Jezreel
JEZREEL
1. A celebrated city of Issachar, Jos 19:18, lying westward of Bethshean, 2Sa 4:4 . Ahab had here a palace; and this city became famous on account of his seizure of Naboth’s vineyard, 1Ki 21:1-29 ; and the vengeance executed on Ahab, 2Ki 9:10,14 -37 10:1-11. Jezreel was called Esdraela in the time of the Maccabees, and is now replaced by a small and ruinous Arab village, called Zerin, at the northwest point of mount Gilboa. Its elevated site gives one a fine view of the great plain of Esdraelon on the west, and the hills that border it; and towards the east it overhangs the wide and fertile “valley of Jezreel,” Jos 17:16 Jdg 6:33 Hos 1:5, which runs down east-south-east from the great plain to the Jordan, between Gilboa and little Hermon. In this valley, below and east of Zerin, is the copious “fountain of Jezreel,” near which Saul perished, 1Sa 29:1 31:12. The great plain lying between Jezreel and Acre, called from two cities on its border in one part, “the valley of Megiddo,” 2Ch 35:22, and in its western part or branch the “plain or valley of Jezreel,” afterwards Esdraelon. The body of this beautiful plain forms a triangle, rising gradually from the Mediterranean four hundred feet, and being about thirteen or fourteen miles long on the north side, seventeen on the east, and twenty on the south-west. The western part is level; on the east it is more undulating, and is at length broken by mount Gilboa and “little Hermon” into three valleys two or three miles wide, which sink down into the valley of the Jordan. Of these, the middle valley, described above, is the proper “valley of Jezreel.” The river Kishon traverses this plain. It was formerly well watered and astonishingly fertile, but is now under the blight of tyranny and insecurity, comparatively uncultivated and deserted. The highways are unoccupied, the villages have ceased in Israel, Jdg 5:6 . There are a few small hamlets, particularly on the higher grounds that border it; and the abundant crops that it yields, even with poor cultivation, show that it might again be made the granary of Syria. Across this plain, from Carmel to Jezreel, Elijah ran before the chariot of Ahab, 1Ki 18:46 . It has been the chosen battleground of many armies. Here the hosts of Sisera were swept away, Jdg 4:1-24 ; and here Josiah fell, fighting against Pharaohnecho, 2Ki 23:29 . Battles were fought here in the later periods of the Romans, and of the Crusaders; and in our own century, near mount Tabor, fifteen hundred French under General Kleber sustained the assault of twenty-five thousand Turks for half a day, and were succored by Napoleon.
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Jezreel
(Hebrew: God soweth)
A city of the tribe of Issachar. In the division of the Promised Land, Jezrael was given to the tribe of Issachar (Jos., 19). Gedeon, arriving from the south, defeated the Madianites and the Amalecites, who had encamped near Jezrael (Judges 6). Saul, conquered by the Philistines, died there (1 Kings 31). Achab established a royal residence there and coveted the vineyard of Naboth (3 Kings 21). Massacres, by which Jehu signaled the accession of his house to the throne, commenced there. Returning to Jezrael, in order to surprise the king, Jehu killed with his own hand Joram, who had come out to meet him (4 Kings 9). Jezabel was put to death at the very moment when Jehu was making his entrance into the city. Here Jehu sent from Samaria the bloody trophy of 70 heads of the sons of Achab (4 Kings 10). With the fall of the house of Achab, the glory of Jezrael disappeared; only once more is the name mentioned, when the prophet Osee names the judgment of God, chastising and saving Israel, as the “great day of Jezrael” (Osee 1).
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Jezreel
(Heb. Yizreel, , once , 2Ki 9:10; sown by God; Sept. , but sometimes , , , or ; Josephus , Ant. 8, 13, 6; , Ant. 9, 6, 4), the name of two places and of several men. 1. A town in the tribe of Issachar (Jos 19:18), where the kings of Israel had a palace (2Sa 2:8 sq.), and where the court often resided (1Ki 18:45; 1Ki 21:1; 2Ki 9:30), although Samaria was the metropolis of that kingdom. It is most frequently mentioned in the history of the house of Ahab. In the neighborhood, or within the town probably, was a temple and grove of Astarte, with an establishment of 400 priests supported by Jezebel (1Ki 16:33; 2Ki 10:11). The palace of Ahab (1Ki 21:1; 1Ki 18:46), probably containing his ivory house’ (1Ki 22:39), was on the eastern side of the city, forming part of the city wall (comp. 1Ki 21:1; 2Ki 9:25; 2Ki 9:30; 2Ki 9:33). The seraglio, in which Jezebel lived, was on the city wall, and had a high window facing eastward (2Ki 9:30). Close by, if not forming part of this seraglio (as Josephus supposes, Ant. 9, 6, 4), was a watchtower, on which a sentinel stood, to give notice of arrivals from the disturbed district beyond the Jordan (2Ki 9:17). This watchtower, well known as the tower in Jezreel,’ may possibly have been the tower or migdal near which the Egyptian army was encamped in the battle between Necho and Josiah (Herod. 2, 159). An ancient square tower which stands amongst the hovels of the modern village may be its representative. The gateway of the city on the east was also the gateway of the palace (2Ki 9:34). Immediately in front of the gateway, and under the city wall, was an open space, such as existed before the neighboring city of Bethshan (2Sa 21:12), and is usually found by the walls of Eastern cities, under the name of the mounds’ (see Arabian Nights, passim), whence the dogs, the scavengers of the East, prowled in search of offal (2Ki 9:25). SEE JEZEBEL.
A little further east, but adjacent to the royal domain (1Ki 21:1), was a smooth tract of land cleared out of the uneven valley (2Ki 9:25), which belonged to Naboth, a citizen of Jezreel (2Ki 9:25), by a hereditary right (1Ki 21:3); but the royal grounds were so near that it would have easily been turned into a garden of herbs for the royal use (1Ki 21:2). Here Elijah met Ahab (1Ki 21:17) (Smith). Here was the vineyard of Naboth, which Ahab coveted to enlarge the palace grounds (1Ki 18:45-46; 1 Kings 21), and here Jehu executed his dreadful commission against the house of Ahab, when Jezebel, Jehoram, and all who were connected with that wretched dynasty perished (2Ki 9:14-37; 2Ki 10:1-11). These horrid scenes appear to have given the kings of Israel a distaste for this residence, as it is not again mentioned in their history. It is, however, named by Hosea (Hos 1:4; compare 1:11; 2:22); and in Judith (1:8; 4:3; 7:3) it occurs under the name of Esdraelon (), near Dothaim. In the days of Eusebius and Jerome it was still a large village, 12 R. miles from Scythopolis and 10 from Legio, called Esdraela (, Onomast. s.v. , Jezrael); and in the same age it again occurs as Stradela (Itin. Hieros. p. 586). Nothing more is heard of it till the time of the Crusades, when it was called by the Franks Parvum Gerinum, and by the Arabs Zerin (an evident corruption of the old name); and it is described as commanding a wide prospect on the east to the mountains of Gilead, and on the west to Mount Carmel (Will. Tyr. 22, 26). But this line of identification seems to have been afterwards lost sight of, and Jezreel came to be identified with Jenin. Indeed, the village of Zerin ceased to be mentioned by travelers till Turner, Buckingham, and others after them again brought it into notice; and it is still more lately that the identification of Zerin and Jezreel has been restored (Raumer, Palstina, p. 155; Schubert, 3, 164; Elliot, 2, 379; Robinson, 3, 164).
Zerin is seated on the brow of a rocky and very steep descent into the great and fertile valley of Jezreel, which runs down between the mountains of Gilboa and Hermon. Lying comparatively high, it commands a wide and noble view, extending down the broad valley on the east as far as the Jordan (2Ki 9:17) to Beisan (Bethshean), and on the west quite across the great plain to the mountains of Carmel (1Ki 18:46). It is described by Dr. Robinson (Researches, 3, 163) as a most magnificent site for a city, which, being itself a conspicuous object in every part, would naturally give its name to the whole region. In the valley directly under Zerin is a considerable fountain, and another still larger somewhat further to the east, under the northern side of Gilboa, called Ain Jalud. There can, therefore, be little question that as in Zerin we have Jezreel, so in the valley and the fountain we have the valley of Jezreel and the fountain of Jezreel of Scripture. Zerin has at present little more than twenty humble dwellings, mostly in ruins, and with few inhabitants. (See De Saulcy, 1, 79; 2, 306 sq.; Schwarz, p. 164; Thomson, 2, 180.)
The inhabitants of this city were called JEZREELITES (Heb. Yezreli’,
, 1Ki 21:1; 1Ki 21:4; 1Ki 21:6-7; 1Ki 21:15-16; 2Ki 9:21; 2Ki 9:25).
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Jezreel (2)
Zerin, the modern representative of this noted place, is briefly described in the Memoirs accompanying the Ordnance Survey (2:88), but more graphically by Conder (Tent Work, 1:124):
“Crossing the valley, we see before us the site of Jezreel, on a knoll five hundred feet high. The position is very peculiar, four while on the north and north-east the slopes are steep and rugged, on the south the ascent is very gradual, and the traveller coming northwards is astonished to look down suddenly on the valley, with its two springs, one (‘Ain Jalud) welling out from a conglomerate cliff, and forming a pool about one hundred yards long, with muddy borders: the other (‘Ain Tub’aun), the Crusaders’ Fountain of Tubania, where the Christian armies were fed ‘miraculously’ for three days on the fish which still swarm in most of the great springs near.
“The main road ascends from near these springs and passes by the ‘Dead Spring,’ which was reopened by the governor of Jenin, and now forms a shallow pool between rocks of black basalt, covered with red and orange-colored lichen; and also full of little fish; thence it passes on the east side beneath the knoll of Zerin (Jezreel) to the plain on the south. Climbing up to the village, we are again struck by the absence of any traces of antiquity: the buildings, including the central tower, are all modern, and only the great mound beneath, and perhaps some of the innumerable cisterns, seem ancient; yet the site is undoubted, and has never been really lost. Here, from a tower, perhaps standing where the modern one is erected, tusa watchman could see down the broad valley of Jezree as far as Bethshau, and watch the dust and the gleam of the armor advancing. The course of the two horseman and of Jehu’s chariot was distinctly seen beneath the hill, and the distances are sufficiently extensive to give time for the succession of events.
On the east and south-east there are rock-cut winepresses on the rugged hills, where no doubt the ‘portion of the field of Naboth’ and his vineyard are to be placed a good instance of the decay of vine cultivation in Palestine.”
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Jezreel
God scatters. (1.) A town of Issachar (Josh. 19:18), where the kings of Israel often resided (1 Kings 18:45; 21:1; 2 Kings 9:30). Here Elijah met Ahab, Jehu, and Bidkar; and here Jehu executed his dreadful commission against the house of Ahab (2 Kings 9:14-37; 10:1-11). It has been identified with the modern Zerin, on the most western point of the range of Gilboa, reaching down into the great and fertile valley of Jezreel, to which it gave its name.
(2.) A town in Judah (Josh. 15:56), to the south-east of Hebron. Ahinoam, one of David’s wives, probably belonged to this place (1 Sam. 27:3).
(3.) A symbolical name given by Hosea to his oldest son (Hos. 1:4), in token of a great slaughter predicted by him, like that which had formerly taken place in the plain of Esdraelon (comp. Hos. 1:4, 5).
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Jezreel (1)
(“God has sown”.) Esdraelon. Now Zerin at the foot of Mount Gilboa, ten miles S.E. of Nazareth. In Issachar: Jos 19:18. Ahab’s royal residence was on the E. of the city, and near it was the Jezreelite Naboth’s vineyard; whereas Samaria (in the sense of the city) was his capital (1Ki 18:46; 1Ki 21:1; 1Ki 22:10; 2Ki 9:15). By the fountain of Jezreel Israel pitched before the battle of Gilboa (1Sa 29:1). A large fountain still flows out of a cavern in the conglomerate rock at the northern base of Mount Gilboa. Zerin commands an extensive view to the mountains E. of Jordan and along the great plain to Mount Carmel. On the N.E., the hill on which Jezreel stood, is a steep descent of rock, 100 ft. high. Strong and central, the site was admirable for a city. Jezebel’s apartments were on the city wall, with a window facing E., and a watchtower for noticing arrivals from the Jordan quarter.
An old square tower still standing may occupy its site. The city’s eastern gateway was the palace gateway, in front of which was the open space, usual in Eastern cities, called “the mounds,” where the dogs, their scavengers, devoured Jezebel’s carcass. (See JEZEBEL.) Hosea’s oldest son by Gomer was named Jezreel (Hos 1:4), to imply that as Ahab’s family miserably perished there, so would their destroyer Jehu’s family perish, because the latter had retained the sin which he had been elevated in order to root out. (See HOSEA.) God saith “I will avenge the blood of Jezreel (2 Kings 9; 2Ki 10:11; 2Ki 10:14) upon the house of Jehu,” because the blood so shed by Jehu was not with a view to doing God’s will, but to further his own ambition; this he proved by soon disobeying God when the retaining of the calf worship seemed to him politic.
Jezreel means both “God scatters” and “God sows.” As He “scattered” them under Jehu, and finally by the Assyrian deportation, so He will “sow” them again; and so Jezreel will represent the similarly sounding Israel; “great shall be the day of Jezreel” when “Judah and Israel shall be gathered together, and appoint (unto) themselves one head, and shall come up out of the land” (of the Gentiles) where God. sowed them (Zec 10:9; Hos 1:11). They shall then be the seed of God sown in their own land (Hos 2:23; Eze 36:9; Jer 31:27; Jer 32:41; Amo 9:15). THE VALLEY OF JEZREEL (or ESDRAELON, as it is called in Jdt 3:9) stretches across the center of Palestine from the Mediterranean to the Jordan, separating Carmel and Samaria’s mountain ranges from those of Galilee.
The western portion is the plain of Accho. The main body is an irregular triangle, its base stretching from Engannim to the hills below Nazareth, about 15 miles: one side formed by the Galilee hills, about 12 miles; the other 18, running on the northern side of the Samaritan range. The top of the triangle is the pass, half a mile wide, opening into Accho plain. It is the ancient Megiddo plain, the Armageddon of Rev 16:16. (See ARMAGEDDON.) The Kishon drains it, flowing W. by Accho into the Mediterranean.
From this triangular plain’s base three branches stretch E., divided by bleak Mount Gilboa and Little Hermon. (See Porter, Handbook to Syria.) Though rich and luxuriant in spring, only about a sixth of it is cultivated, and there is not an inhabited village in the main portion, chiefly owing to the insecurity from Bedouin marauders. It mainly belonged to Issachar, which, exposed to every incursion, lived in a nearly nomadic state and sought David’s protection (Gen 49:14-15 “tents,” 1Ch 12:32; 1Ch 12:40), and formed Zebulun’s frontier (Deu 33:18). It was Israel’s great field of battle with invaders: Sisera, Judges 4 and 5; Midian, Judges 7; the Philistines at Gilboa, 1 Samuel 29,31; Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo, 2Ki 23:29.
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Jezreel (2)
Sprung from the father, i.e. founder, of Etam (1Ch 4:3). Else supply from 1Ch 4:2, “these are (the families) of the father of Etam” (or Abietam, one name).(See ETAM.)
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
JEZREEL
Among the important centres of northern Israel was the town of Jezreel in the tribal territory of Issachar (Jos 19:17-18). (This town is to be distinguished from the lesser known Jezreel in the tribal territory of Judah to the south; cf. Jos 15:56; 1Sa 25:43.) Jezreel of the north was situated on the edge of the Plain of Esdraelon, where the plain began to slope down into the Valley of Jezreel. This region was often a battleground in Old Testament times, and Jezreel sometimes became involved in the fighting (e.g. 1Sa 29:11; see PALESTINE).
When, during the time of the divided kingdom, the king of Israel established his capital in Samaria, he also built a summer palace at Jezreel. Ahab later expanded this palace by unjustly seizing the adjoining property belonging to Naboth (1Ki 21:1-2; 1Ki 21:16). Ahabs wife Jezebel, their son Joram and others of the royal household were killed at Jezreel in Jehus bloody revolution (2Ki 8:29; 2Ki 9:16-37; 2Ki 10:11; Hos 1:4-5).
Fuente: Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
Jezreel
JEZREEL.The Hebrew name from which is derived the name of the Plain of Esdraelon (see Esdraelon). The plain is called the Valley of Jezreel in Jos 17:16, Jdg 6:33, Hos 1:5.
1. Primarily, however, it denotes an Important city overlooking the Plain on the south in the border of the tribe of Issachar. Here, by the fountain of Jezreelprobably the powerful spring known as Ain Jaldthe Israelites encamped against the Philistines before the battle of Gilboa (1Sa 29:1). It is named as an important town in the short-lived kingdom of Ishbosheth (2Sa 2:9). Under Solomon it was in the administrative district of Baana (1Ki 4:12). But the chief interest of the towns history centres in the time of the reign of Ahab, who established here a royal residence, to which he retired when the three years drought came to an end (1Ki 21:1; 1Ki 18:45), and whence he saw and coveted the vineyard of Naboth (21). It is probable, however, that the ivory palace of 1Ki 22:39 was not at Jezreel, but at the capital, Samaria. To Jezreel came Joram to recover from the wounds received in battle with the Syrians (2Ki 8:29); and here, on the revolt of Jehu, were that king and his mother Jezebel slain (ch. 9), as well as all that remained of the house of Ahab (ch. 10). This is the last we hear of Jezreel, which thereafter seems to have sunk into insignificance. The place is represented both in situation and in name by the modern village of Zerin, a poor and dirty hamlet. Except a few ruined tombs and fragments of sarcophagi, there are no remains of antiquity to be seen in the neighbourhood.
2. There was a second Jezreel, of which nothing is known save that it was in the territory of Judah (Jos 15:56) and was the native place of one of Davids wives, Abinoam (1Sa 25:43). 3. A Judahite (1Ch 4:3). 4. The symbolical name of Hoseas eldest son (Hos 1:4). 5. Jezreel (whom God soweth) is a title symbolically applied to Israel in Hos 2:22 f.
R. A. S. Macalister.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Jezreel
A city of Judah. (Jos 15:56; Hos 2:22) The name means, seed of God; from Zeruah, seed, and El, God. Children were called by this name. (1Ch 4:3; Hos 1:4) The Jezreel, where Ahab’s palace was, lay distant from the city of Judah. (2Ki 9:10)
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Jezreel
jezre-el, jezrel (, yizree’l, God soweth):
(1) A city on the border of the territory of Issachar (Jos 19:18).
1. Territory:
It is named with Chesulloth and Shunem (modern Iksal and Solam). It remained loyal to the house of Saul, and is mentioned as part of the kingdom over which Abner set Ishbosheth (2Sa 2:9). From Jezreel came the tidings of Saul and Jonathan’s death on Gilboa, which brought disaster to Mephibosheth (2Sa 4:4). The city plays no important part in the history till the time of Ahab. Attracted, doubtless, by the fine position and natural charms of the place, he made it one of his royal residences, building here a palace (1Ki 21:1). This was evidently on the eastern wall; and the gate by which Jehu entered was over-looked by the quarters of Queen Jezebel (2Ki 9:30 f). The royal favor naturally enhanced the dignity of the city, and elders and nobles of Jezreel are mentioned (1Ki 21:8, etc.). Under the influence of Jezebel, an institution for the worship of Baal was founded here, from which, probably, the men were drawn who figured in the memorable contest with Elijah on Carmel (2Ki 10:11). The tower in Jezreel was part of the defenses of the city. It commanded a view of the approach up the valley from Beth-shean – the way followed by the hordes of the East, who, from time immemorial, came westward for the rich pasture of the plain (2Ki 9:17). It was necessary also to keep constant watch, as the district East of the Jordan was always more unsettled than that on the West; and danger thence might appear at any moment. The garden of Naboth seems to have lain to the East of the city (2Ki 9:21 ), near the royal domain, to which Ahab desired to add it as a garden of herbs (1Ki 21:1 ff). See NABOTH. This was the scene of the tragic meetings between Elijah and Ahab (1Ki 21:17 ff), and between Jehu and Joram and Ahaziah (2Ki 9:21). Joram had returned to Jezreel from Ramoth-gilead to be healed of his wounds (2Ki 9:15). By the gateway the dogs devoured Jezebel’s body (2Ki 9:31 ff). Naboth had been stoned to death outside the city (1Ki 21:13). Josephus lays the scene by the fountain of Jezreel, and here, he says, the dogs licked the blood washed from the chariot of Ahab (Ant., VIII, xv, 6). This accords with 1Ki 21:19; but 1Ki 22:38 points to the pool at Samaria.
2. Identification:
The site of Jezreel must be sought in a position where a tower would command a view of the road coming up the valley from Beth-shean. It has long been the custom to identify it with the modern village, Zern, on the northwestern spur of Gilboa. This meets the above condition; and it also agrees with the indications in Eusebius, Onomasticon as lying between Legio (Lejjun) and Scythopolis (Beisan). Recently, however, Professor A.R.S. Macalister made a series of excavations here, and failed to find any evidence of ancient Israelite occupation. This casts doubt upon the identification, and further excavation is necessary before any certain conclusion can be reached. For the fountain which is in Jezreel, see HAROD, WELL OF.
(2) An unidentified town in the uplands of Judah (Jos 15:56), the home of Ahinoam (1Sa 27:3, etc.).
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Jezreel
Jezreel, a town in the tribe of Issachar (Jos 19:18), where the kings of Israel had a palace, and where the court often resided, although Samaria was the metropolis of the kingdom. It is most frequently mentioned in the history of the house of Ahab. Here was the vineyard of Naboth, which Ahab coveted to enlarge the palace-grounds (1Ki 18:45-46; 1 Kings 21), and here Jehu executed his dreadful commission against the house of Ahab, when Jezebel, Joram, and all who were connected with that wretched dynasty, perished (2Ki 9:14-37; 2Ki 10:1-11). These horrid scenes appear to have given the kings of Israel a distaste to this residence, as it is not again mentioned in their history. It is, however, named by Hosea (Hos 1:4; comp. 1:11; 2:22); and in Judith (Jdt 1:8; Jdt 4:3; Jdt 7:3) it occurs under the name of Esdraelon. In the days of Eusebius and Jerome it was still a large village, called Esdraela. Nothing more is heard of it till the time of the crusades, when it was called by the Franks Parvum Gerinum, and by the Arabs Zerin; and it is described as commanding a wide prospecton the east to the mountains of Gilead, and on the west to Mount Carmel. But this line of identification seems to have been afterwards lost sight of, and it is only of late that the identification of Zerin and Jezreel has been restored.
Zerin is seated on the brow of a rocky and very steep descent into the great and fertile valley of Jezreel, which runs down between the mountains of Gilboa and Hermon. Lying comparatively high, it commands a wide and noble view, extending down the broad valley on the east to Beisan (Bethshean), and on the west quite across the great plain to the mountains of Carmel. It is described by Dr. Robinson (Researches, iii. 163) as a most magnificent site for a city, which, being itself a conspicuous object in every part, would naturally give its name to the whole region. In the valley directly under Zerin is a considerable fountain, and another still larger somewhat farther to the east, under the northern side of Gilboa, called Ain Jalud. There can, therefore, be little question that, as in Zerin we have Jezreel, so in the valley and the fountain we have the ‘valley of Jezreel,’ and the fountain of Jezreel, of Scripture.
Zerin has at present little more than twenty humble dwellings, mostly in ruins, and with few inhabitants.
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Jezreel
[Jez’reel]
1. Descendant of ‘the father of Etam.’ 1Ch 4:3. (Six Hebrew MSS, the LXX, and the Vulgate read ‘sons’ instead of ‘father.’)
2, 3. Symbolical name both of the son of Hosea and of Israel. Hos 1:4; Hos 1:11. Jezreel is interpreted both ‘God scatters’ and ‘God sows.’ Hos 1:4 refers to judgement upon the house of Jehu and the house of Israel; and Hos 1:11 to blessing, when of both Israel and Judah it will be said, “Ye are the sons of the living God.” Then “great shall be the day of Jezreel:” cf. Hos 2:22-23; “I will sow her unto me in the earth.” Then God will say to her, “Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.”
4. City of Judah, from whence David married Ahinoam. Jos 15:56; 1Sa 25:43;
1Sa 29:1; 1Sa 29:11.
5. City in Issachar, the abode of Ahab and Jezebel, and principally connected with their history. It was the scene of Jezebel’s tragical end. Jos 19:18; 2Sa 2:9; 2Sa 4:4; 1Ki 18:45-46; 1Ki 21:1; 1Ki 21:23; 2Ki 8:29; 2Ki 9:10-37; 2Ki 10:1-11. Identified with Zerin, 32 34′ N, 35 19′ E.
6. The extensive valley or plain in which the last-named city was situated, in southern Galilee. It has been called the battle-field of Palestine. It was where Barak triumphed, and where Josiah was defeated, Jdg 5:19; 2Ch 35:22 – Megiddo being in the same locality. It is also perhaps the place where the great battle of Armageddon will be fought. Rev 16:16. It is a very fertile plain, and is now well cultivated (cf. Hos 2:22); Jos 17:16; Jdg 6:33; Hos 1:5. The name ESDRAELON is given to this valley in the Apocryphal Book of Judith 3:9, etc. Now called Merj Ibn Amir.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Jezreel
H3157
1. A city in southern Judah
Jos 15:56; 1Sa 25:43; 1Sa 27:3; 1Sa 29:1; 1Sa 29:11
2. A city of Issachar
– General references
Jos 19:18; 2Sa 2:9
– Ahab’s residence in
1Ki 18:45-46; 1Ki 21:1
– Naboth’s vineyard in
1Ki 21:1
– Joram’s residence in
2Ki 8:29
– Jehu kills King Ahab, his wife, and friends at
2Ki 9:15-37; 2Ki 10:11
– Prophecies concerning
Hos 1:4-5; Hos 1:11
3. A valley
Jos 17:16
– Place of Gideon’s battle with the Midianites
Jdg 6:33
– Place of the defeat of the Israelites under Saul and Jonathan
1Sa 29:1; 1Sa 29:11; 1Sa 31:1-6; 2Sa 4:4
4. A descendant of Etam
1Ch 4:3
5. Figurative of Israel
Hos 1:4-5; Hos 1:11
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Jezreel
Jezreel (jz’re-el). God hath planted. 1. A city in the plain of the same name between Gilboa and Little Hermon. It was a boundary of Issachar. Jos 19:18. Ahab chose it for his chief residence. The selection shows the ability of this wicked king. Near by were a temple and grove of Astarte, with an establishment of 400 priests supported by Jezebel. 1Ki 18:19; 2Ki 10:11. The palace of Ahab, 1Ki 21:1, probably containing his “ivory house,” 1Ki 22:39, was on the eastern side of the city. Compare 1Ki 21:1; 2Ki 9:25; 2Ki 9:30; 2Ki 9:33. Jezebel lived by the city wall, and had a high window lacing eastward. 2Ki 9:30. It had a watch-tower, on which a sentinel stood. 2Ki 9:17. The gateway of the city on the east was also the gateway of the palace. 2Ki 9:34. The vineyard of Naboth was probably on the vineclad hill outside the city to the eastward. A spring near is now called Ain-Jald, or the “Spring of Goliath,” and is the “fountain” or “spring” in “Jezreel.” 1Sa 29:1. After the fall of the house of Ahab, Jezreel also fell into a decline. It is now a miserable village of a dozen houses, and known as Zerin. 2. A town in Judah, in the neighborhood of the southern Carmel. Jos 15:56. Here David in his wanderings took Ahinoam the Jezreelitess for his second wife. 1Sa 27:3; 1Sa 30:5
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Jezreel
Jezreel, Valley of. A triangular plain extending from the Mediterranean to the Jordan, and from the ridge of Carmel to the mountains in Galilee. It is about 25 miles long from east to west, and 12 miles wide from north to south. There Barak and Gideon triumphed; Deborah sung her war song; Saul and Jonathan fell near by, on the mountains of Gilboa; here king Josiah was mortally wounded by the Egyptians. From the base of this triangular plain three branches stretch out eastward, divided by two bleak gray ridges, one called Mount Gilboa, the other Little Hermon. The central branch is the richest as well as the most celebrated. It is the valley of Jezreel proper; the battle-field where Gideon triumphed and Saul and Jonathan were overthrown. Jdg 7:1, ff.; 1Sa 29:1-11; 1Sa 31:1-13. The plain is noted for its wonderful richness.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Jezreel
Jez’re-el. (seed of God).
1. A descendant of the father, or founder of Etam, of the line of Judah. 1Ch 4:3. (B.C. about 1445).
2. A city, situated in the plain of the same name, between Gilboa and Little Hermon, now generally called Esdraelon. See Esdraelon. It appears in Jos 19:18, but its historical importance dates, from the reign of Ahab, B.C. 918-897, who chose it for his chief residence. The situation of the modern village of Zerin, still remains to show the fitness of his choice. In the neighborhood, or within the town probably, were a temple and grove of Eastward, with an establishment of 400 priests supported by Jezebel. 1Ki 16:33; 2Ki 10:11.
The palace of Ahab, 1Ki 21:1; 1Ki 18:46, probably containing his “ivory house,” 1Ki 22:39, was on the eastern side of the city, forming part of the city wall. Compare 1Ki 21:1; 2Ki 9:25; 2Ki 9:30; 2Ki 9:33. Whether the vineyard of Naboth was here, or at Samaria is a doubtful question. Still in the same eastern direction are two springs, one 12 minutes from the town, the other 20 minutes. The latter, probably, from both its size and its situation, was known as “the spring of Jezreel.” With the fall of the house of Ahab, the glory of Jezreel departed.
3. A town in Judah, in the neighborhood of the southern Carmel. Jos 15:56. Here David, in his wanderings, took Ahinoam, the Israelitess, for his first wife. 1Sa 27:3; 1Sa 30:5.
4. The eldest son of the prophet, Hosea. Hos 1:4.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
JEZREEL
(1) A City in the south of Judea
Jos 15:56
(2) A City of Issachar
Jos 19:18
(3) A Valley
Jos 17:16
Fuente: Thompson Chain-Reference Bible
Jezreel
a royal city of the kings of Israel, who sometimes resided here as well as at Samaria. Ahab, in particular, is known to have made this his residence: near to whose palace was the vineyard of the unfortunate Naboth. The name of Jezreel was by the Greeks moulded into that of Esdraela; which is described by Eusebius and Jerom, in the fourth century, as a considerable town. In like manner, the valley of Jezreel obtained the name of the valley or plain of Esdraelon; which is still described as very fertile, and much frequented by the Arabs for its fine pasturage. This is the largest, and at the same time the most fertile, plain in the land of Canaan; and is called, by way of eminence, the Great Plain. It may be estimated at thirty miles in length, and twenty in breadth. The river Kishon flows through it. See ESDRAELON.