2 KINGS 22:1 TO 2 KINGS 23:30_ A_. THE REIGN AND REFORMS OF JOSIAH. The fifty-seven years of the reigns of Manasseh and Amon were, according to Kings (not Chronicles), a period of apostasy, which probably continued for the first ten years of Josiah. The prophetic party had consequently remained out... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS 23:3. BY THE PILLAR. COVENANT: for the word pillar see 2 Kings 11:14 and 1 Kings 7:21. In the latter passage it is used for the two great brazen pillars set up by Solomon before the porch of the Temple. In making the covenant the king takes the lead. The ceremony was accompanied by a sacrifi... [ Continue Reading ]
The grave of the prophet. This is evidently an addition to the original story. The altar, which in 2 Kings 23:15 had been destroyed, is supposed to be still standing. The man of God is, of course, the disobedient prophet of 1 Kings 13. Samaria (2 Kings 23:18 f.) is evidently the province and not the... [ Continue Reading ]
Celebration of the Passover. The mention of the eighteenth year (2 Kings 23:23; cf. 2 Kings 22:3) shows that the reforms of Josiah occupied six months. The book was discovered in the first month of the civil year, in autumn. It was read (_cf._ Deuteronomy 31:10) at the Feast of Tabernacles. The Pass... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS 23:36 TO 2 KINGS 24:7. JEHOIAKIM. A fuller account of the reign is given by Jeremiah, who consistently opposed the king (see Jeremiah 25-27, 35 f., and especially 2 Kings 22:13). The external events of the time are as follows (p. 60). The Assyrian empire came to an end with the fall of Ninev... [ Continue Reading ]