Biblical Hebrew Blog by ClassicalHebrew.com

An Israelite Princess

Athaliah (pronounced Ataliyah) was a young Israelite princess who married into the Davidic dynasty and rose-up to the prominent position of Queen Mother in Judah with first her husband and then her son ruling over the kingdom. What makes Athaliah’s position unique from other women is that for a period of seven years, she actually ruled and reigned from Jerusalem as the supreme monarch.

The Marriage-Alliance

The royal Israelite House of Omri was accustomed to making political alliances with other countries by arranged marriages. For example King Omri’s son Ahab was married to a Sidonian princess by the name of Jezebel. Likewise Ahab’s sister, Athaliah, was married to the crown prince of Judah, Jehoram, in a marriage that put to end over fifty years of hostilities between the kingdom of Israel since the division of Solomon’s kingdom.

A Betrayal in the North

Athaliah became Queen of Jerusalem through her marriage to Jehoram, and again Queen Mother when her son Ahaziah began to reign after the death of her husband. Her position at this stage was largely ceremonial although in the absence of her husband her influence in court must have increased due to her relation with the current king. This position changed dramatically however when her son was murdered while visiting his cousin the king of Israel in the north. Her son and the Israelite king were killed along with those who were descendants of the Davidic and Omride dynasties living in the north, in a huge elaborate plot set into play by an ambitious military commander by the name of Jehu.

A New Monarch in Jerusalem

With the sudden death of her son Athaliah found herself in a precarious position. It would not be long before a new male heir from the Davidic dynasty would be nominated to the empty throne. She would no longer hold the title of Queen Mother and her political role and authority would come to a rapid end. Thus in order to secure absolute power she preceded to follow the same route that the usurper Jehu the new King of Israel had implemented; the assassination of all the royal family. She sought out and murdered all the surviving male heirs of the legendary King David- and in her success reigned unhindered for seven years from Jerusalem.

The Temple Produces an Heir

Her reign was not supported by all those in Judea however. She was an Israelite Princess who had gained the throne by murdering the Judean Royal Family. Those in the Temple in particular were opposed to her introduction of Baal worship to the area, and there with some in the military who wished for a return to a Judean way of life, and a Judean king on the throne. It was at this point that the High Priest revealed a young boy, Joash, who had been reared as a child within the Temple, and declared him to be the grandson of Athaliah- a boy rescued and sheltered when the assassination in Jerusalem began. As in a day Athaliah came to the throne, so too in a moment she left it. The priests and the citizens of Judah rallied around the young boy and deposed and killed Athaliah as she stood in the Royal Palace. Her grandson was installed as king and Judah regained not only its monarchy, but its Judean way of life.