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Easton's Bible Dictionary
whom God afflicts.
(1) The daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and the wife of Jehoram, king of Judah (
2 Kings 8:18 ), who "walked in the ways of the house of Ahab" ( 2 Chronicles 21:6
), called "daughter" of Omri ( 2 Kings 8:26 ). On the death of her husband and
of her son Ahaziah, she resolved to seat herself on the vacant throne. She slew
all Ahaziah's children except Joash, the youngest ( 2 Kings 11:1 , 11:2 ). After
a reign of six years she was put to death in an insurrection ( 2 Kings 11:20 ;
2 Chronicles 21:6 ; 22:10 - 12 ; 23:15 ), stirred up among the people in connection
with Josiah's being crowned as king.
(2) Ezra 8:7 .
(3) 1 Chronicles 8:26 .
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
the time of the Lord
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(afflicted of the Lord) Daughter of Ahab and Jezebel,
married Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah and introduced into that
kingdom the worship of Baal. (B.C. 891.) After the great revolution by which Jehu
seated himself on the throne of Samaria she killed all the members of the royal
family of Judah who had escaped his sword. ( 2 Kings 11:1 ) From the slaughter
one infant, named Joash, the youngest son of Ahaziah, was rescued by his aunt
Jehosheba wife of Jehoiada, ( 2 Chronicles 23:11 ) the high priest. ( 2 Chronicles
24:6 ) The child was brought up under Jehoiadas care, and concealed in the temple
for six years, during which period Athaliah reigned over Judah. At length Jehoiada
thought it time to produce the lawful king to the people, trusting to their zeal
for the worship of God and their loyalty to the house of David. His plan was successful,
and Athaliah was put to death.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
ath-a-li'-a (`athalyah; meaning uncertain, perhaps, "whom
Yahweh has afflicted"; 2 Kings 8:26 ; 11 ; 2 Chronicles 22:8)
(1) Daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, grand-daughter of Omri, 6th king of Israel.
1. Relationship:
In her childhood the political relations of the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel
had, after many years of strife, become friendly, and she was married to Jehoram,
eldest son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah (2 Kings 8:18). The marriage was one
of political expediency, and is a blot on the memory of Jehoshaphat.
2. Athaliah as Queen:
When Jehoram was 32 years of age, he succeeded to the throne, and Athaliah became
queen of Judah. She inherited her mother's strength of will, and like her developed
a fanatical devotion to the cult of the Zidonian Baal. Elijah's blow at the worship
of Baal in Samaria shortly before her accession to power did nothing to mitigate
her zeal. It probably intensified it. The first recorded act of Jehoram's reign
is the murder of his six younger brothers; some princes of the realm, who were
known to be favorable to the ancient faith of the nation, were also destroyed
(2 Chronicles 21:4). There can be little doubt that these deeds of blood were
supported, and perhaps instigated, by Athaliah, who was a much stronger character
than her husband.
3. Murder of Her Grandchildren:
After eight years of royal life, Athaliah became a widow, and her son, Ahaziah,
then 22 years of age (2 Kings 8:26; not 42 as in 2 Chronicles 22:2), ascended
his father's throne. As queen-mother, Athaliah was now supreme in the councils
of the nation, as well as in the royal palace. Within a single year, the young
king fell (see JEHU), and the only persons who stood between Athaliah and the
throne were her grandchildren. It is in such moments that ambition, fired by fanaticism,
sees its opportunity, and the massacre of the royal seed was determined on. This
was carried out: but one of them, Jehoash, a babe, escaped by the intervention
of his aunt, Jehosheba (1 Kings 11:2 ; 2 Chronicles 22:11).
4. Her Usurpation:
The palace being cleared of its royal occupants, Athaliah had herself proclaimed
sovereign. No other woman, before or since, sat upon the throne of David, and
it is a proof of her energy and ability that, in spite of her sex, she was able
to keep it for six years. From 2 Chronicles 24:7 we gather that a portion of the
temple of Yahweh was pulled down, and the material used in the structure of a
temple of Baal.
5. The Counter-Revolution:
The high priest at this time was Jehoiada, who had married the daughter of Athaliah,
Jehosheba (2 Chronicles 22:11). His promotion to the primacy led to the undoing
of the usurper, as Jehoiada proved staunchly, if secretly, true to the religion
of Yahweh. For six years he and his wife concealed in their apartments, near the
temple, the young child of Ahaziah. In the seventh year a counter-revolution was
planned. The details are given with unusual fullness in Ki and Chronicles, the
writings of which supplement one another. Thus, when the Chronicler wrote, it
had become safe to give the names of five captains who led the military rising
(2 Chronicles 23:1). With the Book of Kings before him, it was not necessary to
do more than extract from the ancient records such particulars as had not hitherto
appeared. This it is which has chiefly given rise to the charge of variations
in the two narratives. See JEHOASH.
6. Her Death:
At the time of her deposition, Athaliah was resident in the royal palace. When
roused to a sense of danger by the acclamations which greeted the coronation ceremony,
she made an attempt to stay the revolt by rushing into the temple court, alone;
her guards, according to Josephus, having been prevented from following her (Ant.,
IX, vii, 3). A glance sufficed. It showed her the lad standing on a raised platform
before the temple, holding the Book of the Law in his hand, and with the crown
upon his brow. Rending her robe and shouting, "Treason! Treason!" she fled. Some
were for cutting her down as she did so, but this was objected to as defiling
the temple with human blood. She was, therefore, allowed to reach the door of
the palace in flight. Here she fell, smitten by the avenging guards.
Athaliah's usurpation lasted for six years (2 Kings 11:3; 12:1; 2 Chronicles 22:12).
Her 1st year synchronizes with the 1st of Jehu in Israel, and may be placed 846
BC (some put later). See CHRONOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. The statement of 2 Kings
12:1 is here understood in the sense that Jehoash began his public reign in the
7th year of Jehu, and that he reigned 40 years counting from the time of his father's
death. A modern parallel is the dating of all official records and legal documents
of the time of Charles II of England from the death of Charles I.
The only other reference to Athaliah is that above alluded to in 2 Chronicles
24:7, where she is spoken of as "that wicked woman." |
(2) A Benjamite who dwelt in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 8:26,28).
(3) Father of Jeshaiah, who returned with Ezra (8:7); called Gotholias in Apocrypha (1 Esdras 8:33).
W. Shaw Caldecott
Tags:
athaliah, bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, daughter of ahab and jezebel, joash rescued, killed ahaziah's children, put to death, wife of jehoram
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