Grandma Athalia: Killer Queen

​​Kings 2 11:3

Some coronations are more contentious than others. But the one in today’s chapter, in which a mere boy is crowned while his grandmother is executed, is in a dramatic league of its own, and still a debated topic of speculation. 

Queen Athalia is the only woman mentioned in the Bible as a royal ruler in her own right. But her seven-year rule as Queen of Judah began and ended in bad blood. Her motives are still argued among scholars, and her enigmatic tale was depicted by European artists such as Racine and Handel in a play and oratorio that captured the imagination. Sarah Berhanard’s role as the vicious Queen Athalia was, supposedly, one of her favorite performances. 

Who was this lesser known queen who apparently killed most of her family and was later replaced on the throne by her only remaining relative -a seven year old boy? We only have the biblical narrative to go on, so we need to tread carefully and with suspicion, but here’s what we know: 

Athalia was the daughter of the House of Omri, a Northern princess, most likely the daughter of Jezebel and Ahab, who was  married off to Yehoram, the future king of the Southern Kingdom, as a gesture of political goodwill between the two sister nations who didn’t always get along.  Since Judah was much smaller and poorer than Israel, and more religiously aligned with YHWH, Athalia was likely wed to Yehrham to ensure that the values of the cosmopolitan northern state be instilled into its vassal sister state in the south. It worked for quite a while, with Ba’al worship flourishing in Jerusalem, along with international trade. 

But when Jehu’s swift religious revolution in the north executed all of Athalia’s family, including her son, King Ahazia of Judah, her mother, the Queen Mother Jezebel of Israel, and every other living relative, Athalia moved fast to stop a similar move in her own court. She asserted her role as Queen Mother, and ordered the instant killing of many of her own family who may claim the crown.  It’s assumed she did so to protect not only her own head but also the interests of the larger northern alliance she was part of, including the kingdom of Tyre, her mother’s family. 

But one baby boy survived the slaughter. Athalia’s grandson Yoash, hidden in a pile of corpses, was rescued by his aunt, Princess Yehosheba, daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah, probably from another mother who was not Athalia. Yehosheba is married to Yehoyada, the High Priest of YHWH, and together they hide the baby in the last place the pagan queen will ever step foot in -- the Holy of Holies of YHWH’s temple in Jerusalem.  Along with his nanny, the baby grows up under his aunt’s watchful eye:

וַיְהִ֤י אִתָּהּ֙ בֵּ֣ית יְהֹוָ֔ה מִתְחַבֵּ֖א שֵׁ֣שׁ שָׁנִ֑ים וַעֲתַלְיָ֖ה מֹלֶ֥כֶת עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ 

He stayed with her for six years, hidden in the House of YHWH, while Athaliah reigned over the land. 

​​Kings 2 11:3

As unlikely as it seems, the prince grew up in that sacred precinct, hidden from the queen, for seven years, while his grandmother rules. Some traditions claim that he was literally inside the holiest chamber where even the high priest is only allowed to enter once a year. 

And when this precious prince, the last remaining son of David, was deemed old enough, Yehoyada activates the coup and sets up the coronation. 

By the time Queen Athalia gets a hold of the elaborate ritual conducted in the temple and exclaims ‘Treason, Treason!’ - it’s too late. She is removed from the temple through the horse stables and put to death on the palace grounds. 

The Queen is dead. Long live the king.  

And in a move that followed the playbook of Jehu, the next move is to destroy the temple of Ba’al and kill its priests. Young king Yhoash will rule for forty years - the last remaining of the seed of David, the product and the father of a new religious order. 

But did Athalia kill her own kin, or is it the authors’ way of defiling the memory of a great queen, the only woman to have the power to maintain control over the country during troubled times? 

Alex Israel brings several voices that explore this story: 

“Unlike Jehu’s revolution in Israel, Athaliah’s motive in massacring her own family is inexplicit. Why did she do it? Is it because if her son cannot rule, no other person from the Davidic line may rule either? Is it because, as sole remaining member of the house of Ahab, she seeks to preserve her dynastic legacy in Judah? 

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz suggests that “The killing of her children does certainly suggest an absolute, tyrannical desire to govern, sweeping away even the primal instinct of motherhood: Athaliah, like Jezebel, was not just a strong personality but a woman who yearned to rule; a woman with a real ambition, an intense passion for power…. Her passion was simply for power itself, and this drive of hers was so strong that it caused her to carry out a series of extreme acts, even to the point of destroying the royal heirs….She became simply a manifestation of this one drive: to rule.”

Some commentators assign Athaliah less pathological motives. Yehuda Kiel dwells upon her political motivations: “When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, learned that her son was dead” – slain by Jehu. She was concerned that Jehu would co-opt and annex the kingdom of Judah to his kingdom, and would execute her since she was from the house of Ahab…. Thus she decided on her course of action. The construction of the temple of Baal in Jerusalem had national-economic significance beyond its religious import; the builders sought to establish the historic ties of the kings of Israel with the kings of Tyre. But we do not need to select one reading over the other. As with today’s realpolitik, even the most despotic and murderous leaders may combine malicious ambition with a sophisticated political strategy; both approaches may be true at the same time.”

But there are other ways to try and make sense of this brutal story. Rabbi Jill Hammer tries to uncover the motives of the two women in this tale - who are possibly mother and daughter:

“Athaliah, the female monarch who has taken on a traditionally male role, is portrayed as usurping and monstrous—similarly to Jezebel who is also portrayed as murderous and unrighteous—while the motherly Jehosheba, who has no public role except as the wife of a powerful man, is portrayed as virtuous. As scholars Judith Maeryam Wouk and Kuloba Wagyanga Robert point out, we don’t know whether Jezebel or Athaliah were as bad as the biblical text makes them out to be—it is possible these female characters are demonized to promote a patriarchal narrative. Robert even points out that since Jehu has already killed “the brothers of Ahaziah,” the story that Athaliah killed the same people in a murderous rampage does not make sense. It could be that Athaliah was the last member of the House of Judah left who could take the reins of the kingdom—and that this was later portrayed by her enemies as an illegitimate seizure of power.”

Rabbi Hammer turns the gaze to the woman who saved the young prince - wondering about her role in this story: 

“The very fact that Yehosheva is not reported killed in the purge suggests that she could never be queen, even though she is the king’s daughter. A six-year-old boy is considered a more legitimate ruler than her. We might see her as a character meant to valorize “good women” who accept and promote the authority of men. Thinking about her this way, I feel less excited about her character. So is Yehosheva a hero, or a sellout? Perhaps we can’t resolve the question. She could be the lifesaving priestess, or the betrayer of female power.  Some days I feel pulled to admire her. Who can’t relate to a daughter who stands up to her oppressive mother, and saves a baby? Other days I feel like she is a straw figure positioned to hide what really happened to Judah’s only woman ruler in biblical days.”

The boy-king Yoash rules Jerusalem, with his uncle the High Priest serving as his mentor and guide. In the north, Jehu continues to rule Israel. But despite the similarities in their religious attitudes, there is no peace between north and south.  The House of Omri is over. But the House of David lives on.

Image: Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) and Marguerite Moreno (1871-1948) in 'Athalie', a play by Jean Racine (1639-99) late 19th century) Archives Larousse, Paris, France

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