Athaliah

Athaliah (/ˌæθəˈlaɪ.ə/; Hebrew: עֲתַלְיָה, ʻĂṯalyâ ; "God is exalted"; Greek: Γοθολια; Latin: Athalia) was queen consort of Judah as the wife of King Jehoram, a descendant of King David, and later queen regnant for six years.

William F. Albright has dated her reign to 842–837 BCE, while Edwin R. Thiele in the third edition of his magnum opus dates her reign from 842/841 to 836/835 BCE. However, a starting date of 842/841 for Athaliah is one year before the date of 841/840 that Thiele gave for the death of her son, Ahaziah, a conflict that Thiele never resolved. The present article accepts the one-year adjustment to Thiele's dates for Ahaziah given by later scholars that is explained in the Rehoboam and Ahaziah articles, thereby reconciling Thiele's dates for Athaliah with those of her predecessor. These dates are also compatible with cross-synchronisms between Ahaziah and Athaliah and the northern kingdom.

Reign

Athaliah is usually considered the daughter of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel. Athaliah was married to Jehoram of Judah to seal a treaty between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and to secure his position Jehoram killed his six brothers. Jehoram became king of Judah in the fifth year of Jehoram of Israel's reign. (2 Kings 8:16) Jehoram of Israel was Athaliah's brother (or possibly nephew).

Athalia (Handel)

Athalia (HWV 52) is an English-language oratorio composed by George Frideric Handel to a libretto by Samuel Humphreys based on the play Athalie by Jean Racine. The work was commissioned in 1733 for the Publick Act in Oxford – a commencement ceremony of the local colleges, one of which had offered Handel an honorary doctorate (an honour he declined). The story is based on that of the Biblical queen Athaliah. Athalia, Handel's third oratorio in English, was completed on 7 June 1733, and first performed on 10 July 1733 at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford. The Bee (14 July 1733) reported that the performance was "performed with the utmost Applause, and is esteemed equal to the most celebrated of that Gentleman's Performances: there were 3700 Persons present".

Athaliah was first given in London on 1 April 1735 at Covent Garden theatre.

Dramatis personae

Synopsis

Athalia, daughter of King Ahab of Israel and Queen Jezebel, had been married to Jehoram, King of Judah. After her husband's death, Athalia, determined to stamp out the Jewish line of kings descended from David, had caused, so she believed, all the heirs to the throne to be murdered. She took the throne and ruled Judah herself, and began to devote the country to the idolatrous worship of Baal instead of the God of Israel. The child Joas, however, rightful heir to the throne, had been saved from death by Joad the High Priest and his wife Josabeth and raised as their own son under the name "Eliakim".

Attalia (disambiguation)

Attalia is the ancient name of Antalya, a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey.

Attalia, Atalia, or similar spellings may also refer to:

Places

Science

Media

See also