XXXIV. THE REIGN OF JOSIAH (2 Chronicles 34-35). The history of Josiah, as related here, is in substantial agreement with the narrative of 2 Kings 22, 23 The main difference lies in the fact that the chronicler assigns the various reforms of this king to his eighth, twelfth, and eighteenth years;... [ Continue Reading ]
JOSIAH WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD. — So 2 Kings 22:1, which adds, “and his mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.”... [ Continue Reading ]
(1_,_ 2) Length and character of the reign.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND DECLINED... THE LEFT. — So Kings. Josiah is the only king upon whom this encomium is pronounced. It is equivalent to saying that his observance of the law was perfect. Comp. Deuteronomy 5:32; Deuteronomy 17:20 (the law of the king), 28:14.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR. — _Now._ IN THE EIGHTH YEAR. — The specifications of time in this verse are peculiar to the chronicler. WHILE HE WAS YET YOUNG. — Being about sixteen. HE BEGAN TO SEEK. — 2 Chronicles 17:3; 1 Chronicles 13:3. AND IN THE TWELFTH YEAR. — When, perhaps, he began to govern alone. HE BEGAN TO PU... [ Continue Reading ]
(3-7) Idolatry extirpated. This brief account is parallel to 2 Kings 23:4.... [ Continue Reading ]
OF BAALIM. — _Of the Baals._ 2 Kings 23:4, “the Baal.” IN HIS PRESENCE. — Comp. 2 Kings 23:16, from which it appears that Josiah personally superintended the work of demolition. THE IMAGES. — _Sun statues_ (2 Chronicles 14:4). THAT WERE ON HIGH ABOVE THEM, HE CUT DOWN. — Or, _that were above, fro... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE BURNT... UPON THEIR ALTAR. — See 2 Kings 23:13; 2 Kings 23:16; 2 Kings 23:20 for details. Literally, _and bones of priests he burnt._ They were bones taken from the graves of the idolatrous priests, who were thus punished, while their altars were irreparably defiled. (For the horror with whic... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SO DID HE IN THE CITIES ... UNTO NAPHTALI. — Sec 2 Kings 23:15; 2 Kings 23:19, according to which Josiah destroyed the sanctuary of Bethel, and the high places “in the cities of Samaria,” _i.e.,_ the northern kingdom. Simeon is again mentioned somewhat strangely, as in 2 Chronicles 15:9, no dou... [ Continue Reading ]
THE IDOLS. — _Sun-statues_ (2 Chronicles 34:4). The word does not occur in the parallel account; but 2 Chronicles 34:5 mentions sun-worship.... [ Continue Reading ]
(8-13) The cleansing and repair of the Temple. (Comp. 2 Kings 22:3; and the similar account of the restoration by Joash in 2 Chronicles 24:11). WHEN HE HAD PURGED. — Omit _had._ (_Lĕtah_ç_r_ is apparently co-ordinate with _lĕmolkû,_ “in the eighteenth year to his reigning, to purging the land “; as... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN THEY CAME... THEY DELIVERED. — _And they came_ ... _and they gave._ In 2 Kings 22:3, the contents of 2 Chronicles 34:9 a are given in the form of the king’s instructions to Shaphan. Here we are told that those instructions were carried out. “They delivered (_wayyittĕnû_) is substituted for... [ Continue Reading ]
PUT IT IN. — _Gave it into._ THE WORKMEN. — _The doers of the work, i.e.,_ the overseers or contractors. See Note on 2 Chronicles 24:12. AND THEY GAVE IT TO THE WORKMEN... THE HOUSE. — So LXX. and Syriac. The Hebrew text says, _and the doers of the work who were working in thehouse of Jehovah gave... [ Continue Reading ]
EVEN TO... BUILDERS. — _And they gave it to the craftsmen and to the builders._ FOR COUPLINGS. — _For the couplings_ or girders; an explanation added by the chronicler. AND TO FLOOR... DESTROYED. — Kings, “to repair the house.” The reference to the defacement of the Temple buildings by idolatrous... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE MEN DID THE WORK FAITHFULLY. — Literally, _And the men were working_ (or _dealing_)_ in good faith in the work._ In 2 Kings 22:7 Josiah bids the High Priest not to require any account of the money delivered to the master-workmen, “because they work in good faith.” AND THE OVERSEERS OF THEM... [ Continue Reading ]
ALSO. — _And._ THEY. — The Levitical musicians- WERE OVER THE BEARERS OF BURDENS. — They probably cheered their labours with song and music; as was the practice in ancient Egypt. AND WERE OVERSEERS. — _Leaders, conductors;_ see Note on 2 Chronicles 34:12. Notice the honourable position here assig... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN THEY BROUGHT OUT. — This verse is not in Kings. It supplements the older account, by assigning the occasion of the discovery. Josephus makes Hilkiah find the book in the treasure-chamber of the Temple which he had entered to get gold and silver for making some sacred vessels. According to... [ Continue Reading ]
(14-19) Hilkiah finds the Book of the Law, and delivers it to Shaphan, who reads it before the king. (Comp. 2 Kings 22:8.)... [ Continue Reading ]
CARRIED. — _Brought in._ AGAIN. — _Further, besides._ COMMITTED TO THY SERVANTS. — _Given into the hand of thy servants_; viz. the overseers of the repairs. THEY DO IT. — _They are doing._ “ And Shaphan brought the book in unto the king” is only a different pointing of, “and Shaphan the scribe c... [ Continue Reading ]
GATHERED TOGETHER. — _Poured out_ from the chest or chests. See 2 Kings 22:9, where “the doers of the work” are identified with “the overseers.” AND TO ... THE WORKMEN. — _And to_... _the doers of the work._ Perhaps the _and_ is explanatory (_even,_ or _that is_)_. _... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN. — _And._ The verse is identical with 2 Kings 22:10, save that it substitutes “read in it” for “read it,” which may mean the same thing. It seems too much to assume that the chronicler altered the phrase, in order to insinuate that the book was of considerable size.... [ Continue Reading ]
(20-28) The royal message to the prophetess Huldah, and her reply. Comp. 2 Kings 22:12. ABDON THE SON OF MICAH. — Kings, “Achbor the son of Micaiah,” which appears right. The Syriac has Abachûr. (See Jeremiah 26:22; Jeremiah 36:12.)... [ Continue Reading ]
GO, ENQUIRE OF THE LORD. — The verse is virtually identical with 2 Kings 22:13. FOR THEM THAT ARE LEFT... JUDAH. — An alteration of, “and for the people and for all Judah” (Kings). The chronicler thinks of the remnant in the northern kingdom. POURED OUT. — Kings, “kindled against.” (So LXX.) This... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEY THAT THE KING HAD APPOINTED. — The Hebrew text is defective. We may restore it from the LXX., “and they whom the king had commanded”; or better, perhaps, from the Syriac and Vulg., “and all they whom the king sent,” Three MSS. read, “and the king’s princes,” a plausible correction. 2 Kings... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL BRING. — _I am about to bring_ (participle). ALL THE CURSES... THE BOOK. — An explanatory paraphrase of “all the words of the book” (Kings). (See Deuteronomy 27:15 _seq.,_ 28:16 _seq.,_ 29:20, 21, 27, 30:19; and comp. Joshua 8:34.)... [ Continue Reading ]
WORKS. — “Work” (Kings), and some MSS. and the Syriac version here. POURED OUT. — “Shall be kindled” (Kings), which agrees better with “shall not be quenched.” (See 2 Chronicles 34:21 for the same alteration. The LXX. here has (ἐξεκαύθη)_ “_was kindled.” BURNED INCENSE. — _Hiphil,_ which is much c... [ Continue Reading ]
TO ENQUIRE OF THE LORD. — Strictly, _through the Lord._ Kings has the accusative. AGAINST THIS PLACE. — Kings adds, “that it should become an astonishment and a curse.” AND HUMBLEDST THYSELF BEFORE ME. — Not in Kings. A characteristic repetition. AND WEEP. — Shorter form of the verb; a correction... [ Continue Reading ]
(29-33) The king reads the Book to the assembly, and renews the covenant. (Comp. 2 Kings 23:1)... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LEVITES. — The chronicler substituted this for “the prophets” (Kings). It was a natural change to make, seeing that the prophetic order had long been extinct in his day. It may even be the result of an unconscious error, as the phrase “priests and Levites” is so frequent in his pages.... [ Continue Reading ]
IN HIS PLACE. — ‘_Al ‘omdô,_ “on his stand;” 2 Chronicles 23:13 (Authorised Version, “at his pillar”). Kings has _‘al hâ’ammûd,_ which appears to be synonymous; “on the dais.” A COVENANT. — _The covenant. _... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE CAUSED... STAND TO IT. — Kings, “and all the people stood into (i.e., came into) the covenant.” So Syriac: “And everyone that was found in Jerusalem and in Benjamin rose, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem entered into the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers.” (The chronicler’s reading ma... [ Continue Reading ]
AND JOSIAH TOOK AWAY ALL THE ABOMINATIONS. — Of idolatry. OUT OF ALL THE COUNTRIES... ISRAEL. — Out of the territories of the Ten Tribes. The statement glances back to 2 Chronicles 34:6, and summarises the account of the abolition of heathenish worships, which follows here in 2 Kings 23:4. AND MAD... [ Continue Reading ]