). Athaliah was the queen of Judah notorious for murdering her grandchildren(2 Kings 8:26; 2 Chr. 891.) After the death of Ahaziah, her son, Athaliah usurped the throne and reigned for seven years. Athaliah felt secure in her position, believing that the royal line of David was extinct. and promptly ordered the murder of her own grandchildren in order to guarantee her hold on that throne (2 Kings 11; 2 Chronicles 22). Unlike his father, Jehoram was a wicked king. But she was wrong. 11:1-3; 2 Chr. The Rescue of the Infant Joash ( 2 Kings 11:2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. Athaliah’s husband, Jehoram, was king of Judah until his death in 841 BC. 23:13-21; 2 Chr. She massacred all the members of the royal house of Judah (II Kings 11:1–3), except Joash. She did this to consolidate her own position. When young Athaliah asked for moral advice of her… After Ahaziah is killed in a dynastic struggle (2 Kings 9), Athaliah sets out to kill the rest of the royal dynasty and seizes the throne of Judah in Jerusalem (2 Kings 9; 2 Chr 22:10–23:21). Joash 's Escape. Athaliah counseled her son in his devilish schemes (2 Chronicles 22:3). Note on Wife: Athaliah. 11 When Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, learned that her son was dead, she began to destroy the rest of the royal family. After her son died she killed all the seed royal of the house of Judah, including her sons and grandsons (2 Kgs. She even wanted to kill her own grandson, Joash but Ahaziah's sister, Jehosheba protected and kept him alive. 22:10-12) ; One grandson, Joash, was saved by his aunt (the daughter of Athaliah) Jehoshabeath who hid him for seven years in the temple (her … 2 But Ahaziah’s sister Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Ahaziah’s infant son, Joash, and stole him away from among the rest of the king’s children, who were about to be killed. Athaliah was married to Jehoram of Judah to seal a treaty between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and to secure his position Jehoram killed his six brothers. 22; 2 Chr. One of the bloodiest, most distressing stories in the Bible records how Athaliah, the gebirah or queen mother of the slain King Ahaziah, seized the throne of Judah in 841 B.C. She looked and there was the king, standing by the pillar, as the custom was. Athaliah killed all of the royal seed. However, in God’s sight, their’s was no fairy tale union. Athaliah’s Motives . 24:7). When she had ordered the massacre of all the male members of the royal House of David, Jehosheba, a sister of King Ahaziah and the wife of the High Priest Jehoiada, succeeded in saving the one-year-old son of Ahaziah, Joash. Athaliah, also spelled Athalia, in the Old Testament, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel and wife of Jeham, king of Judah. Accounts of the life of Athaliah are to be found in 2 Kings 8:16–11:16 and 2 Chronicles 22:10–23:15 in the Hebrew Bible.She is usually considered to have been the daughter of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel. Athaliah married Jehoram, the king of Judah (2 Chronicles 21:5,6). Seeing the kind of stock from which Athaliah came, we have to wonder what in the world Jehoram was thinking when he decided to marry her! Athaliah (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. When Athaliah heard the noise made by the guards and the people, she went to the people at the temple of the LORD. Yes, Jehoram was royalty, and Athaliah came from a royal family, too. Athaliah’s son, Ahaziah, at the age of 22, ascended to the throne, and proved himself just as evil as his father (2 Kings 8:18, 25–27). Note the special significance—that of being afflicted of (or by) the Lord. She manages to remain sole monarch for six years (842–836 b.c.e . 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. Athaliah, Queen Mother of Ahaziah, took the cruel path to destroy all of the royal family after Ahaziah was killed by Jehu. Her name means taken away of the Lord, or Jehovah has afflicted. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets.