Who is the worst grandma in the Bible? Assassination wins Queen Athaliah the crown.
Holy Mothers (and One Unholy Grandmother) -
Queen Athaliah of Judah
2 Kings 8:24-29, Alliance
2 Kings 11, Queen Athaliah
Other Mothers
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2 Kings 8:24-29, Alliance
For forty years after the division of the Davidic kingdom into Israel and Judah, the two kingdoms were at
war. King Jehoshaphat of Judah and King Omri of Israel, Ahab's father, made peace. They cemented the
treaty with the marriage of Jehoshaphat's grandson Ahaziah to Omri's daughter Athaliah. So Jehoshaphat and
Omri's son Ahab were kinsmen and allies.
Now, I need to add something here. In the original email, and for about a year on this website, I said that
Ahaziah was Jehoshaphat's son, not his grandson. You need to read the scripture for yourself. Don't
take my word for what it says, because I make mistakes.
2 Kings 11, Queen Athaliah (6/27/2008)
Last quarter we learned that one of the standard methods of succession to the throne of the Kingdom of Israel was assassination. In contrast, the heirs to the throne of Judah always waited for the old king to die on his own. There was only one exception to this rule: Athaliah.
Athaliah was the Queen Mother during the reign of King Ahaziah of Judah. She was from the royal family of
Israel, however, so she had some funny ideas about succession. When her son died, she decided to take over
for herself, and she ordered the assassinations of everyone else in the family who might be in line to
inherit, including her own children and grandchildren. (She did miss one grandson, who succeeded to the
throne at the age of seven after the death of Athaliah.)
Clearly Athaliah was a bad grandma, although scripture doesn't comment on whether she was a good ruler
or a bad ruler. The fact remains that for six years she was Queen and sole ruler of the Kingdom of Judah.
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