דברי הימים ב, פרק כ״ב, פסוק י׳

Following the death of her son, Athaliah seizes the moment to consolidate absolute power. She embarks on a ruthless campaign to eliminate any potential rivals to the throne, specifically targeting the royal bloodline of the house of Judah [מצודת דוד]. This brutal purge is not an isolated event but a continuation of the bloodshed initiated by her husband, Jehoram, who had previously murdered members of his own family [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The sheer scale of this tragedy was foreseen generations earlier through divine inspiration by King David. Looking ahead to the eighth generation after King Solomon, David realized that Athaliah would attempt to eradicate the entire royal line. In response, he prayed to God, asking Him to intervene and ensure that at least a remnant of his descendants would survive [רש״י].

There are different perspectives on how Athaliah carried out this mass assassination. While some understand her actions as straightforward, direct acts of murder [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ], the primary approach among commentators suggests a more insidious method. Rather than ordering public executions, Athaliah employed covert means, using deadly poisons, tainted food, or sorcery to eliminate her rivals [רש״י, מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. Consequently, the victims did not meet a quick end. They endured prolonged agony, slowly wasting away from the afflictions she caused, suffering a lingering demise much like those slowly dying of starvation [רש״י].