Queen Zibiah was from Beersheba, the wife of King Ahaziah (r. 841 BC), and mother of King Joash of Judah (r. 835-796 BC).
Long before she was born, Hagar and her son, Ishmael, wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba.
Samuel appointed his oldest sons, Joel and Abijah, to be judges over Israel. They held court in Beersheba.
Queen Zibiah’s son, Joash, began to rule over Judah in the seventh year of King Jehu’s reign in Israel.
Jehu was the son of Jehoshaphat, grandson of Nimshi, and possibly great-grandson of Omri. Ramoth-Gilead was the city where, Elisha, summoned a member of the group of prophets to anoint Jehu (r. 841-814 BC) king over Israel.
Her husband, King Ahaziah (r. 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 King Joram of Israel 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 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 killed her brother, King Joram of Israel and her son, King Ahaziah of Judah, she began to destroy the rest of the royal family.
Ahaziah’s sister, Jehosheba took Queen Zibiah’s infant son, Joash, and stole him away from among the rest of the king’s children, who were about to be killed. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom, and they hid him from Athaliah, so the child was not murdered.
Joash 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.
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, Joash.
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, King Joash, reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His 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.
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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.
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