The Coup of Jehoiada and the Fall of Athaliah: The Discourses and Textual Production of 2 Kings 11

The Coup of Jehoiada and the Fall of Athaliah explores the discursive and historiographical techniques used to incorporate 2 Kings 11 into the larger deuteronomistic history. More specifically, this book explores how and why the report of Athaliah's execution was not incorporated into the deuteronomistic history the same way as other Ahabite death reports found in 1 Kings 14 - 2 Kings 10. Approaching the text from a discourse critical perspective indicates that the report of Jehoiada's coup and Athaliah's execution in 2 Kings 11 was not initially a part of the deuteronomistic history. This analysis of the intertextuality and interdiscursivity of 2 Kings 11 shows that once the coup report was incorporated into the deuteronomistic history, it was successively redacted and reproduced in Late Monarchic Judah and Persian Period Yehud. The discourses that guided and constrained this process of textual production and reproduction were mainly concerned with Joash's dynastic legitimacy and the legitimacy of the Jerusalem-centered Yahweh cult. As a result, Athaliah's Israelite heritage and her short period of rule in Jerusalem had to be delegitimized.