Athaliah and the Rescue of Joash

When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal (2 Kings 11:1). However, Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king's sons who were being slain. Jehosheba placed Joash and his nurse in a bedchamber to hide him from Athaliah so that he was not killed (2 Kings 11:2). The child remained hidden with Jehosheba in the house of the Lord for six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.

In the seventh year, Jehoiada the priest sent for the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them into the house of the Lord. He made a covenant with them, took an oath from them, and showed them the king's son (2 Kings 11:4). Jehoiada commanded the guards to surround the king on every side with weapons in hand. He then brought forth Joash, put the crown upon him, gave him the testimony, and anointed him king. The people clapped their hands and shouted, 'God save the king' (2 Kings 11:12).

When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and the people, she came to the people into the temple of the Lord. She looked and saw the king standing by a pillar, as the manner was, with the princes and the trumpeters by him. Athaliah rent her clothes and cried, 'Treason, Treason' (2 Kings 11:14). Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds to have her forth outside the ranges, and he ordered that anyone who followed her should be killed with the sword. They laid hands on her, and she was slain by the way where the horses entered the king's house.