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{{About|the queen of Judah||Attalia (disambiguation)}}
{{for|the composition by George Frideric Handel|Athalia (oratorio)}}
{{Redirect|Athalia|the genus of sawflies|Athalia (sawfly)}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Athaliah
| image = Athalia.png
| caption = Athaliah from ]'s '']'', 1553
| succession = ]
| reign = {{circa|841 – 835 BCE}}
| predecessor = ]
| successor = ]
| succession1 = Queen mother of Judah
| reign1 = {{circa| 842 – 841 BCE}}
| reign-type1 = Tenure
| succession2 = Queen consort of Judah
| reign2 = {{circa|? – 842 BCE}}
| reign-type2 = Tenure
| spouse = ]
| consort =
| issue = Ahaziah
| house = ]
| house-type = House
| father = ] or ]
| mother =
| birth_date = <!-- {{birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} -->
| birth_place = ], ]
| death_date = {{circa|836 BCE}}
| death_place = ], ]
| religion =
}}
'''Athaliah''' ({{hebrew Name|עֲתַלְיָה|ʻAtalya|ʿĂṯalyā,}} {{langx|el|Γοθολία}} ''Gotholía''; {{langx|la|Athalia}}) was the daughter of ] and ] of ]; she was ] of ] as the wife of ], a descendant of King ], and was later ] c. 841–835&nbsp;BCE.


==Biblical narrative==
'''Athaliah''' (]: ''{{Unicode|ʻAṯalyā}}'' (עֲתַלְיָה), "God is exalted") was the ] of ] during the reign of King ], and later became sole ruler of Judah for five years. ] has dated her reign to ] – ], while ] offers the dates ] – ]. Athaliah was the daughter of King ] and Queen ] of ]; her marriage to Jehoram sealed a ] between Israel and Judah. The story of her actions is told in ] 8:25 – 11:16 in the ].
], ''The Death of Athaliah''.]]
Accounts of Athaliah’s life are found in ] 8:16–11:16 and ] ]:10–23:15 in the ]. According to the ], she was the daughter of king ] of ];<ref>2 Kings 8:26</ref> however, she is usually considered to have been the daughter of King ] – the son of Omri – and his wife, Queen ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlbible.com/2_kings/11-1.htm|title=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.|website=mlbible.com}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27924621|jstor = 27924621|title = Who Were the Parents of Athaliah?|last1 = Katzenstein|first1 = H. J.|journal = Israel Exploration Journal|year = 1955|volume = 5|issue = 3|pages = 194–197}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title = Queen Athaliah: The Daughter of Ahab or Omri?|last1 = Klein|first1 = Reuven Chaim |journal = Jewish Bible Quarterly |year = 2014|volume = 42|issue = 1|pages = 11-20|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Reuven-Klein/publication/305725131_Queen_Athaliah_The_Daughter_of_Ahab_or_Omri/links/579d027c08ae80bf6ea485d3/Queen-Athaliah-The-Daughter-of-Ahab-or-Omri.pdf}}</ref>


Athaliah was married to ] to seal a ] between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and to secure his position Jehoram killed his six brothers.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', </ref> Jehoram became king of Judah in the fifth year of ]'s reign ({{bibleverse|2|Kings|8:16}}). Depending on her paternity, Joram of Israel was either Athaliah's brother or her nephew.
Jehoram, a descendant of King ], actively promoted the worship of ] in his country, but he tolerated Athaliah's worship of ]. After Jehoram's death, their son ] became Judah's king with Athaliah acting as ]. She used her power in that role to establish the worship of Baal in Judah after Ahaziah was killed in a state visit to Israel along with the then-king of Israel, also named ], who was Athaliah's brother. ] assassinated them both in Yahweh's name and had Athaliah's entire extended family in Israel murdered.


Jehoram of Judah reigned for eight years. His father ] and grandfather ] had been devout kings who worshiped ], the ], and "walked in His ways". However, Jehoram chose not to follow their example, and rejected Yahweh, and his rule over Judah was subsequently ]. ] revolted, and he was forced to acknowledge their independence.<ref name=platts>{{cite book|title=A New Universal Biography: First series, from the creation to the birth of Christ|author=Platts, J.|date=1825|publisher=Sherwood, Jones, and Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jQr-ar1oX-cC&pg=PA156|page=156|access-date=December 7, 2020}}</ref> A raid by ]s, ]s and ]ns looted the king's house, and carried off all of his family except for Jehoram and Athalia's youngest son, ].
Athaliah, as queen of Judah, had all possible successors to David executed except one. However, a grandson of hers named ] was rescued from the purge by Jehosheba, Ahaziah's sister, and was raised in secret by the priest ]. Six years later, Athaliah was surprised when Jehoiada revealed Jehoash and proclaimed him king of Judah. She rushed to stop this rebellion, but was captured and executed.


After Jehoram's death, Ahaziah became king of Judah, and Athaliah became ], or '']''. One year after taking the throne ({{bibleverse|2|Kings|8:26|HE}}), Ahaziah and Joram of Israel were killed by ], a general in Joram’s army acting on Yahweh's secret command to take vengeance against the impious kings. Afterwards, Jehu killed Jezebel and the rest of Athaliah’s extended family. Ahab was already killed in battle before Jehu’s massacre.
⚫ {{start}}

{{s-hno|]|]}}
Upon hearing of Ahaziah’s death, Athaliah seized the throne of Judah and killed all possible claimants to the throne,<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Kings|11:1|HE}}</ref><ref name=brenner>{{cite web|url=http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/athaliah-bible|title=Athaliah: Bible |publisher=Jewish Women's Archive}}</ref> which included Ahaziah's sons and his relatives<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=2 Kings 11:1 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/2_kings/11.htm |website=Biblehub}}</ref> and, possibly, Jehoram's children from his other wife.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=2 Kings 11:1 Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/jfb/2_kings/11.htm |website=Biblehub}}</ref> Some believe that the killings were to prevent ]'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. <ref name=":0" />

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

As "usurper queen",<ref>Mathys, H. P., ''1 and 2 Chronicles'' in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122193211/http://b-ok.org/dl/946961/8f5f43 |date=2017-11-22 }}, p. 297</ref> Athaliah used her power to establish the ] cult in Judah. Six years later, Athaliah was astonished when Jehoiada crowned Jehoash as king in ]. She rushed to stop the rebellion but, under Jehoiada’s orders, was killed by the captains outside the Temple, since her blood “would defile it”.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Kings|11:14–16|HE}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|23:12-15|HE}}</ref><ref>See also </ref>

==Dating of reigns==
] has dated her reign to 842–837&nbsp;BCE, while ] in the third edition of his ''magnum opus'' dates her reign from 842/841 to 836/835&nbsp;BCE.<ref name=thiele>Edwin R. Thiele, ''The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings'' (3rd ed.; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983).</ref>{{rp|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, ],<ref name=thiele />{{rp|101}} a conflict which Thiele never resolved.

==In literature==
Athaliah is discussed in Boccaccio's '']'' ("On Famous Women"), as well as ''],'' by Christine de Pizan.

In 1691, French tragedian ] wrote a play about this biblical queen, entitled ''].'' The German composer ], among ], wrote ] (his ]) 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").<ref>Classical Archives' All Music Guide , accessed May 30, 2011.</ref>

In 1733, the musician and composer ] composed an oratorio based on her life, called ''],'' calling her a "Baalite Queen of Judah Daughter of Jezebel". ] was the fertility god of the ], whom the ancient ] often fell into worshipping in the ]/].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* ], '']'' 9.7.1-5.
* Virginia Brown's translation of ]'s ''Famous Women'', pp.&nbsp;102–106; Harvard University Press 2001; {{ISBN|0-674-01130-9}}
* ''Athalia,'' by ]; ''], third edition'' (2001), page 582.

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{{s-ttl|title=]|years=<small>]: </small>842 BC &ndash; 837 BC<br><small>]: </small>841 BC &ndash; 835 BC<br><small>]: </small>843 BC &ndash; 835 BC}}
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Latest revision as of 15:40, 26 November 2024

This article is about the queen of Judah. For other uses, see Attalia (disambiguation). "Athalia" redirects here. For the genus of sawflies, see Athalia (sawfly). Queen regnant of Judah
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 King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel; she was queen consort of Judah as the wife of King Jehoram, a descendant of King David, and was later queen regnant c. 841–835 BCE.

Biblical narrative

Gustave Doré, The Death of Athaliah.

Accounts of Athaliah’s life are found in 2 Kings 8:16–11:16 and 2 Chronicles 22:10–23:15 in the Hebrew Bible. According to the chroniclers, she was the daughter of king Omri of Israel; however, she is usually considered to have been the daughter of King Ahab – the son of Omri – and his wife, Queen Jezebel. 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.

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. 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 had been devout kings who worshiped Yahweh, the one true God, and "walked in His ways". However, Jehoram chose not to follow their example, and rejected Yahweh, and his rule over Judah was subsequently cursed. Edom revolted, and he was forced to acknowledge their independence. A raid by Philistines, Arabs and Ethiopians looted the king's house, and carried off all of his family except for Jehoram and Athalia's youngest son, Ahaziah.

After Jehoram's death, Ahaziah became king of Judah, and Athaliah became queen mother, or gebirah. One year after taking the throne (2 Kings 8:26), Ahaziah and Joram of Israel were killed by Jehu, a general in Joram’s army acting on Yahweh's secret command to take vengeance against the impious kings. Afterwards, Jehu killed Jezebel and the rest of Athaliah’s extended family. Ahab was already killed in battle before Jehu’s massacre.

Upon hearing of Ahaziah’s death, Athaliah seized the throne of Judah and killed all possible claimants to the throne, which included Ahaziah's sons and his relatives and, possibly, Jehoram's children from his other wife. 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.

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, the priest Jehoiada.

As "usurper queen", Athaliah used her power to establish the Baalist cult in Judah. Six years later, Athaliah was astonished when Jehoiada crowned Jehoash as king in Solomon's Temple. She rushed to stop the rebellion but, under Jehoiada’s orders, was killed by the captains outside the Temple, since her blood “would defile it”.

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. 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, a conflict which Thiele never resolved.

In literature

Athaliah is discussed in Boccaccio's De Mulieribus Claris ("On 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").

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. Klein, Reuven Chaim (2014). "Queen Athaliah: The Daughter of Ahab or Omri?" (PDF). Jewish Bible Quarterly. 42 (1): 11–20.
  5. Jewish Encyclopedia, "Jehoram"
  6. 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.
  7. 2 Kings 11:1
  8. "Athaliah: Bible". Jewish Women's Archive.
  9. "2 Kings 11:1 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers". Biblehub. 2023.
  10. ^ "2 Kings 11:1 Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary". Biblehub. 2023.
  11. 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
  12. 2 Kings 11:14–16
  13. 2 Chronicles 23:12–15
  14. See also jwa.org/
  15. ^ Edwin R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings (3rd ed.; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983).
  16. Classical Archives' All Music Guide , accessed May 30, 2011.

External links

Athaliah House of Omri
Regnal titles
Preceded byAhaziah Queen of Judah
842–836 BCE 		Succeeded byJehoash

Media related to Athaliah at Wikimedia Commons

Rulers of Israel and Judah
Israel
(united monarchy)
Israel
(northern kingdom)
Judah
(southern kingdom)
Judea
(Hasmonean dynasty)
See also
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