Jehosheba(jehoshabeath)
“Jehovah is an oath, or sworn to Jehovah”
Summary
The daughter of King Jehoram of Judah and wife of the high priest Jehoiada, who courageously rescued the infant prince Joash from the massacre ordered by Queen Athaliah, preserving the Davidic line.
☩Name and Etymology
The Hebrew name יְהוֹשֶׁבַע (Yehosheba) means 'Jehovah is an oath' or 'sworn to Jehovah.' In the parallel passage of 2 Chronicles 22:11, the name is written Jehoshabeath (יְהוֹשַׁבְעַת, Yehoshabath), a variant form with the same meaning. The Septuagint renders it as Ἰωσαβεέ (Iosabee). The name corresponds in meaning to Elisheba (wife of Aaron) and Elisabeth (wife of Zechariah), both meaning 'God is an oath.'
☩Family and Position
Jehosheba was the daughter of King Jehoram of Judah and the sister (or half-sister) of King Ahaziah (2 Kings 11:2). Since she is called 'daughter of Joram, sister of Ahaziah,' it has been conjectured that she was not the daughter of Athaliah but of Joram by another wife, which would explain her different religious sympathies. She was the wife of Jehoiada the high priest (2 Chronicles 22:11), making her the only recorded instance of a princess of Judah's royal house marrying a high priest. This marriage providentially positioned her to rescue the heir to David's throne.
☩Rescue of the Infant Joash
When Athaliah learned that her son Ahaziah had been killed by Jehu along with Jehoram of Israel, she seized the throne and ordered the massacre of all the royal seed to eliminate any rival claims (2 Kings 11:1). In this crisis, Jehosheba 'stole' the infant Joash, son of Ahaziah, from among the king's sons who were being slain, along with his nurse. She hid them first in a bedchamber in the palace, then in the Temple for six years while Athaliah reigned (2 Kings 11:2-3; 2 Chronicles 22:11). Joash was raised with her own sons, who later assisted at his coronation (2 Chronicles 23:11). One of her sons was Zechariah, who succeeded Jehoiada as priest and was martyred for prophesying against King Joash's later apostasy (2 Chronicles 24:20-22).
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Jehosheba," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Jehosheba," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Jehosheba," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Jehosheba," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).