Athaliah
Athaliah from Guillaume Rouillé's Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum, 1553
Queen regnant of Judah
Reignc. 841 – 835 BCE
PredecessorAhaziah
SuccessorJoash
Queen mother of Judah
Tenurec.  842 – 841 BCE
Queen consort of Judah
Tenurec. ? – 842 BCE
BornSamaria, Kingdom of Israel
Diedc. 836 BCE
Jerusalem, Kingdom of Judah
SpouseJehoram
IssueAhaziah
HouseHouse of Omri
FatherOmri or Ahab

Athaliah (Hebrew: עֲתַלְיָה, Modern: ʻAtalya, Tiberian: ʿĂṯalyā, Greek: Γοθολία Gotholía; Latin: Athalia) was the daughter of either king Omri, or of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel, the queen consort of Judah as the wife of King Jehoram, a descendant of King David, and later queen regnant c. 841–835 BCE.

Biblical narrative

Gustave Doré, The Death of Athaliah.

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. The text states that she was the daughter of king Omri of Israel,[1] however, she is usually considered to have been the daughter of King Ahab – the son of Omri – and his wife, Queen Jezebel.[2] Some scholars are of the opinion that Athaliah was indeed the daughter of Omri, but that she grew up as an orphan in the court of Ahab.[3] 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.[4] Jehoram became king of Judah in the fifth year of Joram of Israel's reign (2 Kings 8:16). Depending on her paternity, Joram of Israel was either Athaliah's brother or her nephew.

Jehoram of Judah reigned for eight years. His father Jehoshaphat and grandfather Asa were devout kings who worshiped Yahweh and "walked in His ways". However, Jehoram chose not to follow their example, and rejected Yahweh; his rule over Judah was subsequently shaky. Edom revolted, and he was forced to acknowledge their independence.[5] A raid by Philistines, Arabs and Ethiopians looted the king's house, and carried off all of his family except for their youngest son, Ahaziah.

After Jehoram's death, Ahaziah became king of Judah, and Athaliah became the queen mother, or gebirah. One year after taking the throne (2 Kings 8:26), Ahaziah and Jehoram of Israel were killed by Jehu, a general in Jehoram's army who had secretly been anointed as Israel's king by the prophet Elisha. After disposing of Jezebel, Jehu had Athaliah's entire extended family in Samaria put to death, ending the Omri dynasty in Israel.

Upon hearing the news of Ahaziah's death, Athaliah seized the throne of Judah and ordered the execution of all possible claimants to the throne,[6][7] which included Ahaziah's sons and his relatives[8] and possibly, Jehoram's children from his other wife.[9] Some believe that the killings were to prevent David's descendants from outliving Athaliah's kin, most of whom were already killed by Jehu. Others believe that they were divine judgment against Jehoshaphat's decision to marry his son to Athaliah. [9]

However, Jehosheba, Ahaziah's sister, managed to rescue an infant from the purge: Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah and his wife, Zibiah. Jehoash was raised in secret by Jehosheba's husband, a priest named Jehoiada.

As "usurper queen",[10] Athaliah used her power to establish the Baalist cult in Judah. Six years later, Athaliah was surprised when Jehoiada revealed that Jehoash lived and proclaimed him king of Judah. She rushed to stop the rebellion, but was captured and executed.[11][12][13]

Dating of reigns

William F. Albright has dated her reign to 842–837 BCE, while Edwin R. Thiele in the third edition of his magnum opus dates her reign from 842/841 to 836/835 BCE.[14]: 104  However, a starting date of 842/841 for Athaliah is one year before the date of 841/840 that Thiele gave for the death of her son, Ahaziah,[14]: 101  a conflict which Thiele never resolved.

In literature

Athaliah is discussed in Boccaccio's De Mulieribus Claris ("Concerning Famous Women"), as well as The Book of the City of Ladies, by Christine de Pizan.

In 1691, French tragedian Jean Racine wrote a play about this biblical queen, entitled Athalie. The German composer Felix Mendelssohn, among others, wrote incidental music (his op. 74) to Racine's play, first performed in Berlin in 1845. One of the most frequently heard excerpts from the Mendelssohn music is titled "War March of the Priests" ("Kriegsmarsch der Priester").[15]

In 1733, the musician and composer Handel composed an oratorio based on her life, called Athalia, calling her a "Baalite Queen of Judah Daughter of Jezebel". Baal was the fertility god of the Canaanites, whom the ancient Israelites often fell into worshipping in the Tanakh/Old Testament.

References

  1. ↑ 2 Kings 8:26
  2. ↑ "2 Kings 11:1 Multilingual: Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family". mlbible.com.
  3. ↑ Katzenstein, H. J. (1955). "Who Were the Parents of Athaliah?". Israel Exploration Journal. 5 (3): 194–197. JSTOR 27924621.
  4. ↑ Jewish Encyclopedia, "Jehoram"
  5. ↑ Platts, J. (1825). A New Universal Biography: First series, from the creation to the birth of Christ. Sherwood, Jones, and Company. p. 156. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  6. ↑ 2 Kings 11:1
  7. ↑ "Athaliah: Bible". Jewish Women's Archive.
  8. ↑ "2 Kings 11:1 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers". Biblehub. 2023.
  9. 1 2 "2 Kings 11:1 Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary". Biblehub. 2023.
  10. ↑ Mathys, H. P., 1 and 2 Chronicles in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary Archived 2017-11-22 at the Wayback Machine, p. 297
  11. ↑ 2 Kings 11:14–16
  12. ↑ 2 Chronicles 23:12–15
  13. ↑ See also jwa.org/
  14. 1 2 Edwin R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings (3rd ed.; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983).
  15. ↑ Classical Archives' All Music Guide , accessed May 30, 2011.

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