2 Kings 11:1

Athaliah Usurps the Throne

1 When Athaliah, Ahaziah's mother, saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs.

2 Kings 11:1 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 11:1

And when Athaiah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son
was dead
Who was the daughter of Ahab, and granddaughter of Omri ( 2 Kings 8:18 2 Kings 8:26 ) , she arose,

and destroyed all the seed royal;
that were left, for many had been slain already; the sons of Jehoshaphat, the brothers of Joram, were slain by him, ( 2 Chronicles 21:4 ) and all Joram's sons, excepting Ahaziah, were slain by the Arabians, ( 2 Chronicles 22:1 ) , and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah were slain by Jehu, ( 2 Kings 11:8 ) , these therefore seem to be the children of Ahaziah, the grandchildren of this brutish woman, whom she massacred out of her ambition of rule and government, which perhaps she was intrusted with while her son went to visit Joram king of Israel; other reasons are by some assigned, but this seems to be the chief. For the same reason Laodice, who had six sons by Ariarathes king of the Cappadocians, poisoned five of them; the youngest escaping her hands, was murdered by the people ^F24, as this woman also was.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 Justin. e Trogo, l. 37. c. 1.

2 Kings 11:1 In-Context

1 When Athaliah, Ahaziah's mother, saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs.

2 Jehosheba, [who was] King Jehoram's daughter and Ahaziah's sister, secretly rescued Joash son of Ahaziah from the king's sons who were being killed and [put] him and his nurse in a bedroom. So he was hidden from Athaliah and was not killed.

3 Joash was in hiding with Jehosheba in the Lord's temple six years while Athaliah ruled over the land.

4 Then, in the seventh year, Jehoiada sent [messengers] and brought in the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, and the guards. He had them come to him in the Lord's temple, where he made a covenant with them and put them under oath. He showed them the king's son

5 and commanded them, "This is what you are to do: one third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath are to provide protection for the king's palace.