Athaliah, daughter of Ahab
The name Athaliah means “the time of the Lord.” Athaliah is mentioned in 15 verses of the Bible, first in 2 Kings 8:26.
Family of Athaliah
Who was Athaliah?
The daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and the wife of Jehoram, king of Judah (2 Kings 8:18), who “walked in the ways of the house of Ahab” (2 Chr. 21:6), called “daughter” of Omri (2 Kings 8:26). On the death of her husband and of her son Ahaziah, she resolved to seat herself on the vacant throne. She slew all Ahaziah’s children except Joash, the youngest (2 Kings 11:1, 2). After a reign of six years she was put to death in an insurrection (2 Kings 11:20; 2 Chr. 21:6; 22:10-12; 23:15), stirred up among the people in connection with Josiah’s being crowned as king.
Biography adapted from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), public domain, linked via Theographic Bible Metadata.
Key verses about Athaliah
- 2 Kings 8:26
Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.
- 2 Kings 11:1
And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.
- 2 Kings 11:14
And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.
- 2 Chronicles 22:2
Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.
- 2 Chronicles 22:10
But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah.
- 2 Chronicles 23:13
And she looked, and, behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of musick, and such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, Treason.
Timeline of Athaliah's life
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 885 BC | Reign of Athaliah |