Jezreel (city)
| Yizre'el | |
Tel Jezreel looking east toward Gilboa.
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 Shown within Israel
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| Location | Yizre'el, Israel |
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| Region | Jezreel Valley |
| Coordinates | 32°33′28.27″N 35°19′40.63″E / 32.5578528°N 35.3279528°E |
| Type | palace |
| Part of | town |
| History | |
| Builder | Tribe of Issachar, Ahab |
| Material | stone |
| Cultures | Hebrew, Kingdom of Israel |
| Associated with | Ahab, Jezebel, Naboth, Ahinoam, Jehu, Elijah |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1990-1996 |
| Archaeologists | David Ussishkin, John Woodhead |
Jezreel (Hebrew: יִזְרְעֶאל (yizrăʕɛʔl) Yizre'el, "God soweth") was an ancient Israelite city and fortress originally within the boundaries of the Tribe of Issachar, and later within the northern Kingdom of Israel. According to the Book of Kings, the royal palace of King Ahab in Jezreel was adjacent to the vineyard of Naboth. Prior to the division of the United Kingdom of Israel, the city was also the hometown of Ahinoam, third wife of King David, Michal, Saul's daughter being the first and Abigail, widow of Nabal being his second.
The modern archaeological site is located on a low hill on the southern edge of the Jezreel Valley's eastern edge in northern Israel. Archaeologists David Ussishkin and John Woodhead believe that Jezreel was a fortress that served as a cavalry base for King Ahab.
As recounted in , after Jehu kills King Jehoram, he confronts Jezebel in Jezreel and urges her eunuchs to kill Jezebel by throwing her out of a window. They comply, tossing her out the window and leaving her in the street to be eaten by dogs. Only Jezebel's skull, feet, and hands remained.
In Jehu orders the death of 70 descendants of Ahab, and has their heads sent to the new king in Jezreel and piled up "in two heaps at the gate entrance."
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