Discovery Box2 Kings 11:12-16 
Context11:12 Jehoiada 1 led out the king’s son and placed on him the crown and the royal insignia. 2 They proclaimed him king and poured olive oil on his head. 3 They clapped their hands and cried out, “Long live the king!”
11:13 When Athaliah heard the royal guard 4 shout, she joined the crowd 5 at the Lord’s temple. 11:14 Then she saw 6 the king standing by the pillar, according to custom. The officers stood beside the king with their trumpets and all the people of the land were celebrating and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason, treason!” 7 11:15 Jehoiada the priest ordered the officers of the units of hundreds, who were in charge of the army, 8 “Bring her outside the temple to the guards. 9 Put the sword to anyone who follows her.” The priest gave this order because he had decided she should not be executed in the Lord’s temple. 10 11:16 They seized her and took her into the precincts of the royal palace through the horses’ entrance. 11 There she was executed.
1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoiada) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn The Hebrew term עֵדוּת (’edut) normally means “witness” or “testimony.” Here it probably refers to some tangible symbol of kingship, perhaps a piece of jewelry such as an amulet or neck chain. See the discussion in M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 128. Some suggest that a document is in view, perhaps a copy of the royal protocol or of the stipulations of the Davidic covenant. See HALOT 790-91 s.v. עֵדוּת.
3 tn Or “they made him king and anointed him.”
4 tc The MT reads, “and Athaliah heard the sound of the runners, the people.” The term הָעָם (ha’am), “the people,” is probably a scribal addition anticipating the reference to the people later in the verse and in v. 14.
5 tn Heb “she came to the people.”
6 tn Heb “and she saw, and look.”
7 tn Or “conspiracy, conspiracy.”
8 tn The Hebrew text also has, “and said to them.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated.
9 tn Heb “ranks.”
10 tn Heb “for the priest had said, ‘Let her not be put to death in the house of the
11 tn Heb “and they placed hands on her, and she went the way of the entrance of the horses [into] the house of the king.”
