Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
2 Chronicles 22:11

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Jezebel’s Baalism in Judah (21:1-23:21)

The Baalism of Ahab and Jezebel remained strong in the northern kingdom during the successive reigns of their sons Ahaziah and Joram (2 Kings 1:1-15). It spread to Judah in the reign of Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram, who was married to Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel (21:1-20; see notes on 2 Kings 8:16-24).

Judah’s next king, Ahaziah, at the direction of his mother Athaliah and her northern relatives, cooperated with the idolatrous northern kingdom, and as a result met an early death (22:1-9; see notes on 2 Kings 8:25-29; 2 Kings 9:21-29; 2 Kings 10:12-14). The kings of both Judah and Israel were killed by Jehu, whose anti-Baal revolution in the northern kingdom is recorded in 2 Kings 9:1-36.

Upon the king of Judah’s death, Athaliah seized the throne for herself. She ruled for six years, during which she did all within her power to establish the northern Baalism of her parents in Judah. But the priests and Levites remained faithful to God. The Levites were the temple guards, and the writer emphasizes the part they played (in cooperation with the palace guards) in getting rid of Athaliah and restoring the throne to the Davidic dynasty. The Chronicler also points out that although the coup took place in the temple grounds, no one except the priests and Levites entered the temple buildings. People still had to respect the temple’s holiness (22:10-23:21; see notes on 2 Kings 11:1-20). The death of Athaliah marked the end of Jezebel’s Baalism in Judah.

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

GOD SAVED JOASH ALIVE FROM THE WRATH OF ATHALIAH

"Now 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. But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king's sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in the bed-chamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not. And he was with them in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned in the land."

Our comments on the narration in these three verses are found in the parallel account in 2 Kings 11:1-3.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Compare the marginal reference and notes.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 22

Now the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son ( 2 Chronicles 22:1 )

Who is also called Jehoahaz. Ahaziah or Jehoahaz are one and the same. They made him the

king in his stead: for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all of the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned. And he was forty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri. He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab ( 2 Chronicles 22:1-3 ):

Now something is wrong here. I'm going to have to go home and figure this out. Ahaziah, forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign. I have to look that up, because his dad was only forty years old when he died. So something's wrong with the things here. Perhaps the copyist error. I'll have to look that up in my commentaries.

His mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri. Or granddaughter of Omri. They don't have words granddaughter. Omri was the father of Ahab. And he also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab.

for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly. Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his counselors after the death of his father to his destruction. And he walked in their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab the king of Israel to war against Hazael the king of Syria at Ramothgilead: and the Syrians smote Joram ( 2 Chronicles 22:3-5 ).

He also continued the same friendship with the kings of the north and he went up. And he, too, was invited to come into the battle with Jehoram against Syria. Or Jehoram rather went to battle against Syria. Jehoram was injured and was recovering from his wounds that he had received in the battle when Ahaziah went up to visit him and to comfort him. This is the time when Jehu rebelled against the reign of Jehoram, came to him and killed him. And they also found Ahaziah there and Jehu killed him also. And so they brought his body back. And they buried him there. So rather than bringing it back for burial in Jerusalem.

Now when her son was killed, Athaliah then took over the reigning of Judah, and in taking over the reign, immediately she killed all of the other sons in order that there would be no other heir apparent to the throne, except that one of the nurses grabbed one of the little sons and she hid him so that he was not slain. He was just a baby at the time that he was hidden away. And they took him to the priest Jehoiada and they raised him there in the temple.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

F. Ahaziah ch. 22

The house of Ahab also strongly influenced Ahaziah (2 Chronicles 22:3). His mother was Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Because of his apostasy, Jehu executed Ahaziah, along with his uncle Joram, the king of Israel. Ahaziah had no descendant who could succeed him on the throne when he died (2 Chronicles 22:9). His mother killed all his sons except one, whom the high priest and his wife hid away when he was only an infant (2 Chronicles 22:10-11).

"The fact that royal infants may regularly have been put into the care of wet nurses or foster mothers becomes the key to Jehosheba’s frustrating Athaliah’s plans; the suckling child was overlooked and could have escaped detection as he grew by mingling with other priests’ children or perhaps as a temple devotee like the young Samuel." [Note: Dillard, 2 Chronicles, pp. 179-80.]

The place where they hid him was evidently a bedding storeroom. [Note: Payne, p. 510.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

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Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      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.   11 But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not.   12 And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.

      We have here what we had before, 2 Kings 11:1-16, c. 1. A wicked woman endeavouring to destroy the house of David, that she might set up a throne for herself upon the ruins of it. Athaliah barbarously cut off all the seed-royal (2 Chronicles 22:10; 2 Chronicles 22:10), perhaps intending to transmit the crown of Judah after herself to some of her own relations, that though her family was cut off in Israel by Jehu it might be planted in Judah. 2. A good woman effectually preserving it from being wholly extirpated. One of the late king's sons, a child of a year old, was rescued from among the dead, and saved alive by the care of Jehoiada's wife (2 Chronicles 22:11; 2 Chronicles 22:12), that a lamp might be ordained for God's anointed; for no word of God shall fall to the ground.