2 Kings 11:16

16 So {they grabbed her} as she went [by] the entranceway of the horses to the palace of the king, and she was killed there.

2 Kings 11:16 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 11:16

And they laid hands on her
Or rather,

``set a place for her'',

as the Targum; so Jarchi and Kimchi; made a space, opened a way for her to come out of the temple into their ranks, that she might be there taken and slain, and not in the temple:

and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king's
house;
either the high road in which the horses and carriages went to the palace, or the way to the king's stables near the palace: and there was she slain; they let her go so far, which was far enough from the temple, and then they slew her.

2 Kings 11:16 In-Context

14 She looked, and there was the king standing by the pillar according to the custom. The commanders and the trumpeters [were] by the king, and all of the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing on the trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and she called, "Treason, treason!"

15 Then Jehoiada the priest commanded the commanders of the hundreds, the appointed of the army, and he said to them, "Bring her out to the house of the ranks! The one coming after her [should] kill her with the sword," for the priest had said, "Let her not be killed in the temple of Yahweh."

16 So {they grabbed her} as she went [by] the entranceway of the horses to the palace of the king, and she was killed there.

17 Then Jehoiada {made} a covenant between Yahweh and the king and the people, that the people should be as a people for Yahweh, and [also a covenant] between the king and the people.

18 Then all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down, and its altars and its images they broke completely into pieces. Mattan the priest of Baal they killed in front of the altars. Then the priest put guards over the house of Yahweh.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "they put hands to her"