Beelzebub Name for Satan or the Devil. The word was originally Beelzebul (‘Lord of demons’) but was corrupted deliberately in Syrian texts and the (Latin) Vulgate to Beelzebub (‘Lord of flies’) as a gesture of contempt. Originally an aspect of Baal, it was used in its present sense in the New Testament (Matthew 10, Mark 3 and Luke 11).

Beelzebub a name for the Devil, recorded in English from early times; Milton in Paradise Lost, however, uses it as the name of one of the fallen angels. The name comes originally from late Latin translating a Hebrew word meaning ‘lord of the flies’, recorded in 2 Kings 1:2 as the name of a Philistine god, and a Greek word meaning ‘the Devil’, from Matthew 12:24.

Beelzebub. A name equivalent to Satan found in the gospels (Mark 3. 22–6 and par.). The Gk. text is Beelzeboul, which may correspond to Heb. Baal-zebel, ‘lord of filth’. The English form -bub is due to the influence of Baal-zebub (‘lord of flies’) in 2 Kings 1. 2.

Beelzebub the Devil. OE. Belzebub, ME. Beelzebub — L. Beelzebub, rendering (i) Heb. ba'al z^eebūb ‘lord of flies’ (2 Kings 1: 2) and (ii) Gr. Beelzeboúb of the N.T. (Matt. 12: 24).