2 Kings Chapter 11

“And when Athaiah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, etc.] Who was the daughter of Ahab, and granddaughter of Omri (<120818>2 Kings 8:18,26), 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, (<142104>2 Chronicles 21:4) and all Joram’s sons, excepting Ahaziah, were slain by the Arabians, (<142201>2 Chronicles 22:1), and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah were slain by Jehu, (<121108>2 Kings 11:8), these therefore seem to be the children of Ahaziah, the grandchildren of this brutish woman,…”

“JEHOASH SAVED FROM ATHALIAH'S MASSACRE. (Kg2 11:1-3) Athaliah--(See on Ch2 22:2). She had possessed great influence over her son, who, by her counsels, had ruled in the spirit of the house of Ahab. destroyed all the seed royal--all connected with the royal family who might have urged a claim to the throne, and who had escaped the murderous hands of Jehu (Ch2 21:2-4; Ch2 22:1; Kg2 10:13-14). This massacre she was incited to perpetrate--partly from a determination not to let David's family outlive hers; partly as a measure of self-defense to secure herself against the violence of Jehu, who was bent on destroying…”

“Athaliah, as wife of Joram and mother of Ahaziah, had guided both the internal and the external policy of the Jewish kingdom; she had procured the establishmeut of the worship of Baal in Judaea 2 Kings 8:18, 2 Kings 8:27, and had maintained a close alliance with the sister kingdom 2Ki 8:29; 2 Kings 10:13. The revolution effected by Jehu touched her nearly. It struck away from her the support of her relatives; it isolated her religious system, severing the communication with Phoenicia; and the death of Ahaziah deprived her of her legal status in Judaea, which was that of queen-mother (the 1 Kings 15:13 note), and…”

“She destroyed - This was the fruit of Jehoshaphat's marrying his son to a daughter of that idolatrous house of Ahab. And this dreadful judgment God permitted upon him and his, to shew how much he abhors all such affinities. 4 Kings (2 Kings) 11:2”

“11:1-16 Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel and the wife of King Jehoram of Judah (8:18, 26). As queen mother, she wielded powerful influence. Unfortunately, it was for evil (8:18, 27; 2 Chr 22:3-4) and included her plans to destroy the rest of the royal family (see 2 Chr 22:10). The demise of Ahab’s family in Samaria was complete, but Athaliah seized power in Judah in a slaughter that mirrored Jehu’s slaughter of her family in Samaria.”

“am 3120, bc 884 Athaliah: Ch2 22:10, Ch2 24:7 the mother: Kg2 8:26, Kg2 9:27 and destroyed: A similar history is related by Mr. Bruce, as having occurred in Abyssinia. Judith "surprised the rock Damo, and slew the whole of the princes, to the number, it is said, of about 400;" while the infant king, Del Naad, was conveyed for safety to a loyal province, and afterwards restored. Mat 2:13, Mat 2:16, Mat 21:38, Mat 21:39 seed royal: Heb. seed of the kingdom, Kg2 25:25 \*marg. Jer 41:1 4 Kings (2 Kings) 11:2”

“The Government of Athaliah (cf. Ch2 22:10-12). After the death of Ahaziah of Judah, his mother Athaliah, a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel (see at Kg2 8:18 and Kg2 8:26), seized upon the government, by putting to death all the king's descendants with the exception of Joash, a son of Ahaziah of only a year old, who had been secretly carried off from the midst of the royal children, who were put to death, by Jehosheba, his father's sister, the wife of the high priest Jehoiada, and was first of all hidden with his nurse in the bed-chamber, and afterwards kept concealed from Athaliah for six years in the high priest's…”