King David's Spear, the Weapons of the Carians, and the Overthrow of Athaliah in II Kings 11

The importance of the Davidic dynasty in biblical history and Jewish tradition cannot be overestimated. While it may feel as if the succession of the kings of this line was permanent and assured, stretching from David in the tenth century to his descendants in the sixth century, and while Alt contrasted the strong dynastic principle in Judah with the Kingdom of Israel’s emphasis on charismatic leadership,¹ the historical reality included different rebellions, assassinations and other disruptions.² One of the most dramatic crises in the Davidic succession is found in II Kings 11, in which the dynasty is saved in a quite unexpected way.

II Kings 11 is the story of two coups in Judah: the rise of Athaliah, and then how a rebellion was staged against her.³ In his revolt to usurp the throne of Israel, Jehu kills King Ahaziah of Judah (II Kgs. 9:27). Athaliah, daughter of Omri of Israel (II Kgs. 8:26),⁴ wife of the late King Jehoram of Judah and mother of King Ahaziah, seizes the throne in 842/841 BCE: “When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, learned that her son was dead, she promptly killed off all who were of royal stock” (II Kgs. 11:1).

We cannot be sure why Athaliah tried to kill off the entire dynasty. With a legitimate, minor grandson alive, she could have ruled as Queen Regent (the Gevirah)⁵ until his majority. She could not have been young — if Ahaziah was 22 when he became king (II Kgs. 8:25), Athaliah may have been around 40 (she seems to have been born c. 881 BCE, given her other relationships); add a year for Ahaziah’s brief reign, and if she simply waited until her grandson attained his majority she would have been well into her fifties, having survived and thrived as the ruler of a kingdom for a substantial number of years. She may not have had a plan at all. Since her house, the Omride dynasty, had been destroyed by Jehu in the same coup that took her son’s life, she could not give the throne of Judah to a relative; perhaps the fact that her entire Israelian dynasty had been obliterated prompted her, in a rage of misplaced revenge, to obliterate the Judean dynasty.⁶ Perhaps she had a non-Davidide in mind. Montgomery says: “What ultimate counsel of despair she cherished, it is vain to speculate.”⁷ Perhaps she simply was not thinking about who would be her heir.

Others, however, were actively thinking about the next stage. Unbeknownst to Athaliah or the populace, one son of Ahaziah had been saved: “But Jehosheba, daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah, secretly took Ahaziah’s son Joash away from among the princes who were being slain, and [put] him and his nurse in a bedroom” (II Kgs. 11:2-3; cf. II Chron. 22:11).⁸

Jehosheba is the daughter of King Jehoram, and thus King Ahaziah’s sister, and interestingly, probably Athaliah’s daughter, since it seems that Ahaziah and she are full siblings. This would mean that Athaliah’s own daughter saved the baby Joash, like Pharaoh’s daughter in Exodus 2 saved the infant Moses. It may be that the baby’s mother, Zibiah of Beersheba, a name we do not know otherwise, was killed in the massacre or had died previously. II Chronicles 22:11 states that Jehosheba was the wife of the priest Jehoiada, which would explain the refuge she finds for her nephew: “He stayed with her for six years, hidden in the House of the LORD, while Athaliah reigned over the land” (II Kgs. 11:3).

Jehosheba takes Joash out of the palace nursery and hides him in the Temple of God, as opposed to the Temple of Baal. Athaliah and her court may have been so focused on Baal-worship that they were paying little attention to the Temple of God during this time; if the Baal cult were the official state cult, this would explain why Jehoiada is called just a priest in II Kings 11 and not the High Priest, though he will be called the high priest in II Chronicles 24:6.

Jehosheba and Jehoiada are patient and wait for six years, long enough for the little prince to be somewhat aware of what was going to happen: “In the seventh year, Jehoiada sent for the chiefs of the hundreds of the Carites and the guards, and had them come to him in the House of the LORD. He made a pact with them, exacting an oath from them in the House of the LORD, and he showed them the king’s son” (II Kgs. 11:4).⁹

The most important moment in the coup is when Jehoiada meets with the captains of the hundreds of the Carians and, before telling them what he has, makes them swear in the Temple of the LORD. I emphasize this moment because without that decision history would have been very different — there would have been no Davidic line. Jehoiada approaches the captains of the Carians first, reflecting their power; without their support there would have been no coup. Note the order: Jehoiada makes them swear before he shows them the prince. When they swear, how much do they know? Have they heard rumors, over six years, that there is a legitimate Davidide heir hidden in the Temple? Then again, if the priest is taking them to the Temple and swearing them to secrecy, what else could the subject be? They must have realized that they were swearing into a conspiracy — but they make the pact and then they can see the prince.

They now have a choice: they could violate their new oath to Jehoiada because they had made previous oaths of loyalty to Athaliah. They may have sworn loyalty to the crown, but not to Athaliah herself; Athaliah may have hired these professional soldiers, and they could have been the ones who killed the royal family, and perhaps come to regret it. The captains of the Carians know that there is no heir apparent to Athaliah, or at least no Davidide heir; they have a good situation, secure in the center of the kingdom of Judah, and want to continue to be paid and supported. As soon as they realize that there is a legitimate Davidide heir, they decide to bet their futures on him. They could have said to themselves, “our loyalty is to the Davidic house” — the phrase “made an alliance” elsewhere can indicate switching sides, as in II Samuel 5:3 and I Kings 20:34.¹⁰ The loyalty of mercenaries could be based not just on financial calculations but also on emotion.¹¹ Athaliah has the loyalty of the Carians until Jehoiada wins them over — and now the overthrow of Athaliah is assured, because the real power is in their hands.

David’s Weapons

At this crucial moment in the overthrow of Athaliah, we read: “The priest gave the chiefs of hundreds King David’s spear and quivers that were kept in the House of the LORD.¹² The guards, each with his weapons at the ready, stationed themselves… to guard the king on every side” (II Kgs. 11:11).

The Masoretic Text has the singular “spear,” though all versions and translations have the plural “spears,” fitting with the idea that they were given to the three captains of hundreds. There is another slight difference in the II Chronicles account: “Jehoiada the priest gave the chiefs of the hundreds King David’s spears and shields and quivers that were kept in the House of God” (II Chron. 23:9).

Various explanations have been offered about what these weapons were, including David’s own spear, the sword with which he beheaded Goliath (I Sam. 17:51, 54; 21:9), the shields of gold David took from the servants of Hadadezer and brought to Jerusalem (II Sam. 8:7), and spoils won in battles (I Chron. 26:27). Whether there were one or more spears, whether there were shields, whether they were David’s personal belongings, whether they were then actually used by the Carian captains, matters less than the symbolism that was meant in giving these historical, perhaps specially consecrated, items to these officers. While many contemporary academic scholars may doubt the very existence of David,¹³ this casual mention of David indicates the importance of that king’s legacy in this moment. David was historical, but what were Carians doing in Judah in the ninth century?

Carians

We may take the reference to Carians as professional soldiers in the service of the Judean monarchy in the ninth century as historical. The Carians became famous mercenaries in the armies of the ancient Near East when many of them left their homes in southwest Anatolia, which could not sustain large numbers. Greek tradition describes the Carians as the first mercenaries.¹⁴ There is evidence of Carians in Old Assyrian and Hittite cuneiform texts of the second millennium.¹⁵ The Carians were known as hired soldiers in Egypt: Psammetichus I (664-610 BCE) and Necho II (610-595 BCE) had Carian translators and advisors, and the number of Carian and Ionian mercenaries in Egypt reached some ten thousand; Amasis (570-526 BCE) made Carian and Greek mercenaries his personal guards. Herodotus (fifth century BCE), who seems to have been part Carian himself,¹⁶ states: “They invented three things in which they were followed by the Greeks: it was the Carians who originated wearing crests on their helmets and devices on their shields, and who first made grips for their shields; until then all who used shields carried them without these grips, and guided them with leather belts which they slung round the neck and over the left shoulder” (1.171.4).

While we cannot know exactly what the role of Carians in the invention and/or development of weapons was, the traditions are persistent in associating Carians with their helmets and shields; they even seem to have been buried with their weapons.

Carian mercenaries, who certainly had their own weapons, are given David’s weapons in a dramatic gesture that becomes an essential symbol of the monarchic power that was about to be removed from the illegitimate Athaliah and transferred to the legitimate and rightful Davidic heir, Joash. Again, it does not matter if these weapons were spears or swords or quivers, or if they really were King David’s personal weapons, or the weapons referred to in the biblical texts mentioned above, or just weapons from his time. By carrying David’s weapons, the Carians, known throughout the Near East for their distinctive weapons, show that they are not attempting to take over Judah — instead, they will be instrumental in the restoration of David’s family to his throne. At this moment of great peril, the dynasty of David will be saved.