What is the meaning of Jezreel?

Answer

Jezreel was a city in the plain, or valley, of Esdraelon. The region surrounding the city was also known as the Valley of Jezreel. The term Jezreel originates from two Hebrew root words meaning “to sow” and “almighty.” When combined, these two root words signify “God will sow.”

The Valley of Jezreel is a picturesque, expansive plain, extending from west to east from Mount Carmel and the sea to the Jordan River, which it reaches through two branches between the mountains of Gilboa, Little Hermon, and Tabor; and from south to north from the mountains of Ephraim to those of Galilee. Nazareth is situated in the hills on the northern side of the valley. Jezreel is also referred to as the Great Plain and the Valley of Esdraelon.

The city of Jezreel boasts a long and diverse history and plays a significant role in numerous events documented in the Bible, many of which were violent. King Jehu commanded that the heads of King Ahab’s 70 sons be placed in heaps at the gate of Jezreel (2 Kings 10:1-11). Ahab’s queen, Jezebel, met her demise by being thrown from a window of the palace of Jezreel, and it was there that her body was consumed by dogs (2 Kings 9:30-35). Jezreel was the setting for the unjust trial of Naboth, who owned a vineyard near Ahab’s palace and who was murdered by Jezebel for his refusal to surrender his land to Ahab (1 Kings 21:1-23). The Valley of Jezreel was also the backdrop for some significant battles: the triumph of Barak over Sisera (Judges 4); a victory of Gideon over the Midianites, the Amalekites, and their allies from the east (Judges 6 – 8); the victory of the Philistines over Saul and his sons (1 Samuel 31); and the Egyptians’ victory over King Josiah «In his days Pharaoh-nechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the riv.

er Euphrates: and King Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him., (2 Kings 23:29).

Jezreel is also the name of a son of the prophet Hosea, so named because God had declared that He would avenge the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu (Hosea 1:4-5).

Today, the Jezreel Valley is a green, fertile plain, covered with fields of wheat, cotton, sunflowers, and corn, as well as grazing tracts for multitudes of sheep and cattle. Because of its location in the same valley as Megiddo, Jezreel is considered to be a likely spot for the future battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16-21). In fact, the Valley of Megiddo is also called the Valley of Jezreel.