Bible Meaning: God sows
Strong's Concordance #H3157
A man named Jezreel is a descendant from the tribe of Judah (1Chronicles 4:3). It is also the name God commanded Hosea to call his firstborn son as a prophecy of his wrath upon Israel (Hosea 1:4).
There are additionally two cities called Jezreel. The first, in the southern part of Israel, was given to the tribe of Judah as an inheritance (Joshua 15:56). The second, farther north, was part of Isaachar's inheritance in the Promised Land (Joshua 19:18).
Jezreel in Isaachar was where King Ahab lived (1Kings 18:45, 46, 21:1) as well as King Joram (2Kings 8:29). It is also the place where Ahab's wife Jezebel and all the king's relatives were slain (2Kings 9:10 - 37, 10:1 - 11).
Israel's Battlefield
The valley near Jezreel separates Samaria to the south from Galilee to the north.
The area in and near the valley was the location of many important Old Testament battles. Deborah commanded Barak to engage Sisera just south of Mount Tabor (Judges 4 - 5). Gideon and his army of three hundred men first engaged the Midianites in the valley (Judges 6 - 7).
King Saul and his three sons, which included Jonathan, lost their lives fighting the Philistines on Mount Gilboa overlooking the valley of Jezreel (1Samuel 31, 2Samuel 1). Judah's King Josiah tried to stop Egypt's army from traveling further north but lost his life near Megiddo (2Kings 23:29 - 30).
The Last War
In the end time, the nations of the world with gather their armies to fight the second coming of Jesus Christ. This climatic battle, often referred to as Armageddon, will take place in and around the valley of Jezreel (Revelation 16:14, 16).
Important Verses
Judges 6:1, 33 - 34
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years . . . Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel. But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet . . .
1Samuel 29:1
Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel.
1Kings 18:41, 45 - 46
And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain . . . And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain . . .
And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah: and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
1Kings 21:7, 17 - 18, 23
And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria . . . And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? . . . And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.
Revelation 16:14, 16
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty . . .
And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon (meaning "mount of Megiddo" near the valley of Jezreel).