2 Kings 11 | Commentary

Commentary

2 Kgs 11:1 begins with a vav conjunction (ו = "now") that connects the story we are about to read with the events that transpired in the previous chapters (e.g., 2 Kgs 9-10).

Hebrew sentences typically begin with the verb and then introduce the subject followed by the object (e.g., "threw John the ball"), but verse one begins with the subject. Placing Athaliah (עֲתַלְיָה֙) at the beginning of the sentence puts her in focus as one of the main characters throughout the rest of the chapter.

The focus on Athaliah continues with the next phrase: "Ahaziah's mother" (אֵ֣ם אֲחַזְיָ֔הוּ). The phrase is in apposition to Athliah, which means "Ahaziah's mother" further specifies Athaliah's identity.

After introducing the main character and identifying her as Ahaziah's mother, the reader finally encounters the sentence's first verb: רָאֲתָ֖ה = "she saw." What does she see? She sees the result of the events described in the previous chapters: her son is dead (כִּ֣י מֵ֣ת בְּנָ֑הּ).

This last phrase "her son was dead" (כִּ֣י מֵ֣ת בְּנָ֑הּ) ends the first half of the verse, which provides the background for the events about to take place.

Next, the author describes Athaliah's actions with two consecutive verbs: "she got up" (וַתָּ֨קָם֙) and "destroyed" (וַתְּאַבֵּ֔ד). The second verb, translated as "destroyed", frequently appears in this form (i.e., Piel) in contexts related to political conflict (cf., 2 Kgs 10:19; 11:1; 19:18; Jer 40:15; 46:8; [TDOT, 22]).

The final phrase "all the royal descendants" (אֵ֖ת כָּל־זֶ֥רַע הַמַּמְלָכָֽה) establishes the story's major tension. Remember, Ahaziah was the king of Judah, which makes him a descendant of David. When Athaliah kills all the royal descendants, that raises a major question:

How can God's covenant with David (cf., 2 Sam 7) be true if all of David's descendants are dead? No Davidic heir can sit on the throne if they are all dead.