Athalia was the daughter of Jezebel and Ahab, the granddaughter of King Omri, wife of King Jehoram, and mother of King Ahaziah. She came from an evil heritage and passed along her evil to her next of kin.
2 Chronicles 21: 6 tells us that Athalia’s husband King Jehoram, also called King Joram, “walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.”
During Jehoram’s reign, the Philistines and Arabians broke into the royal palace, plundered the palace and temple, and killed the royal sons except Ahaziah, the youngest son.
After Jehoram’s prolonged and painful death, his son Ahaziah, also called
Jehoahaz, took over as king.
2 Chronicles 22:3-4 says of King Ahaziah, “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.”
When Ahaziah was killed, Athalia sought to kill all her grandsons, then she reigned as queen for six years. Unbeknownst to Athalia, however, Joash, her grandson was rescued from her killing spree and hidden away. Then came the time when he was brought out of hiding and crowned king.
Athaliah protested, yelling “Treason, Treason”, but Jehoiada, the priest, instructed soldiers to remove her from the temple and kill her. She died in the entrance of the Horse Gate into the king’s house.
Read about in Athalia in Scripture: 2 Kings 8:26, 2 Chronicles 22; 23:13-21; 24:7
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