Jezebel

[visionary]

Just how wicked was Jezebel?

Jezebel has a reputation of being the wickedest of women. This ancient queen has been called a murderer, prostitute and enemy of God. Jezebel is the Phoenician wife of King Ahab of Israel. You can read about her in several brief passages scattered throughout the Books of Kings 1 and 2 which corresponds to the retelling in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy through to 2 Kings explains Israel’s fate in terms of its apostasy. Jezebel enters the scene in the ninth century BC. She provides a perfect example about the evil outcomes of idolatry. She is a foreign idol worshiper who seems to be the power behind her husband.

The Phoenicians, from where Jerebel was raised, worshiped a swarm of gods and goddesses, and the main god was Baal. He was the head of fertility and agricultural god of the Canaanites. According to the first-century C.E. historian Josephus, who drew on a Greek translation of the now-lost Annals of Tyre, Ethbaal served as a priest of Astarte, the primary Phoenician goddess. Jezebel, as the king’s daughter, may have served as a priestess as she was growing up. In any case, she was certainly raised to honor the deities of her native land. Like other highborn daughters of her time, Jezebel is probably a pawn, packed off to the highest bidder.

Why this interest in Jezebel. In the last days, the daughters of Jezebel shall rule over nations. This Biblical queen could be associated with the “mother of harlots and of abominations” who “rules over the kings of the earth” and who has committed fornication with them. Jezebel’s name appears once in the New Testament Book of Revelation, where it is attached to an unrepentant prophetess who has beguiled the people

Revelation 2:20 ...to practice fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

Yet the Book of Kings offers no hint of sexual impropriety on Queen Jezebel’s part. She seems to be overly devoted to her husband. She is willing to commit murder in order to help her husband maintain his authority as king.

When Jezebel comes to Israel, she brings her foreign gods and goddesses especially Baal and his consort Asherah. The Canaanite Astarte is translated as a “sacred post” [whatever that means] with her. This seems to have an immediate effect on her new husband, for just as soon as the queen is introduced, we are told that Ahab builds a sanctuary for Baal in the very heart of Israel, within his capital city of Samaria.

1 Kings 16:31 He took as wife Jezebel daughter of King Ethbaal of the Phoenicians, and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. He erected an altar to Baal in the temple of Baal which he built in Samaria. Ahab also made a ‘sacred post’”

Jezebel’s marriage to Ahab was a political alliance. The union provided both peoples with military protection from powerful enemies as well as valuable trade routes: Israel gained access to the Phoenician ports; Phoenicia gained passage through Israel’s central hill country to Transjordan and especially to the King’s Highway, the heavily traveled inland route connecting the Gulf of Aqaba in the south with Damascus in the north.

 

[visionary]

Evidence of Jezebel’s cruel desire to wipe out YHWH worship in Israel is reported in

1 Kings 18:4 “Jezebel was killing off the prophets of the Lord.

The threat of Jezebel is so great that later in the same chapter, prophet Elijah summons the prophets and priests of Jezebel to a tournament on Mt. Carmel to determine which deity is supreme.... God or Baal. Whichever deity is capable of setting a sacrificial bull on fire will be the winner, the one true God. It is only then that we learn just how many followers of Jezebel’s gods and goddesses are near her at court. Elijah challenges them.

1Kings 18:19 Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel, together with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table

That is an impressive number.. 850. Yet their superior numbers can do nothing to ensure victory; nor can petitions to their god. The prophets of Baal

1 Kings 18:26 performed a hopping dance about the altar

and

29 kept raving all day long in a vain attempt to rouse Baal. They even gash themselves with knives and whoop it up in a heightened emotional state, hoping to incite Baal to unleash a great fire.

But Baal does not respond to the ecstatic ranting of Jezebel’s prophets. At the end of the day, it is Elijah’s single plea to God that is answered. Standing alone before Jezebel’s host of visionaries, Elijah cries out

1 Kings 18:36 O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel! Let it be known today that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your bidding. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God; for You have turned their hearts backward

Instantly

1 Kings 18:38 fire from the Lord descended and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones and the earth;…When they saw this, all the people flung themselves on their faces and cried out: ‘The Lord alone is God, the Lord alone is God!'

Jezebel herself is absent. Her presence is felt. Elijah proves capable of the same murderous inclinations that have previously characterized Jezebel. After winning the Carmel contest, Elijah immediately orders the assembly to capture all of Jezebel’s prophets. Elijah demands

1 Kings 18:40 Seize the prophets of Baal, let not a single one of them get away

Elijah leads his 450 prisoners to the Wadi Kishon, where he slaughters them.

I say that though they will never meet in person, Elijah and Jezebel are engaged in a hard-fought struggle for religious supremacy. Here Elijah reveals that he and Jezebel possess a similar religious fervor, though their loyalties differ greatly. They are also equally determined to eliminate one another’s followers, even if it means murdering them. Once Elijah kills Jezebel’s prophets, God rewards him by sending a much-needed rain, ending a three-year drought in Israel. There is a definite double standard here. Murder seems to be accepted, even venerated, as long as it is done in the name of the right deity.

After Elijah’s triumph on Mt. Carmel, King Ahab returns home to give his queen the news that Baal is defeated, Yahweh is the undisputed master of the universe and Jezebel’s prophets are dead. I often wonder if King Ahab is nothing more than a figure head to his powerful wife. Jezebel sends Elijah a menacing message, threatening to slaughter him just as he has slaughtered her prophets.

1 Kings 19:2 Thus and more may the gods do if by this time tomorrow I have not made you like one of them.

So frightened is Elijah by Jezebel’s threatening words that he flees to Mt. Horeb (Sinai). Despite what he has witnessed on Carmel, Elijah seems to falter in his faith that the Almighty will protect him. The timing of Elijah’s flight south makes him look suspiciously like he is afraid of this woman. It was not those raving mad prophets of Baal and Asherah that Elijah is afraid of.

 

[annier]

Evidence of Jezebel’s cruel desire to wipe out YHWH worship in Israel is reported in
The threat of Jezebel is so great that later in the same chapter, prophet Elijah summons the prophets and priests of Jezebel to a tournament on Mt. Carmel to determine which deity is supreme.... God or Baal. Whichever deity is capable of setting a sacrificial bull on fire will be the winner, the one true God. It is only then that we learn just how many followers of Jezebel’s gods and goddesses are near her at court. Elijah challenges them. That is an impressive number.. 850. Yet their superior numbers can do nothing to ensure victory; nor can petitions to their god. The prophets of Baal andBut Baal does not respond to the ecstatic ranting of Jezebel’s prophets. At the end of the day, it is Elijah’s single plea to God that is answered. Standing alone before Jezebel’s host of visionaries, Elijah cries out Instantly

Jezebel herself is absent. Her presence is felt. Elijah proves capable of the same murderous inclinations that have previously characterized Jezebel. After winning the Carmel contest, Elijah immediately orders the assembly to capture all of Jezebel’s prophets. Elijah demands Elijah leads his 450 prisoners to the Wadi Kishon, where he slaughters them.

I say that though they will never meet in person, Elijah and Jezebel are engaged in a hard-fought struggle for religious supremacy. Here Elijah reveals that he and Jezebel possess a similar religious fervor, though their loyalties differ greatly. They are also equally determined to eliminate one another’s followers, even if it means murdering them. Once Elijah kills Jezebel’s prophets, God rewards him by sending a much-needed rain, ending a three-year drought in Israel. There is a definite double standard here. Murder seems to be accepted, even venerated, as long as it is done in the name of the right deity.

After Elijah’s triumph on Mt. Carmel, King Ahab returns home to give his queen the news that Baal is defeated, Yahweh is the undisputed master of the universe and Jezebel’s prophets are dead. I often wonder if King Ahab is nothing more than a figure head to his powerful wife. Jezebel sends Elijah a menacing message, threatening to slaughter him just as he has slaughtered her prophets.So frightened is Elijah by Jezebel’s threatening words that he flees to Mt. Horeb (Sinai). Despite what he has witnessed on Carmel, Elijah seems to falter in his faith that the Almighty will protect him. The timing of Elijah’s flight south makes him look suspiciously like he is afraid of this woman. It was not those raving mad prophets of Baal and Asherah that Elijah is afraid of.

Why do you consider or call the slaughter of the false prophets "murder"?

 

[visionary]

The story of Naboth, an Israelite who owns a plot of land adjacent to the royal palace in Jezreel is the next time we read about Jezebel. In 1 Kings 21:2, Ahab requests that Naboth give him his vineyard

Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it as a vegetable garden, since it is right next to my palace.

Ahab promises to pay Naboth for the land or to provide him with an even better vineyard. King Ahab does demand, but asks. But at 1 Kings 21:3, Naboth refuses to sell or trade.

The Lord forbid that I should give up to you what I have inherited from my fathers!

The king whines and refuses to eat, like a spoiled brat, after receiving Naboth’s answer.

1 Kings 21:4 Ahab went home dispirited and sullen because of the answer that Naboth the Jezreelite had given him…He lay down on his bed and turned away his face, and he would not eat.

Apparently perturbed by her husband’s political impotence and sulking demeanor, Jezebel steps in, proudly asserting

1 Kings 21:7 Now is the time to show yourself king over Israel. Rise and eat something, and be cheerful; I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.

Naboth is fully within his rights to hold onto his family plot. Israelite law and custom dictate that his family should maintain their land (nachalah) in perpetuity (Numbers 27:5–11). As a Torah-bound king of Israel, Ahab should understand Naboth’s legitimate desire to keep his inheritance. Jezebel, on the other hand, hails from Phoenicia, where a monarch’s whim is often tantamount to law. Having been raised in a land of absolute autocrats, where few dared to question a ruler’s wish or decree, Jezebel might naturally feel annoyance and frustration at Naboth’s resistance to his sovereign’s proposal. In this context, Jezebel’s reaction becomes more understandable, though perhaps no more admirable, for she behaves according to her upbringing and expectations regarding royal prerogative.

Without Ahab’s direct knowledge, Jezebel writes letters to her townsmen, enlisting them in an elaborate ruse to frame the innocent Naboth. To ensure their compliance, she signs Ahab’s name and stamps the letters with the king’s seal. Jezebel encourages the townsmen to publicly (and falsely) accuse Naboth of blaspheming God and king.

1Kings 21:10 Then take him out and stone him to death.

So Naboth is murdered, and the vineyard automatically reverts to the throne, as is customary when a person is found guilty of a serious crime.

If Naboth has relatives, they are now in no position to protest the passing of their family land to Ahab. The Bible maintains that

1Kings 21:11 the elders and nobles who lived in [Naboth’s] town…did as Jezebel had instructed them.

If the queen is able to enlist the support of so many people, none of whom betrays her, to kill a man whom they have probably known all their lives and whom they realize is innocent, then she has astonishing power.

 

[visionary]

Why do you consider or call the slaughter of the false prophets "murder"?

I debated over the term but "slaughter" didn't sit well with me either.

 

[annier]

I debated over the term but "slaughter" didn't sit well with me either.

Murder means unjustified killing, slaughter does not. Wasn't Elijah simply carrying out the sentence of the law on these Prophets?

 

[visionary]

Murder means unjustified killing, slaughter does not. Wasn't Elijah simply carrying out the sentence of the law on these Prophets?

So slaughter is justified and murder is not. Would it make it any better if I used killed?

 

[annier]

So Slaughter is justified and murder is not.

Abraham slaughtered kings.....
Ge 14:17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.

He did not Murder anyone

Ps 94:6 They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
Jer 7:9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;

I do not think Elijah did either??????

 

[visionary]

Elijah reappears on the scene because of the injustice done to Naboth. First YHWH tells Elijah how Ahab will die

I Kings 21:17 The word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: ‘Go down and confront King Ahab of Israel who [resides] in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard; he has gone down there to take possession of it. Say to him, “Thus said the Lord: Would you murder and take possession? Thus said the Lord: In the very place where the dogs lapped up Naboth’s blood, the dogs will lap up your blood too”

When Elijah confronts Ahab, the prophet predicts instead how the queen will die.

1Kings 21:23 The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the field of Jezreel.

Ashamed of what has happened and fearful of the future, Ahab humbles himself by assuming outward signs of mourning, fasting and donning sackcloth. Prayer accompanies fasting, whether the Bible explicitly says so or not, so we may assume that Ahab raises his penitential voice to a forgiving YHWH.

When Jezebel’s name is mentioned again, the Bible writer makes his most alarming accusation against her. Ahab has died, as has the couple’s eldest son, who followed his father to the throne. Their second son, Joram, rules. But even though Israel has a sitting monarch, a servant of the prophet Elisha crowns Jehu, Joram’s military commander, king of Israel and commissions Jehu to eradicate the House of Ahab

2 Kings 9:6 I anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. You shall strike down the House of Ahab your master; thus will I avenge on Jezebel the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of the other servants of the Lord.

Take note that prophets do get involved in the politics and government of men.

King Joram and General Jehu meet on the battlefield. Unaware that he is about to be usurped by his military commander, Joram calls out: “Is all well, Jehu?” Jehu responds

2 Kings 9:22 "How can all be well as long as your mother Jezebel carries on her countless harlotries and sorceries?”

Jehu then shoots an arrow through Joram’s heart and, in a moment of stinging irony, orders the body to be dumped on Naboth’s land.

From these words alone—uttered by the man who is about to kill Jezebel’s son—stems Jezebel’s long-standing reputation as a witch and a harlot. Yet, the Bible never offers evidence that Jezebel is unfaithful to her husband while he is alive or loose in her morals after his death. In fact, she is always shown to be a loyal and helpful spouse, though her brand of assistance is deplorable. Jehu’s charge of harlotry is unsubstantiated, but it has stuck anyway and her reputation has been damaged by the allegation.

When Jezebel herself finally appears again in the pages of the Bible, it is for her death scene. Jehu, with the blood of Joram still on his hands, races his chariot into Jezreel to continue the insurrection by assassinating Jezebel. Ironically, this is her finest hour, the queen to appear haughty and imperious to the end. Realizing that Jehu is on his way to kill her, Jezebel does not disguise herself and flee the city, as a more cowardly person might do. Instead, she calmly prepares for his arrival by performing three acts.

2 kings 9:30 “She painted her eyes with kohl and dressed her hair, and she looked out of the window”

The traditional interpretation is that Jezebel primps and coquettishly looks out the window in an effort to seduce Jehu, that she wishes to win his favor and become part of his harem in order to save her own life, such treachery indicating Jezebel’s dastardly betrayal of deceased family members. According to this reading, Jezebel sheds familial loyalty as easily as a snake sheds its skin in an attempt to ensure her continued pleasure and safety at court. And maybe this is why she is called a harlot.

 

[visionary]

Four paleo-Hebrew letters—two just below the winged sun disk at center, two at bottom left and right—spell out the name YZBL, or Jezebel, on this seal. The Phoenician design, the dating of the seal to the ninth or early eighth century B.C.E. and, of course, the name, have led scholars to speculate that the Biblical queen may once have used this gray opal to seal her documents. In the Phoenician language, Jezebel’s name may have meant “Where is the Prince?” which was the cry of Baal’s subjects. But the spelling of the Phoenician name has been altered in the Hebrew Bible, perhaps in order to read as “Where is the excrement (zebel, manure)?”—a reference to Elijah’s prediction that “her carcass shall be like dung on the ground” (2 Kings 9:36). Collection Israel Museum/Photo Zev Radovan.

 

[visionary]

Abraham slaughtered kings.....
Ge 14:17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.

He did not Murder anyone

Ps 94:6 They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
Jer 7:9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;

I do not think Elijah did either??????

I see what you are saying.

 

[visionary]

This ivory comes from Arslan Tash, in northern Syria. The most common motif found on Phoenician ivories, the woman at the window may represent the goddess Astarte (Biblical Asherah) looking out a palace window. Perhaps this widespread imagery influenced the Biblical author’s description of Jezebel, a follower of Astarte, looking out the palace window as Jehu approached (2 Kings 9:30). Photo: Erich Lessing

Applying eye makeup (kohl) and brushing one’s hair are often connected to flirting in Hebraic thinking. [Isaiah 3:16, Jeremiah 4:30, Ezekiel 23:40 and Proverbs 6:24–26 provide examples of women who bat their painted eyes to lure innocent men into adulterous beds.] Black kohl is widely incorporated in Bible passages as a symbol of feminine deception and trickery, and its use to paint the area above and below the eyelids is generally considered part of a woman’s arsenal of artifice.

In Jezebel’s case, however, the cosmetic is more than just an attempt to accentuate the eyes. Jezebel is donning the female version of armor as she prepares to do battle. She is a woman warrior, waging war in the only way a woman can. Whatever fear she may have of Jehu is camouflaged by her war paint. Her grooming continues as she dresses her hair, symbol of a woman’s seductive power. When she dies, she wants to look her queenly best. She is in control here, choosing the manner in which her attacker will last see and remember her.

The importance of sitting in the upper window seems to be a telling activity. It is the third action Jezebel takes before Jehu arrives. Let me explain, there is a story of the unfortunate mother of the enemy general Sisera. Waiting at home, Sisera’s unnamed mother looks out the window for her son to return.

Judges 5:28 Through the window peered Sisera’s mother, behind the lattice she whined.

Her ladies-in-waiting express the hope that Sisera is detained because he is raping Israelite women and collecting booty (Judges 5:29–30). In truth, Sisera is already dead, his skull shattered by Jael and her tent peg (Judges 5:24–27). Another example is King David’s wife Michal who is also looking through her window, watching her husband dance around the Ark of the Covenant as it is triumphantly brought into Jerusalem

2 Samuel 6:16 and she despised him for it.

Michal does not understand the people’s euphoria over the arrival of the Ark in David’s new capital; she can only feel anger that her husband is dancing about like one of the

2 Sam 6:20 "riffraff"

.

 

[jamie2014]

And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, these things says the Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire and His feet like fine brass, "I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience, and as for your works, the last are more than the first. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

"And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works."
(Revelation 2:18-23)
​

This is an allegory of a Jezebel type church that promotes spiritual sexual immorality (unfaithfulness) to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This church teaches a false god and her daughter churches follow suit. She also teaches people to eat things sacrificed to idols claiming these things are the body of Christ (literally), thus the idolatry.

​

 

[visionary]

And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, these things says the Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire and His feet like fine brass, "I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience, and as for your works, the last are more than the first. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

"And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works."
(Revelation 2:18-23)
​

This is an allegory of a Jezebel type church that promotes spiritual sexual immorality (unfaithfulness) to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This church teaches a false god and her daughter churches follow suit. She also teaches people to eat things sacrificed to idols claiming these things are the body of Christ (literally), thus the idolatry.

​

Jumping the gun I see... I was getting there... we just need to build a solid foundation first.

 

[HannibalFlavius]

And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, these things says the Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire and His feet like fine brass, "I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience, and as for your works, the last are more than the first. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

"And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works."
(Revelation 2:18-23)
​

This is an allegory of a Jezebel type church that promotes spiritual sexual immorality (unfaithfulness) to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This church teaches a false god and her daughter churches follow suit. She also teaches people to eat things sacrificed to idols claiming these things are the body of Christ (literally), thus the idolatry.

​

It's an allegory of Christianity and their adultery.


It's why Elijah was sent to them, Christianity does the same thing.

 

[Hoshiyya]

And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, these things says the Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire and His feet like fine brass, "I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience, and as for your works, the last are more than the first. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

"And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works."
(Revelation 2:18-23)
​

This is an allegory of a Jezebel type church that promotes spiritual sexual immorality (unfaithfulness) to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This church teaches a false god and her daughter churches follow suit. She also teaches people to eat things sacrificed to idols claiming these things are the body of Christ (literally), thus the idolatry.

Actually Thyatira sounds like a perfect description of 7th Day Adventists with their Ellen White.

 

[Hoshiyya]

Abraham slaughtered kings.....
Ge 14:17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.

He did not Murder anyone

Ps 94:6 They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
Jer 7:9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;

I do not think Elijah did either??????

who cares about such semanticism ?
killing is killing. sometimes it's legal, sometimes illegal.
(and many languages don't have this English murder/killing distinction.)

Also, it seems to me that you didn't notice that "slay" occurs in the translation of Ps 94:6 which you quoted, btw.

 

[jamie2014]

Jumping the gun I see... I was getting there... we just need to build a solid foundation first.

I didn't mean to get ahead of you.

Great post and very informative.

 

[annier]

who cares about such semanticism ?
killing is killing. sometimes it's legal, sometimes illegal.

It seemed to me Vis did in her post. So I thought I would ask.

(and many languages don't have this English murder/killing distinction.)

Hebrew seems to as well.

Also, it seems to me that you didn't notice that "slay" occurs in the translation of Ps 94:6 which you quoted, btw.

Why do you think it escaped my notice?
I just think there is such a thing in scripture as a slayer which slays a guilty party, still being considered a murderer.
The one which is MORE RIGHTEOUS, to carry out Judgement is not a murderer.
But he that is less righteous and more guilty, than the one which he slays is still as a murderer. This concept I think, has nothing to do with whether or not the guilty are worthy of Death however.
By which judgement you judge, you will be judged.

Judah overturns his own sentence.....

Ge 38:24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.
26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.



oh well, Good day

 

[Hoshiyya]

Hebrew seems to as well.

it either does or it doesn't.

as for the rest, scripture says to not dispute about words, hence I try to avoid semanticism and getting invested into the defintiion of ever-changing ENGLISH words.
As far as I can see, Hebrew uses words in a neutral, descriptive sense, hence words like "killing" which can be good or bad or neutral or whatever would be preferred to a word that basically means "bad killing."

Imagine if we had a separate word for good divorce and bad divorce, good food and bad food, a good throw and a bad throw, a good way of rightclicking a mouse and a bad way of rightclicking a mouse, etc etc. How impractical and weird.