebel', a word used to mean 'dung' in the Targums; or from Hebrew zebûl found in 1 Kings 8. The Books of Kings ( Sefer Melachim, ספר מלכים are a part of Judaism 's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. 13 in the phrase bêt-zebûl 'lofty house' and used in Rabbinical writings to mean 'house' or 'temple' and also as the name for the fourth heaven.

In any case the form Beelzebub was substituted for Belzebul in the Syriac translation and Latin Vulgate translation of the gospels and this substitution was repeated in the King James Version of the Bible, the result of which is the form Beelzebul was mostly unknown to western European and descendant cultures until some more recent translations restored it. See Syriac (disambiguation for other uses Syriac (syr ܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ leššānā Suryāyā) is an Eastern Aramaic language The Vulgate is an early Fifth Century version of the Bible in Latin, and largely the result of the labours of Jerome, who was commissioned by In summary, it is unknown if either or both of these names were a title applied to persons, to divinities exclusively, or otherwise were a corruption of such a title, possibly as a denigration.

Apocryphal literature

In the Testament of Solomon, Beelzebul (not Beelzebub) appears as prince of the demons and says (6. The Testament of Solomon is an Old Testament pseudepigraphical work purportedly written by King Solomon, in which Solomon mostly describes particular 2) that he was formerly a leading heavenly angel who was (6. 7) associated with the star Hesperus (which is the normal Greek name for the planet Venus (Αφροδíτη) as evening star). The VENUS ( V ictoria E xperimental N etwork U nder the S ea project is a cabled sea floor observatory operated by the University Seemingly Beelzebul is here simply Satan/Lucifer. Lucifer is a name frequently given to Satan in Christian belief Beelzebul claims to cause destruction through tyrants, to cause demons to be worshipped among men, to excite priests to lust, to cause jealousies in cities and murders, and to bring on war.

Texts of the Acts of Pilate (also known as the Gospel of Nicodemus) vary in whether they use Beelzebul or Beelzebub. The Acts of Pilate (Latin Acta Pilati Greek Πράξεις Πιλάτου) is a book of the New Testament Pseudepigrapha The name is used by Hades as a secondary name for Satan. Hades (from Greek, Hadēs, originally, Haidēs or, Aidēs, probably from Indo-European *n̥-wid- 'unseen' refers both to the ancient But it may vary with each translation of the text, other versions give the name Beelzebub as Beelzebub, but separates him from Satan.

Later accounts

"Beelzebub and them that are with him shoot arrows" from John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1678)

Beelzebub is commonly described as placed high in Hell's hierarchy; he was of the order of cherubim. John Bunyan (28 November 1628 &ndash 31 August 1688 a Christian writer and Preacher, was born at Harrowden (one mile south-east of Bedford Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering CHERUB is a series of young adult books written by the author Robert Muchamore. According to the renowned 16th century occultist Johannes Wierus, Beelzebub is the chief lieutenant of Lucifer, the Emperor of Hell, and presides over the Order of the Fly. Johannes Wier aka Johann Weyer, in Latin Ioannes Wierus and Piscinarius, (c Similarly, the 17th century exorcist Sebastien Michaelis, in his Admirable History (1612), placed Beelzebub among the three most prominent fallen angels, the other two being Lucifer and Leviathan, whereas two 18th century works identified an unholy trinity consisting of Beelzebub, Lucifer, and Astaroth. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar Sebastien Michaelis was a French Inquisitor and prior of the Dominican order who lived during the late 16th and early 17th centuries An angel is a Spiritual Supernatural being found in many Religions Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition Leviathan ( is a Biblical Sea monster referred to in the Old Testament ( Psalm 74:13-14 Job 41 Isaiah 271 The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system In Demonology Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot, and Asteroth) is a Prince of Hell. John Milton featured Beelzebub as seemingly the second-ranking of the many fallen cherubim in the epic poem Paradise Lost, first published in 1667. John Milton ( 9 December, 1608 – 8 November, 1674) was an English Poet, Prose Polemicist and CHERUB is a series of young adult books written by the author Robert Muchamore. Paradise Lost is an Epic poem in Blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. Wrote Milton of Beelzebub "than whom, Satan except, none higher sat. " Beelzebub is also a character in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, first published in 1678. John Bunyan (28 November 1628 &ndash 31 August 1688 a Christian writer and Preacher, was born at Harrowden (one mile south-east of Bedford The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come by John Bunyan (published February 1678) is a Christian Allegory

Sebastien Michaelis associated Beelzebub with the deadly sin of pride. Sebastien Michaelis was a French Inquisitor and prior of the Dominican order who lived during the late 16th and early 17th centuries However, according to Peter Binsfeld, Beelzebub was the demon of gluttony, one of the other seven deadly sins, whereas Francis Barrett asserted that Beelzebub was the prince of false gods. Peter Binsfeld (alternate spelling Peter Binsfield, lat Petrus Binsfeldius) (c Derived from the Latin gluttire, meaning to gulp down or swallow gluttony is the over-indulgence and Over-consumption of food drink or intoxicants The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, are a classification of Vices that were originally used in early Christian Francis Barrett (born probably in London around 1770 - 1780) was an English Occultist Barrett an Englishman claimed himself to In any event, Beelzebub was frequently named as an object of supplication by confessed witches. Supplication (also known as petitioning) is the most common form of Prayer, wherein a person asks a Supernatural Deity to provide something Witchcraft, in various historical anthropological religious and mythological contexts is the use of certain kinds of Supernatural or magical powers After being accused by the Pharisees of possessing Jesus, he has also been held responsible for at least one famous case of alleged demon possession which occurred in Aix-en-Provence in 1611 involving a nun by the name of Sister Madeleine de Demandolx de la Palud who named one Father Jean-Baptiste Gaufridi as a bewitcher of young nuns. The word Pharisees ( lat. pharisæ|us, - i) comes from the Hebrew פרושים perushim from פרוש parush, meaning "separated" Demonic possession is often the term used to describe the control over a human form by Satan himself or one of his assigned advocates Aix (ɛks or Aix-en-Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Ais de Provença in classical norm or Ais de Prouvènço in Mistralian norm to distinguish Beelzebub was also imagined to be sowing his influence in Salem, Massachusetts: his name came up repeatedly during the Salem witch trials, the last large-scale public expression of witch hysteria, and afterwards Rev. The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before local magistrates followed by county court Trials to prosecute people accused of Witchcraft in Essex Cotton Mather wrote a pamphlet entitled Of Beelzebub and his Plot. Cotton Mather (February 12 1663 &ndash February 13 1728 AB 1678 ( Harvard College) A A pamphlet is an unbound Booklet (that is without a hard cover or binding) ^[3]

In the small town of South Windsor, Connecticut there is a road called Beelzebub, due to a rumor of an exorcism.

In popular culture

The British band Queen mentions Beelzebub in their famous song Bohemian Rhapsody. is a Song written by Freddie Mercury and originally recorded by the band Queen for their 1975 album ''A Night at the Opera''.

Beelzebub is also a character in the story 'The Tragical History of Dr. Fraust. '

Referred to as Beezleboss in the "The Final Showdown" of the Tenacious D movie "The Pick of Destiny", Beezlebub was mentioned by his true name in the opening song "Kickapoo" by Meatloaf.

Beelzebub is also mentioned in "The Wish List", by famous author Eoin Colfer. Eoin Colfer (born 14 May 1965) is an Irish Author of children's books and a comedian

Ba'alzamon is the name of one of the principal antagonists in The Wheel of Time. The Dark One is a fictional entity and main antagonist of The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. The Wheel of Time (abbreviated by fans to WoT) is a series of epic fantasy novels written by the late American author James Oliver At the beginning of the plot it was believed to be the Trolloc name for the Dark One, but has been revealed as Ishmael, one of the thirteen Forsaken. The Dark One is a fictional entity and main antagonist of The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Ishmael ( Hebrew: יִשְׁמָעֵאל, Standard Yišmaʿel Tiberian Yišmāʿêl Arabic: إسماعيل

Beezlemon from the Digimon series takes his name from Beezlebub.

Beelzebub apears in Ragnarok Online as a Game Boss. Ragnarok Online (라그나로크 온라인 often referred to as RO, is a Massively multiplayer online role-playing game or MMORPG created by

Beelzebub appears in the video game Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniax as a boss in the Fourth Kappa. He challenges the character's strength to see if he is worth to lead demon kind for his master. Beelzebub also appeared in Persona 3 as the Ultimate Persona of the Devil Arcana. is the third Video game in the Persona console RPG series The game was developed and published by Atlus for the Sony PlayStation 2 Also can be found in Devil Summoner: Raido Kuzonoha vs. the Soulless Army as an optional boss. His design is similar to how he appears in the Dictionnaire Infernal, as are many other demons in the series.

Beelzebub also appeared in Castlevania: Symphony of the night as a boss. He is portrayed as a giant rotting corpse, hanging from chains, attacking with flies.

The novel The Lord of the Flies is thought to refer to Beelzebub's English translation. Lord of the Flies is an allegorical Novel by Nobel Prize -winning author William Golding. Here Beelzebub is depicted as the rotting head of a sow.

Beelzebub appears in the comic book series "The Sandman" By Neil Gaiman. Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and He is shown as ruler of hell alongside Lucifer and another demon.

Episode 205 of the computer game series Sam and Max is called "What's new Beelzebub", referring to Satan who appears in the episode.

The virtual band Gorillaz bass player Murdoc acclaims the band climbing the charts to a crooked deal he made with Beelzebub. Gorillaz is a Virtual band created in 1998 by Damon Albarn of alternative rock band Blur, and Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the Comic That resulted to Noodle being kidnapped because Murdoc never gave his soul.

Musician/Comedian Stephen Lynch has a song called "Beelz" which is told from the perspective of Beelzebub, saying "My real name is Beelzebub but you can call me Beelz. Stephen Lynch may be Stephen Lynch (musician (born 1971 American musician and comedian Stephen Lynch (politician (born 1955 member "

In EA Games's The Sims Urbz, Beelzebub is a male character in Central Station who teaches, "Spit Trick. "

In Umineko No Naku Koro ni, Beelzebub is featured as a character representing the punishing stake of Gluttony.

Further reading

• The Dictionary of Angels by Gustav Davidson, © 1967.
• Fallen Angels. . . and Spirits of the Dark by Robert Masello ©1994.
• The Access Bible. New Revised Standard Version. Oxford University Press. ©1999
• The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, Book I, II, & III. Translated By: S. L. MacGregor Mathers.
• Grimoirium Verum or The True Grimoire. The Most Approved Keys of Solomon The Hebrew Rabbi. Translated From The Hebrew by Plangiere, Jesuit Dominicane. Edited, With A Preface By James Banner, Gent. Originally Published By Alibeck The AEgyptian at Memphis 1517. PDF edition, 1999 Phil Legard

Notes and references

See also

• Beelzebufo
• Melqart
• Herakles
• Hercules
• List of kings of Tyre
• Ancient Olympic Games
• Seleucid Dynasty
• Antiochus the Great
• Maccabees
• Hasideans (Chasidim)
• Beelzemon

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Beelzebub
• Jewish Encyclopedia: Beelzebub
• Godchecker
• Occultopedia