Jehoshaphat dies in 849 BCE and is succeeded by his son Jehoram as king of Judah, according to the Hebrew scriptures.

Jehoram marries Athaliah, daughter of Ahab, and is thus brother-in-law of Jehoram of Israel.

On ascending the throne, Jehoram massacres his kinsmen.

He has to face a successful revolt by Edom, a revolt by Libnak and an invasion of Philistines and Arabs, in which Jerusalem is again sacked.

Jehoram's son Ahaziah succeeds him, but reigns for only two years, dying at Megiddo in about 847 BCE.

Because the king of Judah has been killed in Jehu's revolution—along with the remaining northern members of the house of Omri—the southern kingdom is ruled over by the queen mother, Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel.

In her zeal to propagate the faith of her mother, Athaliah seizes the opportunity to destroy the line of David that tends to be loyal to Yahweh (II Kings 11:1-3).

Liquidating all the male heirs to the throne of David—except the infant Jehoash, or Joash, who receives asylum in “the house of the Lord.

Athaliah rules for six or seven years.

With support from the priests led by Jehoiada, the army and ”the people of the land” revolt, killing Athaliah and her high priest of Baal, Mattan, and destroying the temple of Baal.