'LORD OF FLIES' — the god of Ekron whom Ahaziah consults (2 Kings 1:2, 3, 6, 16), and almost certainly a Hebrew slander rather than a real cult title. The Ugaritic texts attest zbl b'l, 'BAAL THE PRINCE' (zevul = prince, or exalted dwelling), and the Hebrew looks like a one-consonant demotion: Prince Baal becomes Fly-lord. The decisive evidence is that the Greek New Testament, centuries later, still knows the un-mocked form — BEELZEBOUL, with the L, as a name for the prince of the demons (Matthew 12:24; Mark 3:22). That is how a Philistine city god became, by way of a pun, a name for the devil in English. → first discussed at 2 Kings 1:2