Athaliah

In Bible versions:

Athaliah: NET AVS NIV NRSV NASB TEV

mother of Ahaziah king of Judah
son of Jeroham; son of Jeroham of Benjamin
father of Jeshaiah (Elam) who accompanied Ezra back from exile

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the time of the Lord

Arts:

Arts Topics: Joash Is Saved from Athaliah

Hebrew

Strongs #06271: hylte `Athalyah or whylte `Athalyahuw

Athaliah = "afflicted of the Lord"

n pr m
1) son of Jeroham of the tribe of Benjamin
2) father of Jeshaiah of the sons of Elam who was one of the heads of
a family who returned with Ezra from exile

n pr f
3) the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel and the wife of king Jehoram of
Judah; killer of all the members of the royal family of Judah with
the exception of one baby named Joash who was hidden by the high
priest Jehoiada until 6 years had passed and Jehoiada led the
revolution to put him on the throne, overthrowing Athaliah and
putting her to death

6271 `Athalyah ath-al-yaw'

or mAthalyahuw {ath-al-yaw'-hoo}; from the same as 6270 and
3050; Jah has constrained; Athaljah, the name of an
Israelitess and two Israelites:-Athaliah.
see HEBREW for 06270
see HEBREW for 03050

Athaliah [EBD]

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 Chr. 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 11:1,2). After a reign of six years she was put to death in an insurrection (2 Kings 11:20; 2 Chr. 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 Chr. 8:26.

Athaliah [NAVE]

ATHALIAH
1. Wife of Jehoram, king of Judah, 2 Kin. 8:18, 26; 11:1-3, 12-16, 20; 2 Chr. 22:10-12; 23:12-15, 21.
2. Son of Jehoram, 1 Chr. 8:26.
3. Father of Jeshaiah, Ezra 8:7.

ATHALIAH [SMITH]

(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 Jehoiada?s 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.

ATHALIAH [ISBE]

ATHALIAH - ath-a-li'-a (`athalyah; meaning uncertain, perhaps, "whom Yahweh has afflicted"; 2 Ki 8:26; 11; 2 Ch 22; 23):

1. Relationship:

(1) Daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, grand-daughter of Omri, 6th king of Israel. 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 Ki 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 Ch 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 Ki 8:26; not 42 as in 2 Ch 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 Ki 11:2; 2 Ch 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 Ch 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 Ch 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 Ch 23:1). With the Book of Ki 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 Ki 11:3; 12:1; 2 Ch 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 Ki 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 Ch 24:7, where she is spoken of as "that wicked woman."

(2) A Benjamite who dwelt in Jerusalem (1 Ch 8:26,28).

(3) Father of Jeshaiah, who returned with Ezra (8:7); called Gotholias in Apocrypha (1 Esdras 8:33).

W. Shaw Caldecott