The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses , Devil and Demons
(Beelzebul) The wellknown derivation from ‘baal-zebub’, i.e. lord of the flies, is not proven; it is more probable that the name means ‘Baal the prince’, thus corresponding to the Phoenician concept of the god.
He was a tutelary god in the land of the Philistines (II Kings 1:2). Rabbinical texts interpreted the name as meaning ‘Lord of the dunghill’; the word zabal=to dung, is used in rabbinical literature as a synonym for idolatry. In the New Testament, Beelzebub is chief of the demons (Matthew 12:24–27).
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