fly

A small flying insect. Many species of flies are known in Palestine and Egypt. In the Bible two Hebrew words mean “fly”: ‘arôb, the flies visited on the Egyptians as the fourth plague (Exod 8:20-32; alluded to in Ps 78:45), perhaps the Tabanid fly; and zebûb (Eccl 10:1; Isa 7:18), probably the ordinary housefly. Baal-zebub, “lord of flies,” was a deity worshiped at Ekron, whom King Ahaziah wanted to ask about recovery from his final illness (2Kgs 1:2-6; 2Kgs 1:16).