2 Kings 11 explained: A Hidden Prince Takes the Throne

A grandmother's massacre (vv. 1-3)

When her son King Ahaziah was killed, Athaliah, who came from the family of Israel's King Ahab, murdered the rest of Judah's royal family so she could rule herself. His sister Jehosheba hid the baby Joash in the temple, so David's family line, which God had promised to keep going, survived through one child; Christians later trace that line to Jesus.

A plan at the temple (vv. 4-8)

After six years, Jehoiada the priest, who was Jehosheba's husband according to another account, bound the royal guard commanders by an oath and showed them the living prince. He timed the move for the Sabbath, when guard shifts changed and both the arriving and departing units could be on hand at once.

The boy is crowned (vv. 9-12)

Arming the guards with King David's own weapons from the temple tied the moment to David's family. Joash was crowned, given a written document (probably God's law or the terms of kingship, though scholars are unsure), and anointed with oil as the sign of a chosen king.

Athaliah's fall (vv. 13-16)

Drawn by the noise, Athaliah found the boy standing by the pillar, the customary place for a king, and cried treason. Jehoiada had her taken out so no blood would be shed inside the temple, and she was killed at the palace horse entrance.

Promises and a purge (vv. 17-21)

Jehoiada bound king and people to be the LORD's people, and made a separate agreement between the king and the people, whose terms the chapter does not give. The crowd then tore down the temple of Baal, a god linked to Athaliah's family, and killed its priest Mattan, a violent act the text reports plainly before seven year old Joash takes the throne.

Key verse: 2 Kings 11:12

Where Christians differ

Christians have long differed over whether Jehoiada's armed revolt shows that removing an unjust ruler by force can be right, or simply records a unique event tied to God's promise to David.

Something to think about

When someone takes power by violence, what, if anything, makes it right for others to remove them by force?