“It is only by Beelzebul that this man casts out demons”
But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, 'Only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, does this man drive out demons.' (Matthew 12:24 BSB)
What it sounds like today
A random demon name.
The cultural key
A stack of insults with history. Baal-zebul, 'Baal the Prince / lord of the lofty dwelling,' was a Canaanite deity title; Hebrew scripture mocked it as Baal-zebub, 'lord of the flies' (2 Kings 1:2). By Jesus' day it named the prince of demons. Jesus' wordplay: zebul echoes 'house/lofty abode,' so when his enemies call him Beelzebul they are literally calling the 'master of the house' (oikodespotēs) by a demonic 'lord of the house' title, and his household should expect the same slur. Here the slur triggers the full reply: the divided-house argument ('every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste'), which answers the name's own meaning, lord of the house; the counter-question about their own exorcists; and the warning about blasphemy against the Spirit: calling the Spirit's work demonic as the one unforgivable verdict, because it renames the cure as the disease.
Recovered meaning
'They've branded the head of the family a demon lord; you, the household, won't be treated better.' Expect your teacher's reputation, not above it.