Queen Zibiah was from Beersheba, the wife of King Ahaziah (r. 841 BC), and mother of King Jehoash of Judah (r. 835-796 BC).
King Ahaziah (c. 841 BC), son of Queen Athaliah and King Jehoram, was the first King of Judah to be descended from both the House of David and the House of Omri, through his mother and successor.
Queen Athaliah, was the daughter of King Ahab & Queen Jezebel.
When Joram had been wounded in his war against King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead, King Ahaziah went to Jezreel to visit him.
King Joram of Israel and his nephew, King Ahaziah of Judah, rode out in their chariots to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of land that had belonged to Naboth of Jezreel.
King Joram demanded, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?”Jehu replied, “How can there be peace as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother, Jezebel, are all around us?”
Then King Joram turned the horses around and fled, shouting to King Ahaziah, “Treason, Ahaziah!” But Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he sank down dead in his chariot.
When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what was happening, he fled along the road to Beth-haggan. Jehu rode after him, shouting, “Shoot him, too!” So they shot Ahaziah in his chariot at the Ascent of Gur, near Ibleam. He was able to go on as far as Megiddo, but he died there. Ahaziah had become king over Judah in the eleventh year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab (r. 852-841 BC).
When Athaliah learned that Jehu [previously a commander in the Israelite army, son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi] killed her brother, King Joram of Israel and her son, King Ahaziah of Judah, she began to destroy the rest of the royal family.
King Ahaziah’s sister, Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Queen Zibiah’s infant son, Jehoash (Joash), and stole him away from among the rest of the king’s children, who were about to be killed. She put Jehoash and his nurse in a bedroom, and they hid him from Athaliah, so the child was not murdered.
Jehoash remained hidden in the Temple of the Lord for six years while Queen Athaliah ruled Judah (r. 841-835 BC), until he could be made king.
King Ahaziah’s sister, Jehosheba, was the wife of Jehoiada, the priest.
In the seventh year of Queen Athaliah’s reign, Jehoiada the priest summoned the commanders, the Carite mercenaries, and the palace guards to come to the Temple of the Lord. He made a solemn pact with them and made them swear an oath of loyalty there in the Lord’s Temple; then he showed them the king’s son, Jehoash.
When Athaliah heard the noise made by the palace guards and the people, she hurried to the Lord’s Temple to see what was happening. When she arrived, she saw the newly crowned king standing in his place of authority by the pillar, as was the custom at times of coronation. The commanders and trumpeters were surrounding him, and people from all over the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. When Athaliah saw all this, she tore her clothes in despair and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”
Then Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders who were in charge of the troops, “Take her to the soldiers in front of the Temple, and kill anyone who tries to rescue her.” For the priest had said, “She must not be killed in the Temple of the Lord.” So they seized her and led her out to the gate where horses enter the palace grounds, and she was killed there.
Queen Zibiah’s son, Jehoash, began to rule over Judah in the seventh year of King Jehu’s reign in Israel (r. 841-814 BC). He reigned in Jerusalem forty years.
King Jehoash’s officers plotted against him and assassinated him at Beth-millo on the road to Silla. The assassins were Jozacar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer—both trusted advisers.
---
Like this post? Stop by and read “Queen Athaliah: Wife of King Jehoram and Mother of King Ahaziah.” She was the only female monarch to sit on King David’s throne in history.
I'd love to have you as a customer, head to the online store and shop for handcrafted beaded jewelry by beYOUteous.
Leave a comment