Jehosheba

Biblical Account

Jehosheba appears in 2 Kings 11:2. In 2 Chronicles 22:11 the same woman is called "Jehoshabeath." Both texts present her as the daughter of King Jehoram of Judah (called "Joram" in 2 Kings 11) and the sister of King Ahaziah. Her name is commonly interpreted to mean "the LORD is an oath."

After King Ahaziah died, his mother Athaliah destroyed the entire royal family of Judah and seized the throne for herself. Athaliah was the daughter of King Ahab of the northern kingdom of Israel (see Ahab and Jezebel). At that time Jehosheba secretly took Ahaziah's young son Joash from among the king's sons who were being slain, and she hid the child and his nurse in a bedchamber. Joash then remained hidden in the temple for six years (2 Kings 11:3; 2 Chronicles 22:12). In the seventh year the priest Jehoiada made Joash king, and Athaliah was put to death.

Second Chronicles 22:11 identifies Jehosheba as the wife of Jehoiada the priest. This detail does not appear in 2 Kings.

Significance in Scripture

Through Jehosheba's action the royal line of David was not cut off. The episode is therefore read as a moment of crisis in which the promise that David's throne would endure, the Davidic covenant, was preserved. Because Joash was protected in the temple, some also read it as a story in which the Jerusalem temple and the priestly household safeguarded the royal house.

The New Testament does not mention Jehosheba directly. The genealogy in Matthew 1:8 lists Ozias (Uzziah) immediately after Joram, and it is generally understood that Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah have been omitted.

Interpretation and Debated Points

• The text does not name Jehosheba's mother, so it cannot be determined whether she was Athaliah's own daughter or a daughter of Jehoram by another wife. Interpreters are divided on the question.
• Some interpreters and preachers read this episode alongside other rescue narratives, such as the story of Moses, an infant who survived a king's massacre (see Jochebed), and the account of Herod's massacre and the flight into Egypt. These connections are not drawn by the text itself; they represent one interpretive approach.
• The text contains no account of Jehosheba personally caring for the child during the six years, nor any description of her thoughts or feelings. Such material has been added in sermons and storybooks.

In the Korean Church

In Korean preaching, Jehosheba is sometimes presented as a woman who, at great personal risk, upheld God's promise. She is also at times cited as an example of the faith and courage of a little-known woman. In Sunday school lessons she is usually introduced as a character in the story of "Joash, the hidden prince."