2 Chronicles 22:10
in 2 Chronicles 22When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs of the house of Judah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah.
KJV
But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 22
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAll the seed royal of the house of Judah - Nothing but the miraculous intervention of the Divine providence could have saved the line of David at this time, and preserved the prophecy relative to the Messiah. The whole truth of that prophecy, and the salvation of the world, appeared to be now suspended on the brittle thread of the life of an infant of a year old, (see 2Ch 24:1), to destroy whom was the interest of the reigning power! But God can save by few as well as by many.
This site's exposition
destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah
Two royal cullings fall within two chapters: the Arabian raid of 21:16-17 already killed all the elder sons, and now Athaliah moves to finish what that raid began, striking at the whole line rather than at rivals for her own throne alone. Adam Clarke reads the stakes as the covenant itself, since the promise to David's house has by this verse only one infant standing between it and extinction. 2 Kings 11:1 records the same act in nearly identical words, and both books let the sentence stand without softening it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
9 And he sought Ahaziah: and they caught him, (for he was hid in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu: and when they had slain him, they buried him: Because, said they, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the L ORD with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep still the kingdom.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v9
), perhaps intending to transmit the crown of Judah after herself to some of her own relations, that though her family was cut off in Israel by Jehu it might be planted in Judah.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Anticipating his movements, she resolved, as her only defense and security, to usurp the throne and destroy "the seed royal," both because they were hostile to the Phœnician worship of Baal, which she was determined to uphold, and because, if one of the young princes became king, his mother would supersede Athaliah in the dignity of queen mother.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-curly-quotes
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Compare the marginal reference and notes.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַעֲתַלְיָ֙הוּ֙ | vaatalyahu | and Athaliah | H6271 → | 17 times |
| אֵ֣ם | ʾem | [the] mother of | H517 → | 220 times |
| אֲחַזְיָ֔הוּ | ʾachazyahu | Ahaziah | H274 → | 37 times |
| רָאֲתָ֖ה | raatah | she saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מֵ֣ת | met | he was dead | H4191 → | 839 times |
| בְּנָ֑הּ | benah | son her | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וַתָּ֗קָם | vatakom | and she arose | H6965 → | 628 times |
| וַתְּדַבֵּ֛ר | vatedaber | and she destroyed | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| זֶ֥רַע | zera' | [the] offspring of | H2233 → | |
| הַמַּמְלָכָ֖ה | hamamlakhah | <the> royalty | H4467 → | 117 times |
| לְבֵ֥ית | leveit | of [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוּדָֽה׃ | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
וַעֲתַלְיָ֙הוּ֙and Athaliah
vaatalyahuH6271 →17 times
אֵ֣ם[the] mother of
ʾemH517 →220 times
אֲחַזְיָ֔הוּAhaziah
ʾachazyahuH274 →37 times
רָאֲתָ֖הshe saw
raatahH7200 →1300 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
מֵ֣תhe was dead
metH4191 →839 times
בְּנָ֑הּson her
benahH1121 →4930 times
וַתָּ֗קָםand she arose
vatakomH6965 →628 times
וַתְּדַבֵּ֛רand she destroyed
vatedaberH1696 →1141 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
זֶ֥רַע[the] offspring of
zera'H2233 →
הַמַּמְלָכָ֖ה<the> royalty
hamamlakhahH4467 →117 times
לְבֵ֥יתof [the] house of
leveitH1004 →2046 times
יְהוּדָֽה׃Judah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonDivided kingdomAthaliahAhab's daughter and Judah's only reigning queen, who destroyed the royal seed — save the hidden Joash — and fell when the temple g…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.