Ethbaal Jethebaal
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(with Baal, or friend of Baal) (1 Kings 16:31) — king of Sidon and father of Jezebel, the wife of Ahab. He is commonly confused with Ithobalus, king of Tyre, mentioned in extracts from the Tyrian annals cited by Josephus. From recent Assyrian discoveries, however, it is clear that this identification cannot be accepted with certainty; the dynasties of the Tyrian and Sidonian kings differed from one another, and although their names were, in all likelihood, similar, Ithobalus of Tyre was undoubtedly an entirely different person from Ethbaal of Sidon.