2 Kings 11

2 Kings 11:1-21

The Reign In Judah Of Athaliah The Usurper c. 841-835 BC, Or The Remarkable Preservation And Restoration Of The Davidic Heir And The Refutation Of The Worship Of The Foreign Baal (2 Kings 11:1-21). On hearing of the death of Ahaziah, king of Judah, at the hands of Jehu, and the overthrowing of the dynasty of Omri in Israel, Ahaziah’s mother Athaliah, a daughter of Ahab and the influential ‘queen mother’, seized the throne of Judah and sought to destroy all the seed royal, seeking to salvage something for the house of Ahab. The result appeared to be that the house of David was about to be exterminated, and it was all due to their association with the house of Ahab. The fact that according to the Chronicler her son had previously slain all his brothers, along with a number of prominent aristocrats, once his reign was established (2 Chronicles 21:4), presumably because of opposition to his support for Baal, brings out how evil that house really was. They would brook no opposition in their determination to establish the worship of Baal.But YHWH had not forgotten His promises to David (2 Samuel 7) and Ahaziah’s half-sister Jehosheba (presumably by another wife of Jehoram) hid one of Ahaziah’s infant sons, Joash, so that he survived the massacre, after which he was kept in hiding for many years in the Temple, until the time came for his revealing to Judah. Then when the appropriate time came Jehoiada, the faithful Priest who, with Jehosheba his wife had watched over him, presented him before the commanders of the Temple guards whom he knew that he could rely on, taking from them suitable oaths of secrecy and loyalty.The result was that, after carefully putting in place certain safeguards, Joash was crowned, anointed and acclaimed in the Temple by both the guards and a gathering of the people. The noise of the acclamation was such that it brought the unsuspecting Athaliah hurrying to the scene, presumably accompanied by a number of attendants, and when she realised what was happening she cried out ‘treason’.

But she had little popular support, and with her own main bodyguard and supporters (as worshippers of Baal) presumably largely elsewhere she was at the mercy of the Temple guards. She was therefore led out of the Temple and slain. Her rebellion was at an end. This was then followed by the renewal of the covenants of YHWH and the destruction of the sanctuary of Baal.We should note that we do not strictly have a record of the reign of Athaliah. She is seen rather as a brief and unpleasant interlude leading up to the restoration of the Davidic monarchy and of the covenants of YHWH, and the account of her reign simply deals with her failure to extirpate the house of David, and her death.The passage divides into two subsections:1)The Usurping Of The Throne By Athaliah And The Preservation And Eventual Crowning Of The Davidic Heir Resulting In Her Execution (2 Kings 11:1-16).2)The Renewing Of The Covenants of YHWH, The Destruction Of The Sanctuary Of Baal, And The Final Official Enthronement Of The Davidic Heir (2 Kings 11:17-21).

2 Kings 11:17-21

2). The Renewing Of The Covenants of YHWH, The Destruction Of The Sanctuary Of Baal, And The Final Official Enthronement Of The Davidic Heir (2 Kings 11:17-21). Athaliah having been disposed of, and the Davidic king having been restored and crowned, we now have a summary of the events that immediately followed, commencing with the renewing of the covenants, and the consequent extirpation of Baalism, and culminating in a reference to the enthronement of the Davidic king. These are not necessarily in chronological order. Rather they bring out the three necessary elements to the full restoration of Judah, the renewing of the covenants with YHWH which was the first essential step, the necessarily following destruction of the sanctuary of Baal and execution of its high priest, and the final enthroning of Joash on the official throne of David in accordance with YHWH’s covenant with the house of David, which is the highlighted feature of the whole passage.Analysis. a And Jehoiada made a covenant between YHWH and the king and the people, that they should be YHWH’s people, between the king also and the people (2 Kings 11:17).b And all the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and broke it down. His altars and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of YHWH (2 Kings 11:18).c And he took the commanders over hundreds, and the Carites, and the guard, and all the people of the land, and they brought down the king from the house of YHWH, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings (2 Kings 11:19).b So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. And they had slain Athaliah with the sword at the king’s house (2 Kings 11:20).a Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign (2 Kings 11:21).Note that in ‘a’ the king’s position is settled between him and YHWH and him and the people, and in the parallel he commenced to reign. In ‘b’ the people of the land destroyed the symbols of Baalism and in the parallel they had destroyed Athaliah, and they rejoiced and rejoiced and were quiet.

Centrally in ‘c’ the Davidic heir was enthroned on the throne of the kings.2 Kings 11:17‘And Jehoiada made a covenant between YHWH and the king and the people, that they should be YHWH’s people, between the king also and the people.’In very abbreviated form we learn that Jehoiada re-established the sacred covenants; the sacred covenant of YHWH with the Davidic house, ‘YHWH and the king’ (2 Samuel 7:8-16), the sacred covenant of YHWH with the people, (including the king), ‘YHWH — and the people’ (Exodus 20:2-17), and the political (although still sacred) covenant between king and people, ‘between king also and people’. The kingdom had returned to YHWH on the basis of the covenants of YHWH.Such a renewing of the covenant on important occasions can be paralleled in 2 Kings 23:3; Deuteronomy 5:1 ff; Joshua 8:30-35; Joshua 24:2-25; 2 Samuel 5:3 with 1 Chronicles 11:3; 2 Chronicles 29:3 ff).

It was an essential part of returning to the true worship of YHWH. By it the people were acknowledging YHWH as their sole God and Overlord, and their responsibility to be His holy people and observe His laws and commandments.2 Kings 11:18‘And all the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and broke it down. His altars and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of YHWH.’Then the freemen of Israel, the landed gentry and freeholders in contrast with the city bureaucrats, went to the hated house of Baal and tore it down. They were dethroning Baal. They broke in pieces his altars and his images.

And they slew Mattan, the high priest of Baal in Jerusalem, before those altars (the term High Priest is found at Ugarit)). This was, of course, a necessary consequence of the official renewing of the covenants, and with the people in control, supported by the Temple guard, the followers of Baal remained quiet.

The will of the people was conclusive. (The incidents are in topical order rather than in chronological order. This would chronologically probably follow the enthronement of the king).Mattan was a common Israelite name (a shortened form of Mattaniah) and is testified to by a seal at Lachish. It means simply ‘gift’. (It may here signify ‘gift (of Baal)’, Mattaniah meaning ‘gift of YHWH’).2 Kings 11:19‘And he took the commanders over hundreds, and the Carites, and the guard, and all the people of the land, and they brought down the king from the house of YHWH, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.’Meanwhile those who had been involved in the coronation, the commanders of military units, the elite units of Temple executioners (the Carites), and the general Temple guard, together with the ‘people of the land’ brought the king down from the house of YHWH, and came by the gate of the guard to the palace which was now once more the king’s house, and there he was officially seated on ‘the throne of kings’, the Davidic throne. The lack of interference by, or even cooperation of, the royal bodyguard and the standing army suggest that they too were ready to support Yahwism and the people. Athaliah had had few real friends2 Kings 11:20‘So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet.

And they had slain Athaliah with the sword at the king’s house.’The city was now filled with rejoicing by ‘the people of the land’, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who could be expected to be more tied to the reigning monarch, themselves remained quiet and peaceful. Athaliah was dead, slain with the sword at the entrance to the palace, and it would appear that few mourned her passing (again the order is not chronological).2 Kings 11:21‘Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign.’And the final result was that Jehoash commenced his reign at the age or seven years old.

But it was not his age that mattered, it was that he was the true heir to the throne of David.Note how this note has been removed from the opening formula that follows and has been placed here in order to conclude this subsection. He had already begun to reign.