Nothing that I am aware
of, either in Hebrew, Syriac, or Arabic, will help us. The nearest verb
that I can find is the Chaldee [Hebrew: 'aza'], signifying, "to light a
fire," parts of which occur two or three times in Dan. iii.; but I fear it
would be too daring a conjecture to interpret the name _quem Belus
accendit_ on the strength of that verb's existence. At present I feel
myself obliged to take the advice of Winer, in his _Lexicon_, "Satius est
ignorantiam fateri quam argutari."
"Nominis origo (he says) non liquet. Sunt qui interpretentur _non stercus_,
Coll. 2 Reg. ix. 27., inepte. {483} Simonis in Onom. dictum putat Ino
[Hebrew: n'iy zebel], _mansio habitationis_ (habitatio tectissima);
Gesenius _cui nemo concubuit_, Coll. [Hebrew: zbl], Gen. xxx. 20. Sed
satius," &c.
Admitting that Hasdrubal is, in fact [Hebrew: `azrw beil], _Bel (was) his
helper_, we cannot possibly connect [Hebrew: 'iyzebel] with it.
[Hebrew: b].
L---- Rectory, Somerset.
_Jezebel._--Your correspondent W.G.H. believes this word to be derivable
from _Baal_. That the Phoenician word [Hebrew: ba`al] (Lord) makes a
component part of many Syrian names is well-known: but I do not think the
contracted form [Hebrew: beil], which was used by the Babylonians, is ever
found in any Syrian names.
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