Athaliah When Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, married Jehoram of Judah, the Baalism that Ahab and Jezebel had established in Israel spread to Judah. Athaliah was a strong influence on both her husband and their son, Ahaziah, who succeeded his father as king (2 Chronicles 1:21-6; 2 Chronicles 22:1-4). When Ahaziah was killed in Jehu’s anti-Baal revolution (2 Chronicles 1:22-9; 841 BC), Athaliah seized the throne of Judah, killed all her grandchildren (except one who escaped) and established her mother’s Baalism in Judah (2 Chronicles 1:22-12; 2 Chronicles 24:7).
Six years later, Athaliah was killed in a fresh anti-Baal revolution, this one centred on Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 1:22-23:15). The people then destroyed her Baal temple, Baal altars and Baal images, and restored the dynasty of David by placing her sole surviving grandson on the throne of Judah (2 Chronicles 1:23-21).