The only woman to rule ancient Judah was Athaliah, who may have been the daughter of the wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.
Queen from 841 to 836 B.C., Athaliah left a baleful record of idol worship, intrigue and murder, say Minister Greg Fleming and Bishop Michael Sis.
“Athaliah is a princess in the royal family that rules the 10 northern tribes of Israel and she marries Jehoram, ruler of the two southern tribes of Judah, as a way to promote unity between these two feuding factions,” said Fleming, minister of Downtown Church of Christ in Midland.
“The exact relation of Athaliah to Israel’s King Omri and King Ahab is not clear. Is she Omri’s daughter and Ahab’s sister as indicated in older English translations of Second Kings 8:26 or is she Ahab’s daughter as indicated in Second Kings 8:18?
“In my view the most satisfying explanation is that she is born to Omri when he is quite old and he dies soon after her birth, leaving her to be reared in the royal house of Ahab, her oldest brother, who becomes regent upon the death of his father.”
Fleming said Athaliah made her move after Jehu assassinated her son Ahaziah and 42 royal descendants of David. “Seeing a power vacuum, she takes over as ruler of Judah, not knowing that Ahaziah’s sister Jehosheba and her Levite husband Jehoiada have rescued and are hiding the sole remaining member of the Davidic dynasty, a young boy, Joash.
“After six years Jehoiada anoints Joash as Judah’s king, Athaliah is slain in the royal palace and the general populace removes the altars to Baal in Jerusalem that had been introduced by Athaliah,” he said.
Asked if Athaliah had any good qualities, Fleming said, “Given that she is termed ‘that evil woman’ in Second Chronicles 24:7, I think not.
“Is Athaliah’s evil inherited from her family? While I will not minimize the formative influence of one’s family of origin, my conviction is that ultimately heritage is not destiny.”
Bishop Sis, of the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo, said Athaliah “was not a legitimate ruler.
“She usurped the throne of Judah and attempted to purge all legitimate claimants to the throne,” he said. “She promoted the idolatrous religion of Baal in Judah, complete with a temple, priests and worship.
“Thus she was guilty of mass murder and idolatry. Nevertheless, I do not believe that her behavior was inevitable because as a human being she had free will.”
Sis said Athaliah, like everyone, chose between good and evil. “Therefore, I believe she could have chosen differently,” he said.
“I am not aware of good things that she did in her reign as queen, but not all she did is recorded in the Bible. I would suppose that there may have been some good things and some bad things and those are simply lost to history.
“From her story, I draw the following lessons. First of all, it is wrong to seize political power through murder. Second, although a political ruler can try to stamp out the faith of the people and introduce the practice of idolatry, the roots of true religion in the hearts of the people are strong and they can eventually prevail even after years of propaganda by those in political power.”
