Week 21 2 Chronicles 23
After Ahaziah was assassinated Athaliah – his scheming & opportunistic mom – decided to become queen.
Athaliah was Jehoram’s wife and she was also the daughter of King Ahab of Israel (so Judah & Israel were awkwardly and temporarily reconnected-by-marriage).
The line of kings I’ve looked at so far – Rehoboam Abijah Asa Jehoshaphat Jehoram & Ahaziah – were all part of David’s family-tree…father-son-father-son and like that.
But Athaliah set out to destroy the rest of Judah’s royal family and extinguish the David bloodline right then-and-there.
So anyway the bible doesn’t give any details about how Athaliah organized the plan to kill Ahaziah’s kids. But in a critical & decisive bureaucratic gaff by Athaliah’s organizing team one of Ahaziah’s sons slipped through the net. That baby boy – Joash – was rescued when one of his aunts kidnapped him and kept him safe for six years: in this way, Jehosheba, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, hid the child so that Athaliah could not murder him. Joash remained hidden in the Temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled over the land.
When Joash was seven years old Jehoiada the priest organized a palace coup. Athaliah – after keeping the throne warm for six years – was executed. Seven year-old Joash became king.
Note: quotes from 2 Chronicles 22:10 11-12 (NLT)