Women in the Bible – Athaliah
– Queen of Judah During the Reign of King Jehoram, and Later Became Sole Ruler
of Judah for Five Years.
2
Kings 8:26 (ESV)
Ahaziah
was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in
Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah; she was a granddaughter of Omri king
of Israel.
2
Kings 11:1-3 (ESV)
Now
when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and
destroyed all the royal family. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram,
sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among
the king’s sons who were being put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a
bedroom. Thus they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death. And
he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the LORD, while Athaliah
reigned over the land.
2
Chronicles 22:1-12 (ESV)
And
the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place,
for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had killed all the
older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned. Ahaziah was
twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in
Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri. He also
walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in
doing wickedly. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as the house of
Ahab had done. For after the death of his father they were his counselors, to
his undoing. He even followed their counsel and went with Jehoram the son of
Ahab king of Israel to make war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead.
And the Syrians wounded Joram, and he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the
wounds that he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of
Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the
son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was wounded.
But
it was ordained by God that the downfall of Ahaziah should come about through
his going to visit Joram. For when he came there, he went out with Jehoram to
meet Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to destroy the house of
Ahab. And when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he met the
princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers, who attended Ahaziah, and
he killed them. He searched for Ahaziah, and he was captured while hiding in
Samaria, and he was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they
said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his
heart.” And the house of Ahaziah had no one able to rule the kingdom.
Now
when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and
destroyed all the royal family of the house of Judah. But Jehoshabeath, the
daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from
among the king’s sons who were about to be put to death, and she put him and
his nurse in a bedroom. Thus Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and
wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she was a sister of Ahaziah, hid him from
Athaliah, so that she did not put him to death. And he remained with them six
years, hidden in the house of God, while Athaliah reigned over the land.
2
Chronicles 23:12-21 (ESV)
When
Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she went
into the house of the LORD to the people. And when she looked, there was the
king standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the
trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and
blowing trumpets, and the singers with their musical instruments leading in the
celebration. And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” Then
Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains who were set over the army, saying
to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and anyone who follows her is to be
put to death with the sword.” For the priest said, “Do not put her to death in
the house of the LORD.” So they laid hands on her, and she went into the
entrance of the horse gate of the king’s house, and they put her to death
there.
And
Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that
they should be the LORD’s people. Then all the people went to the house of Baal
and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they
killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And Jehoiada posted
watchmen for the house of the LORD under the direction of the Levitical priests
and the Levites whom David had organized to be in charge of the house of the
LORD, to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, as it is written in the Law of
Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, according to the order of David. He
stationed the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD so that no one
should enter who was in any way unclean. And he took the captains, the nobles,
the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and they brought
the king down from the house of the LORD, marching through the upper gate to
the king’s house. And they set the king on the royal throne. So all the people
of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been put to
death with the sword.
2
Chronicles 24:7 (ESV)
For
the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and
had also used all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD for the Baals.
I don’t know how I have
lived almost fifty-seven years and never knew that Judah had a queen. Did you
know this? Athaliah was a member of royalty from birth. Apparently she took her
position very seriously, to the point she tried to wipe out the entire royal
family in order to make herself Queen of Judah. I know I included a lot of
scripture in this post, but I wanted you to see the story for yourself.
Athaliah comes from the
Hebrew word ʿatalyāhû and means “Jah has constrained.” This name is interesting
because it appears she was relatively unconstrained in her actions after her
son, Ahaziah, died. She had allowed her privileged life to cloud her
perspective of what was important. She assumed that she was above the law and
could do whatever was necessary to maintain power and control. Athaliah had a
reputation of being evil. Undoubtedly it was an accurate depiction of her
character.
However, she achieved
something that most women of her day could not. She ruled Judah for five years
as her Queen. She was not a worshiper of Jehovah. Instead she worshiped Baal.
But like her name she was given, Athaliah was constrained by Jehovah. The
people of Judah realized the error she had brought during her reign and revolted
against her, and the god, Baal. They destroyed the temple that had been erected
for Baal and restored worship in the House of David, worship to the one true
God, Jehovah. Their rage continued until Athaliah had been put to death.
Her death marked the end of
a very bad era for the nations of Israel and Judah. The last line in 2
Chronicles 23 tells it all. “So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the
city was quiet after Athaliah had been put to death with the sword.” (2
Chronicles 23:21) The legacy left by Athaliah could have been totally
different. She could have helped keep her son on track to worship Jehovah and
spare him from a horrible death. She could have enabled another generation to
worship the One True God, and help a nation seek the Lord’s counsel and live
under the protection and blessing of God. Instead she chose a selfish path of
power grabbing and inflicting pain and suffering on an entire nation of people.
I suppose that is the reason
I’ve never heard of her until now. It is unfortunate that when people have the
opportunity to really make an impact on their family, other people, and even an
entire nation, they choose to think only of what can gain from it. Let us
purpose to live differently.
