the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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Bible Dictionaries
Athaliah
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or ATHALIAH . 1 . The only queen who occupied the throne of Judah. She was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and was married to Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat. On the accession of her son Ahaziah she became queen-mother, second only to the king in power and influence. When Ahaziah was slain by Jehu, she could not bring herself to take an Inferior position, and seized the throne for herself, making it secure, as she supposed, by slaying all the male members of the house of David so far as they were within her reach. One infant was preserved, and was successfully concealed in the Temple six years. The persons active in this were Jehosheba, sister of Ahaziah, and her husband Jehoiada, the chief priest. The story of the young prince’s coronation by the bodyguard is one of the most dramatic in Hebrew history. The death of Athaliah at the hands of the guard forms the logical conclusion of the incident. The destruction of the temple of Baal, which is spoken of in the same connexion, indicates that Athaliah was addicted to the worship of the PhÅ“nician Baal, introduced by her mother into Israel ( 2 Kings 11:1-21 ). 2 . See Gotholias. 3 . A Benjamite ( 1 Chronicles 8:26 ).
H. P. Smith.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Athaliah'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/a/athaliah.html. 1909.
