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Jezebel
  • Published: 15 August 2014
  • ISBN: 9780385516150
  • Imprint: Christian/Forum
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 272
  • RRP: $45.00
Categories:

Jezebel

The Untold Story of the Bible's Harlot Queen

Formats & editions
EBook
16 Oct 2007
Paperback
15 Aug 2014
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There is no woman with a worse reputation than Jezebel, the ancient queen who corrupted a nation and met one of the most gruesome fates in the Bible. Her name alone speaks of sexual decadence and promiscuity. But what if this version of her story, handed down to us through the ages, is merely the one her enemies wanted us to believe? What if Jezebel, far from being a conniving harlot, was, in fact, framed?
In this remarkable new biography, Lesley Hazleton shows exactly how the proud and courageous queen of Israel was vilified and made into the very embodiment of wanton wickedness by her political and religious enemies. Jezebel brings readers back to the source of the biblical story, a rich and dramatic saga featuring evil schemes and underhanded plots, war and treason, false gods and falser humans, and all with the fate of entire nations at stake. At its center are just one woman and one man—the sophisticated Queen Jezebel and the stark prophet Elijah. Their epic and ultimately tragic confrontation pits tolerance against righteousness, pragmatism against divine dictates, and liberalism against conservatism. It is, in other words, the original story of the unholy marriage of sex, politics, and religion, and it ends in one of the most chillingly brutal scenes in the entire Bible.
Here at last is the real story of the rise and fall of this legendary woman—a radically different portrait with startling contemporary resonance in a world mired once again in religious wars.
  • Published: 15 August 2014
  • ISBN: 9780385516150
  • Imprint: Christian/Forum
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 272
  • RRP: $45.00
Categories:

About the author

Lesley Hazleton

Lesley Hazleton is an award-winning writer whose work focuses on the intersection of religion, history, and politics. She reported on the Middle East from Jerusalem for more than a dozen years, and has written for Time, The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, Harper’s, The Nation, and The New Republic, among others. Her most recent books are Agnostic: A Spirited Manifesto, The First Muslim, and After the Prophet, which was a finalist for a PEN Center USA Literary Award, and she is the recipient of The Stranger’s Genius in Literature Award. Hazleton lives in Seattle.

portrait photo of Lesley Hazleton

Also by Lesley Hazleton

Agnostic
After the Prophet
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Praise for Jezebel

"Replete with apt comparisons to modern Middle Eastern conflicts, this revisionist portrait is equal parts fun and sobering-a colorful history lesson that's sorely needed."
-- Publishers Weekly

"[Lesley Hazleton's] demand that we use Jezebel's vivid story as a means to understand 'the dangers of blind zealotry and the terrible hypocrisy of those who kill in the name of God' is passionately presented and perfectly timed."
--The Seattle Times

"This riveting biography breaks through all our preconceptions about Jezebel. In Hazleton's hands, the real story of the 'harlot queen' is a vivid and magnificent drama with direct relevance to our own time. You'll never read the Hebrew bible the same way again." --Naomi Wolf

"Replete with apt comparisons to modern Middle Eastern conflicts, this revisionist portrait is equal parts fun and sobering-a colorful history lesson that's sorely needed."
-- Publishers Weekly

"[Lesley Hazleton's] demand that we use Jezebel's vivid story as a means to understand 'the dangers of blind zealotry and the terrible hypocrisy of those who kill in the name of God' is passionately presented and perfectly timed."
--The Seattle Times

"This riveting biography breaks through all our preconceptions about Jezebel. In Hazleton's hands, the real story of the 'harlot queen' is a vivid and magnificent drama with direct relevance to our own time. You'll never read the Hebrew bible the same way again." --Naomi Wolf