Jehosheba

Jehosheba (alternately Jehoshabeath;

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.[2]

Jehoash, then one year old, was the only survivor of the massacre. Jehosheba and Jehoiada hid him in the Temple for six years.

In the seventh year, Jehoiada and the other priests devised a plan to reestablish the Davidic line in Judah through the coronation of Jehoash (aged seven). When the plan was implemented, Athaliah overheard the noise of the people chanting "Long live the king". When she entered the Temple she found her crowned grandson seated on a royal pillar surrounded by a crowd of supporters. She tore her clothes and cried "Treason, treason!" Jehoiada ordered that she be slain but not inside the Temple. Athaliah was captured and put to death in the gateway leading from the horse stalls to the royal palace, thus ending the reign of Athaliah and beginning the reign of Jehoash.

According to 2 Kings 11:2, the city was quiet, now that Athaliah had been slain.

The Midrash lists Jehosheba as one of the 23 great righteous women of Israel.^{[citation needed]} Alice L. Laffey points out that it was through the action of Jehosheba and the anonymous nurse that the Davidic line was preserved.^[3]

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