Athaliah

Athaliah ( /ˌæθəˈlaɪ.ə/; Hebrew: עֲתַלְיָה, ʻĂṯalyâ ; "God is exalted"; Greek: Γοθολια; Latin: Athalia) was queen consort to King Jehoram of Judah, and later queen regnant of Judah for six years. William F. Albright has dated her reign to 842–837 BC, while Edwin R. Thiele's dates, as taken from the third edition of his magnum opus, were 842/841 to 836/835 BC. However, a starting date of 842/841 for Athaliah is one year before the date of 841/840 that Thiele gave for death of her son Ahaziah, a conflict that Thiele never resolved. The present article accepts the one-year adjustment to Thiele's dates for Ahaziah given by later scholars that is explained in the Rehoboam and Ahaziah articles, thereby reconciling Thiele's dates for Athaliah with those of her predecessor. These dates are also compatible with cross-synchronisms between Ahaziah and Athaliah and the northern kingdom. Athaliah is usually considered the daughter of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel (see discussion below); her marriage to Jehoram sealed a treaty between Israel and Judah.

Jehoram, a descendant of King David, actively promoted the worship of YHWH in his country, but he tolerated Athaliah's worship of Baal. After Jehoram's death, their son Ahaziah became Judah's king with Athaliah acting as queen mother. 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 Jehoram, who was Athaliah's brother (or possibly nephew). Jehu assassinated them both in Yahweh's name and had Athaliah's entire extended family in Israel put to death.

Athaliah, as queen of Judah, tried to have all possible successors to Ahaziah executed; one, however,a grandson of hers named Joash was rescued from the purge by Jehosheba, Ahaziah's sister, and was raised in secret by the priest Jehoiada. Six years later, Athaliah was surprised when Jehoiada revealed Joash and proclaimed him king of Judah. She rushed to stop this rebellion, but was captured and executed.