Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah, a grand-daughter of King Omri of Israel.
The Bible introduces an interesting woman in this passage. Athaliah lived during a time when Israel's kings turned away from God. In fact, her grandfather was the notorious Ahab's son in law.
2 Kings 11:1-3:
Now when Athaliah, Ahaziah's mother, saw that her son was dead, she set about to destroy all the royal family. But Jehoseba , King Joram's daughter, Ahaziah's sister, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from the king's children who were about to be killed; she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus she hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not killed; he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the LORD, while Athaliah reigned over the land.
Athaliah became queen of Judah when her son died. She gained the Jo ash throne by eliminating all other contenders. Why she does this, instead of allowing her enemies (who have already declared they will destroy all of Ahab's descendants) to finish the task for her is not clear. Her reign would last only seven years, before she was over thrown.
2 Kings 11:13-16:
When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she went into the house of the LORD to the people; when she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar, according to custom, with the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, 'Treason! Treason!' Then the priest Jehoiada commanded the captains who were set over the army, 'Bring her out between the ranks, and kill with the sword anyone who follows her.' For the priest said, 'Let her not be killed in the house of the LORD.' So they laid hands on her; she went through the horses' entrance to the king's house, and there she was put to death.
The Bible does not tell us what God wanted in this story. Certainly, Athaliah was a wicked woman (as Chronicles describes her), yet wicked men ruled Judah at times too...many times they were killed in coups. In fact, Jehoash (Joash), the king mentioned in this section, would be murdered in the next chapter. God's silence in this story seems telling. Not once does he criticize her for assuming the throne due to her gender, though many preachers have. Instead her faults are the same as many other rulers in Judah; she was wicked.
Interestingly, Jehoiada seems to have become the regent for Joash (who was only seven at the time).
2 Kings 11:20:
So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been killed with the sword at the king's house.
The story is repeated in 2 Chronicles.
"The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A, and are used by permission. All rights reserved."
Old Testament Women-2 Kings
