Jezebel (/ˈdʒɛzəbəl, -bɛl/) was the daughter of Ithobaal I of Tyre and the wife of Ahab, King of Israel, according to the Book of Kings of the Hebrew Bible (1 Kings 16, 1 Kings 16:31).

In the biblical narrative, Jezebel replaced Yahwism with Baal and Asherah worship and was responsible for Naboth's death. This caused irreversible damage to the reputation of the Omride dynasty, who were already unpopular among the Israelites. For these offences, Jezebel was defenestrated and devoured by dogs, under Jehu's orders (2 Kings 9, 2 Kings 9:33–37), as prophesied by Elijah (1 Kings 16, 1 Kings 21:23). In the New Testament Book of Revelation, the name Jezebel is contemptuously attributed to a prophetic woman of Thyatira, whom the author, through the voice of the risen Christ, accuses of leading her followers into fornication (idolatry). For refusing to repent, she is threatened with sexualized punishment ("throw[n] on a bed") and the death of her children.

Jezebel, an Anglicized form of the Hebrew name אִיזֶבֶל‎ (ʾIzeḇel), is often interpreted as meaning “Where is the Lord?”—a phrase linked to Baal worship rituals. As queen, according to the Hebrew Bible, Jezebel promoted the worship of Baal and Asherah in Samaria, clashing with the followers of Yahweh, killing prophets, and challenging established religious norms. Notable events in her biblical narrative include her conflict with the prophet Elijah, the orchestrated execution of Naboth to secure a vineyard for Ahab, and her violent death at the hands of Jehu, fulfilling Elijah’s prophecy. Scholars debate the historicity of her story, noting inconsistencies and theological bias in the biblical accounts, though some evidence, such as royal seals and extrabiblical records, suggest she may have been a real political figure engaged in the complex religious and dynastic politics of her time.

Over centuries, Jezebel became a cultural symbol associated with false prophets, manipulative women, and sexual promiscuity. In Christian traditions, she was seen as leading others into idolatry and sin, and her image influenced medieval and modern perceptions of powerful or nonconforming women. The concept of the “Jezebel spirit” has emerged in some American Christian circles, portraying her as a demonic influence in spiritual and political contexts. Jezebel has also permeated popular culture through literature, music, and film, often reinterpreted as a misunderstood or vilified figure, inspiring works ranging from Bette Davis’s 1938 film Jezebel to contemporary songs, novels, and feminist scholarship that challenge traditional portrayals of her character.

Jezebel is the Anglicized transliteration of the Hebrew אִיזֶבֶל‎ ʾIzeḇel. The Oxford Guide to People & Places of the Bible states that the name is "best understood as meaning 'Where is the Lord?'" (Hebrew: אֵיזֶה בַּעַל, romanized: ʾēze baʿal), a ritual cry from worship ceremonies in honor of Baal during periods of the year when the god was considered to be in the underworld. Alternatively, a feminine Punic name noted by the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum, Phoenician: 𐤁𐤏𐤋𐤀𐤆𐤁𐤋, romanized: bʿlʾzbl, may have been a cognate to the original form of the name, as the Israelites were known to often alter personal names which invoked the names of foreign gods (cf. instances for Baal, Mephibosheth and Ish-bosheth).

Jezebel is introduced into the biblical narrative as a Phoenician princess, the daughter of Ithobaal I, king of Tyre (1 Kings 16:31 says she was "Sidonian", which is a biblical term for Phoenicians in general). According to apocryphal genealogies given in Josephus and other classical sources, she was the great-aunt of Dido, Queen of Carthage. As the daughter of Ithobaal I, she was also the sister of Baal-Eser II. Jezebel eventually married King Ahab of Samaria, the northern kingdom of Israel.

Near Eastern scholar Charles R. Krahmalkov proposed that Psalm 45 records the wedding ceremony of Ahab and Jezebel, but other scholars cast doubt on this association. This marriage was the culmination of the friendly relations existing between Israel and Phoenicia during Omri's reign, and possibly cemented important political designs of Ahab. Jezebel, like the foreign wives of Solomon, required facilities for carrying on her form of worship, so Ahab made a Baalist altar in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. Geoffrey Bromiley points out that it was Phoenician practice to install a royal woman as a priestess of Astarte, thus she would have a more active role in temple and palace relations than was customary in the Hebrew monarchy.

Her coronation as queen upset the balance of power between Yahwism and Baalism. As queen, Jezebel institutionalized Baalism and killed Yahwist prophets, which most likely included the priests of Jeroboam's golden calf cult, and desecrated their altars. Obadiah, a pro-Yahwist figure in Ahab's royal court, secretly protected the survivors of these purges in a cave. Some modern commentators observe that Jezebel's desecration of Yahwist altars would have normally been condoned since they were built outside of Jerusalem, which contravened the Deuteronomic Code. However, they were overlooked due to Elijah's piety or Jezebel's 'improper' motives. Alternatively, some scholars argue that the Deuteronomic Code promotes laicization and considers all of Israel to be Yahweh's "sacred space". Theologians likewise argue that the "sacred space" is any place where Yahweh "manifested" to humans, according to Exodus 20:24.