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But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and abducted him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and put him and his nurse in the bedroom. So they hid him from Athaliah, and he was not put to death.
2 Kings 11:2 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were slain, even him and his nurse, and put them in the bedroom; and they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.
  • KJV But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.
  • BSB But Jehosheba daughter of King Joram, the sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the sons of the king who were being murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah, and he was not killed.
  • NKJV But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered; and they hid him and his nurse in the bedroom, from Athaliah, so that he was not killed.
  • NLT But Ahaziah’s sister Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Ahaziah’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.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jehosheba rescues the infant Joash from the slaughter and hides him with his nurse. One royal heir survives Athaliah's purge.

Overview

Jehosheba, a royal princess and apparently the high priest Jehoiada's wife, courageously saves Joash. Her act, hiding the child in the temple, preserves the Davidic line against all odds. Through this quiet faithfulness God keeps His covenant promise alive, the line through which Messiah would come.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 16

  • Jer 33:17For Yahweh says: “David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;
  • Ezek 40:45He said to me, This room, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the duty of the house;
  • 1 Kgs 6:10He built the floors all along the house, each five cubits high; and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
  • Isa 65:8–9Yahweh says, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for a blessing is in it:’ so will I do for my servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all.
  • Jer 33:21then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.
  • Isa 37:35‘For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.’”
  • 1 Kgs 6:8The door for the middle side rooms was in the right side of the house. They went up by winding stairs into the middle floor, and out of the middle into the third.
  • 2 Chr 22:11But Jehoshabeath, the king’s daughter, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stealthily rescued him from among the king’s sons who were slain, and put him and his nurse in the bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah, so that she didn’t kill him.
  • Isa 7:6–7“Let’s go up against Judah, and tear it apart, and let’s divide it among ourselves, and set up a king within it, even the son of Tabeel.”
  • Jer 35:2“Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into Yahweh’s house, into one of the rooms, and give them wine to drink.”
  • 2 Kgs 11:21Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign.
  • Prov 21:30There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Yahweh.
  • 2 Kgs 8:19However Yahweh would not destroy Judah, for David his servant’s sake, as he promised him to give to him a lamp for his children always.
  • Jer 33:26then I will also cast away the offspring of Jacob, and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his offspring to be rulers over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and will have mercy on them.”
  • 2 Kgs 8:16In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being king of Judah then, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.
  • 1 Kgs 6:5–6Against the wall of the house, he built floors all around, against the walls of the house all around, both of the temple and of the inner sanctuary; and he made side rooms all around.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (10)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 2 Kings videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 2 Kings 11:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 2 KingsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.

How 2 Kings 11:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.