Person Old Testament
Athaliah
Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, became queen of Judah and ruled for six years before being overthrown (2Ki.8.26; 11:1-3, 13-14, 20; 2Ch.22.2, 10-12; 23:12-13, 21; 24:7). Mentioned in 15 verses across 2 books, first at 2 Kings 8:26.
Why it matters. Queen of Judah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Athaliah
Athaliah was the queen of Judah and the only woman to rule as a monarch in the kingdom's history. She was the daughter of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel and married Jehoram, king of Judah. After the death of her son Ahaziah, Athaliah seized power and ordered the execution of all potential heirs to the throne, except for the infant Joash, who was hidden away by his aunt Jehosheba. Athaliah ruled Judah for six years, promoting the worship of Baal. In the seventh year, the priest Jehoiada orchestrated a coup, crowned Joash as king, and had Athaliah put to death. During her reign, Athaliah had used resources from the temple of the Lord to support the temple of Baal. Her story illustrates the negative influence of the house of Ahab on the kingdom of Judah and the consequences of forsaking the worship of the true God.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Spouse
- Jehoram
Appears in Scripture
Named in 15 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.