Amidst a brutal massacre aimed at wiping out the entire royal family, a daring and desperate rescue takes place. A small infant, the final hope for the continuation of the Davidic dynasty, is secretly snatched from the slaughter.
This operation is carried out by Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram and wife of Jehoiada the High Priest [חומת אנך]. Although she was closely connected to the ruling Queen Athaliah, and possibly even her own daughter, Jehosheba was outraged by the queen's cruel actions. Driven by compassion and a deep commitment to the royal bloodline, she worked directly against the queen to save her family [חומת אנך, אברבנאל]. Others suggest that she was not actually Athaliah's daughter at all [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Jehosheba takes the infant Joash, who had survived the initial massacre but still required a wet nurse, and smuggles him away from the bodies of the murdered royal children. She removes him in complete secrecy without the queen noticing, much like one conceals a stolen object [ביאור שטיינזלץ, אברבנאל].
She ensures that the child's wet nurse is hidden along with him. The queen had been killing the royal children using poison, and there was a real fear that she might also poison the wet nurse to ruin her milk, thereby indirectly killing the nursing infant [מלבי״ם].
The child is concealed in a bedchamber. Commentators differ on the exact location and nature of this room. One approach suggests it was a specific room within the royal palace where sick children lay, and this was the very spot from which he was initially taken [מלבי״ם]. However, the primary approach among commentators is that the hiding place was located within the grounds of the Temple. Some identify it as a sleeping chamber used by priests and Levites during the summer, or one of the adjacent rooms [רד״ק, חומת אנך, אברבנאל]. Another perspective places the hideout in the upper chamber of the Holy of Holies, a highly secure and secluded area completely hidden from public view [רש״י, חומת אנך]. Additionally, based on early rabbinic teachings, the entire Temple is sometimes metaphorically referred to as a bedchamber [רש״י, רד״ק, מלבי״ם].
While Jehosheba initially hid the infant as a temporary, urgent measure, the effort soon expanded. Other individuals who learned of the child's existence joined in the conspiracy, working together to keep him safe and hidden from the queen [מצודת דוד, רד״ק, חומת אנך]. Thanks to this coordinated chain of protection, the child survived. This ultimate success reflects the will of Heaven, as God desired to save the boy for the sake of King David and guarantee the survival of His royal dynasty [חומת אנך].