Luke 11:15

‘But some of them said, “It is by Beelzeboul the prince of the demons that he casts out demons.'

His opponents were perplexed, but rather than admit that God was working though Him they accused of being in league with ‘Beelzeboul, the prince of the demons', in other words Satan.

‘It is by Beelzeboul.' Their decision was that He Himself was possessed (always the easiest way to discredit someone), and not just by any evil spirit but by the great Beelzeboul, prince of demons, himself (compare John 7:20; John 8:48; John 8:52; John 10:20). The description demonstrates that Beelzeboul was seen as synonymous with Satan. ‘Beel' probably represents ‘baal' (‘lord'), and zeboul ‘house', thus the name means ‘Lord of the house'.

Different manuscripts and versions present the full name differently It is given as ‘Beelzebub' in the Syriac and Vulgate versions - probably as taken from the name of the oracular god in 2 Kings 1:2, and as ‘Beelzeboul' in most manuscripts. It is given as ‘Beezeboul' in only a few manuscripts, but these include weighty ones. The latter may, however, simply have dropped the ‘l' because ‘lz' was difficult to Greek speakers.

The correct name may well thus be Beelzeboul. ‘Zeboul' may represent ‘zebel' (dung) or ‘zebul' (dwelling). Thus the name may mean ‘lord of the house (or dwelling)' (see Matthew 10:25 b which seems to confirm this). Or it may be ‘lord of dung' as an insulting name for Satan. The former would explain the stress on ‘house' in Jesus' repudiation. The name Zbl is also found in a Ugaritic text, linked with baal, where it may be a proper name or mean ‘prince'. Matthew 10:25 b suggests that Beelzeboul is seen as master over a household of demons (compare ‘Lord of the house' above). As the narrative goes on we learn that this is a synonym for Satan, as we would gather from him being the prince of the demons.