=1, 2= (= 2 Kings xxii. 1, 2).
JOSIAH’S GOOD REIGN.
Of Josiah only good is recorded in Kings: “he did that which was
right in the eyes of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his
father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left” (2 Kings
xxii. 2). In the eighteenth year of his reign he is said to have
ordered a repair of the Temple in the course of which a discovery was
made of a book of the Law. In consequence of its injunctions a thorough
reformation was carried out by Josiah, a solemn covenant with God being
entered into by the king and all the people, and attested first by a
crusade against all idolatrous images and symbols throughout the land
and then by a grand celebration of the Passover feast (2 Kings xxii.
3‒xxiii. 27). Obviously Josiah was a king after the Chronicler’s own
heart. He makes Josiah’s reforming energy begin as early as his eighth
year, causing some changes in the order of events (see the note on
verse 3). On the record of the Passover feast the Chronicler has
naturally fastened with special pleasure, and he expands the brief
allusions to it in Kings into a detailed account occupying xxxv. 1‒19.
His narrative of the death of Josiah differs considerably from that in
Kings. Several other minor variations are pointed out in the notes
below.
¹Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he
reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem.
=1.= _in Jerusalem_] Here the Chronicler omits the name of Josiah’s
mother; compare xxxiii. 1, 21.
²And he did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and
walked in the ways of David his father, and turned not aside to
the right hand or to the left.
=2.= _turned not aside_, etc.] A commendatory phrase applied to Josiah
alone of the kings.
=3‒7= (compare verse 33; 2 Kings xxiii. 4‒20).
JOSIAH DESTROYS THE SYMBOLS OF IDOLATRY.
³For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young,
he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the
twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high
places, and the Asherim, and the graven images, and the molten
images.
=3.= _in the eighth year ... and in the twelfth_] It should be noticed
that the order of the events of Josiah’s reign given in Chronicles
varies from that given in 2 Kings Thus we have in 2 Chronicles:
(1) Destruction of idolatrous symbols throughout Jerusalem, Judah and
Israel; xxxiv. 3‒7.
(2) Repair of the Temple and Finding of the Law; xxxiv. 8‒28.
(3) Renewal of the Covenant with Jehovah; xxxiv. 29‒33.
(4) Great Passover kept; xxxv. 1‒19.
(5) Death of Josiah; xxxv. 20‒27.
In 2 Kings on the other hand (2) and (3) precede (1), and the reforming
activity of the king is accordingly placed subsequent to the finding of
the Law in the eighteenth year of his reign. There can be little doubt
that the order in Kings is correct. The Chronicler thought it desirable
that the piety of the king should be displayed earlier, and he has
therefore dated its commencement from the eighth and twelfth years.
[This is preferable to the suggestion that “eighth” (_bishĕmōneh_) and
“twelfth” (_bishtēym ‘esreh_) may be due to a transcriptional error of
“eighteenth” (_bishĕmōneh ‘esreh_).]
_while he was yet young_] There is no clause corresponding to this in
2 Kings, and the statement is probably due to the motive indicated in
the previous note. There is, of course, no reason to question the piety
of Josiah in his early years, for though in 2 Kings his reformation is
dated in the eighteenth year of his reign, i.e. when he was 25 years of
age (hardly “young” for a king), the favourable judgement passed on him
(2 Kings xxii. 2) is unqualified by any suggestion that he was tardy
in turning to Jehovah, and the prophetic activity of Jeremiah is dated
from the thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign (Jeremiah xxv. 3).
_in the twelfth year he began_] The Chronicler spreads the cleansing of
the land over six years, i.e. from the _twelfth_ to the _eighteenth_;
compare verse 8.
_to purge_] Josiah’s measures are more fully enumerated and described
in 2 Kings xxiii.; notice e.g. the removal of the Asherah from the
Temple (verse 6), the destruction of the houses of the _Ḳĕdēshim_
(compare Deuteronomy xxiii. 17, 18) which were in the house of the Lord
(verse 7), the deportation of priests from the cities of Judah into
Jerusalem (verses 8, 9), and the defiling of Topheth and of Beth-el
(verses 10, 15, 16). The Chronicler not unnaturally prefers to avoid
these details and employs the usual general terms here, partly because
he has already credited the penitent Manasseh with a reform of this
character (xxxiii. 15), partly also because he may have been unwilling
to suppose that such flagrant abuses in the Temple as are mentioned in
Kings had continued to this date.
_the Asherim_] compare xiv. 3 (note).
⁴And they brake down the altars of the Baalim in his presence;
and the sun-images, that were on high above them, he hewed down;
and the Asherim, and the graven images, and the molten images,
he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon
the graves _of them_ that had sacrificed unto them.
=4.= _the Baalim_] Compare xxxiii. 3 (note).
_the sun-images_] See note on xiv. 5; and compare 2 Kings xxiii. 11.
⁵And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and
purged Judah and Jerusalem.
=5.= _he burnt the bones of the priests_] Specially at Beth-el; 2 Kings
xxiii. 15, 16.
⁶And _so did he_ in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and
Simeon, even unto Naphtali, in their ruins¹ round about. ⁷And
he brake down the altars, and beat the Asherim and the graven
images into powder, and hewed down all the sun-images throughout
all the land of Israel, and returned to Jerusalem.
¹ Or, as otherwise read, _with their axes_. The text is
probably corrupt.
=6.= _Simeon_] Here as in xv. 9 Simeon is regarded as belonging to the
northern tribes, but its cities were in the south; compare the note on
xv. 9, and 1 Chronicles iv. 28 ff.
_in their ruins_] Remark the margin, “_with their axes_. The text
is probably corrupt.” The Versions afford no real help. A plausible
conjecture is given by Curtis, who would read, =he laid waste their
houses=.
=8‒28= (= 2 Kings xxii. 3‒20).
REPAIR OF THE TEMPLE. DISCOVERY OF THE BOOK OF THE LAW.
⁸Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged
the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and
Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz
the recorder¹, to repair the house of the LORD his God.
¹ Or, _chronicler_.
=8.= _Shaphan_] According to 2 Kings he was Scribe. See 1 Chronicles
xviii. 16 (note).
_the governor of the city_] Render, =a ruler of the city=; compare
xxix. 20.
_the recorder_] margin =the chronicler=; compare 1 Chronicles xviii. 15
(note). Neither Maaseiah nor Joah is mentioned in 2 Kings.
_to repair the house of the LORD_] It may be conjectured that the
disrepair was not due solely to the abuses of Manasseh’s reign, but was
connected with the disaster recorded in xxxiii. 11, when an Assyrian
army carried off Manasseh to Babylon. Probably the capture of the king
was not achieved without the conquest of Jerusalem, and the Temple
may easily have suffered serious damage at that time. Note that Kings
(which does not record the disaster mentioned in Chronicles) uses
strong terms regarding the condition of the Temple when Josiah’s work
was put in hand――“to repair the _breaches_ of the house,” 2 Kings
xxii. 5.
⁹And they came to Hilkiah the high priest, and delivered the
money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites,
the keepers of the door¹, had gathered of the hand of Manasseh
and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah
and Benjamin, and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem².
¹ Hebrew _threshold_.
² Another reading is, _and they returned to Jerusalem_.
=9.= _And they came ... and delivered_] The matter is differently
stated in 2 Kings according to which they are sent to Hilkiah with
a message to him to “sum,” i.e. to reckon, the total of the money
collected in the Temple. The Chronicler has in mind the idea which he
set forth in xxiv. 6 ff.――namely, that the money was gathered by a body
of Levites who went round the country collecting it.
_the Levites, the keepers of the door_] In 2 Kings xii. 9 the keepers
of the doors are called _priests_; compare 2 Kings xxv. 18.
_of the hand of Manasseh_, etc.] In 2 Kings simply “of the people”:
i.e. Kings thinks only of the Southern Kingdom; the Chronicler includes
the remnant of the northern tribes. But see also the note on xv. 9.
_and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem_] So one reading of the Hebrew
(the _Kethīb_), in agreement with the LXX. The margin =and they
returned to Jerusalem= follows the other reading (the _Ḳerī_).
¹⁰And they delivered it into the hand of the workmen that had
the oversight of the house of the LORD; and the workmen¹ that
wrought in the house of the LORD gave it to amend and repair the
house;
¹ Or, _they gave it_ to _the workmen_ &c. See 2 Kings xxii. 5.
=10.= _and the workmen that wrought in the house of the LORD gave it_]
The “workmen” are distinguished from the “carpenters and builders”
(verse 11); overseers of some kind are meant. _To oversee the work_
and _to do the work_ may be synonymous phrases here as in 1 Chronicles
xxiii. 4 and 1 Chronicles xxiii. verse 24. On the other hand 2 Kings
xxii. 5 favours the rendering “And they (i.e. Shaphan, etc., and
Hilkiah, verses 8, 9) delivered it into the hand of the workmen that
had the oversight ... _and they_ (i.e. these overseers) _gave it to the
workmen_ that wrought....” (Compare the margin.)
¹¹even to the carpenters and to the builders gave they it, to
buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to make beams for
the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.
=11.= _the houses_] Compare 1 Chronicles xxviii. 11.
¹²And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them
were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and
Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set
it forward¹: and _other of_ the Levites, all that could skill
of instruments of music. ¹³Also they were over the bearers of
burdens, and set forward all that did the work in every manner
of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers,
and porters.
¹ Or, _to preside over it_.
=12.= _the overseers_] There is no parallel in 2 Kings for the rest
of this verse and for verse 13. The addition is characteristic of
the Chronicler, exemplifying (1) his habit of inserting proper names,
(2) his interest in the Levites, particularly the musical class.
_to set it forward_] The same Hebrew word is used in 1 Chronicles xxiii.
4, and is there rendered “to oversee the work.” (Compare the margin.)
_could skill_] “Skill” is used as a verb also in ii. 7, 8. _Skill of
instruments_ = “play skilfully upon instruments.”
¹⁴And when they brought out the money that was brought into the
house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law
of the LORD given by¹ Moses.
¹ Hebrew _by the hand of_.
=14.= This verse has no parallel in 2 Kings.
_the book of the law_] See the Additional Note at the end of the
chapter, pp. 337 ff.
¹⁵And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have
found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah
delivered the book to Shaphan. ¹⁶And Shaphan carried the book to
the king, and moreover brought the king word again, saying, All
that was committed to thy servants, they do it. ¹⁷And they have
emptied out¹ the money that was found in the house of the LORD,
and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and into
the hand of the workmen.
¹ Or, _poured out_.
=15.= _answered and said_] For the use of “answer” where no question
had been asked compare xxix. 31, note.
¹⁸And Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the
priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read therein before
the king.
=18.= _And Shaphan read therein_] Contrast 2 Kings, “And Shaphan read
it,” implying that he read the whole book, which of course was a simple
matter, if it consisted of the nucleus of Deuteronomy (see note, verse
14). The Chronicler, however, believing the book to have been the whole
Pentateuch, could not suppose that the _whole_ was read to the king,
and accordingly he writes _therein_ in place of _it_.
¹⁹And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the
law, that he rent his clothes.
=19.= _rent his clothes_] A sign of grief. “Clothes” is in the plural
because both inner and outer garments are meant. See Ezra ix. 3 (with
Ryle’s note).
²⁰And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan,
and Abdon the son of Micah¹, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah
the king’s servant, saying,
¹ In 2 Kings xxii. 12, _Achbor the son of Micaiah_.
=20.= _Ahikam the son of Shaphan_] Compare Jeremiah xxvi. 24, xl. 5.
_Abdon the son of Micah_] In 2 Kings “Achbor the son of Micaiah.”
²¹Go ye, inquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left
in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that
is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out
upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD,
to do according unto all that is written in this book.
=21.= _for them that are left in Israel_] Not in 2 Kings The Chronicler
likes to mention the remnants of the northern tribes, as in verses 6, 9.
_that is poured out upon us_] In 2 Kings “that is kindled against us,”
so LXX. ἐκκέκαυται. Compare verse 25.
²²So Hilkiah, and they whom the king _had commanded_, went to
Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath¹,
the son of Hasrah², keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in
Jerusalem in the second quarter³;) and they spake to her to that
effect. ²³And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God
of Israel: Tell ye the man that sent you unto me,
¹ In 2 Kings xxii. 14, _Tikvah_.
² In 2 Kings xxii. 14, _Harhas_.
³ Hebrew _Mishneh_.
=22.= had commanded] These words, which are obviously required, are
not in the Hebrew: the verb _āmar_ has fallen out of the text by some
accident.
_the prophetess_] This title is given to Miriam (Exodus xv. 20),
Deborah (Judges iv. 4), Anna (Luke ii. 36); compare also Nehemiah
vi. 14; Revelation ii. 20.
_Tokhath_] In 2 Kings _Tikvah_.
_Hasrah_] In 2 Kings _Harhas_.
_keeper of the wardrobe_] Literally “keeper of the garments.” The
Hebrew word for garments (_bĕgādim]_) is applied to a king’s robes
(xviii. 29), to a high-priest’s vestments (Exodus xxviii. 2, 4), and
to clothes in general; it is therefore not easy to say what office
precisely is here referred to. Perhaps the garments here meant were
ecclesiastical and not royal. There is ample evidence that ancient
temples possessed a store of ceremonial garments for the use not only
of the worshippers but also of the images, compare 2 Kings x. 22, and
generally the _Encyclopedia Britannica_¹¹ s.v. _costume_, pp. 230a,
231b. As early as the VIth dynasty an Egyptian priest is mentioned as
“master of the wardrobe.”
_in the second quarter_] Or, _in the second division_. Compare
Zephaniah i. 10. The physical configuration of ancient Jerusalem was
such that it might naturally be regarded as divided into two districts,
the eastern and western, with the valley of the Tyropœon between.
Compare Nehemiah iii. 9, 12, and also Nehemiah xi. 9 (with Ryle’s note
on _second over the city_, which should probably be rendered _over the
second part of the city_).
²⁴Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place,
and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are
written in the book which they have read before the king of
Judah: ²⁵because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense
unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all
the works of their hands; therefore is my wrath poured out upon
this place, and it shall not be quenched.
=24.= _all the curses_] Deuteronomy xxvii. 15‒26, xxviii. 15‒68.
²⁶But unto the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the
LORD, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD, the God of
Israel: As touching the words which thou hast heard, ²⁷because
thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before
God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and
against the inhabitants thereof, and hast humbled thyself before
me, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have
heard thee, saith the LORD.
=26.= _As touching the words which thou hast heard, because thine
heart_] Read perhaps, =Inasmuch as thou hast heard my words, and thine
heart=. There is some slight flaw in the Hebrew text.
²⁸Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be
gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see
all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the
inhabitants thereof. And they brought the king word again.
=28.= _thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace_] So also in 2
Kings But in point of fact Josiah met with a violent death, being slain
by Neco, king of Egypt, according both to Kings (2 Kings xxiii. 29) and
Chronicles (2 Chronicles xxxv. 23 f.). From the contradiction between
this prediction and the event, we may infer that in the prophecy of
Huldah we have an old and reliable tradition, which obviously must
have been made before the death of Josiah. That the contradiction
was allowed to stand in Kings is not perhaps surprising, but it is
remarkable in the Chronicler’s narrative. Not only does the idea
of a genuine prophecy failing to come true run counter to his fixed
principles, but (judging from many definite instances as well as from
the whole tone of his history) the tradition that a king so pious
from the start to the finish of his reign should meet his death in a
disastrous battle must have seemed to him well-nigh incredible. The
fact remains that he _has_ allowed the tradition to stand, but it is
certainly surprising.
_neither shall thine eyes see_] Compare the similar promise made to
Ahab (1 Kings xxi. 29).
=29‒33= (= 2 Kings xxiii. 1‒3).
THE RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT WITH JEHOVAH.
This renewal of the covenant should be compared with the passage
describing Hezekiah’s great service of atonement for the breach of
the covenant (xxix. 20 ff.).
²⁹Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of
Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰And the king went up to the house of the
LORD, and all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, both great
and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book
of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD.
=30.= _the Levites_] In 2 Kings “the prophets.”
³¹And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before
the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments,
and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and
with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that
were written in this book. ³²And he caused all that were found
in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand _to it_. And the inhabitants
of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of
their fathers.
=31.= _to walk after the LORD_] Compare Deuteronomy x. 12, 13.
³³And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the
countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all
that were found in Israel to serve, even to serve the LORD their
God. All his days they departed not from following the LORD, the
God of their fathers.
=33.= _And Josiah took away_] Compare verses 3‒7.
_all that were found in Israel_] i.e. the remnant of the northern
tribes, compare verse 21.
_All his days_] Contrast the evil record of his son Jehoiakim, xxxvi.
5‒8.
ADDITIONAL NOTE ON VERSE 14.
_Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the LORD_] This
remarkable statement has proved to be a fruitful subject of discussion.
What precisely is meant by “the book of the law” said to have been
found by Hilkiah in the Temple? It is essential to distinguish between
the answer which the Chronicler would have given to this question
and the conclusions reached by an independent survey of the problem.
(1) Undoubtedly the Chronicler supposed “the book of the law” to be
the whole Pentateuch, since he believed that the entire Law existed
as it now is from the time of Moses. The argument against his view
is obvious to us at the present time. Beside the practical objection
of the impossibility of reading the whole Pentateuchal Law twice in
succession to different persons on the same day (2 Kings xxii. 8,
10)――a difficulty which perhaps the Chronicler himself perceived and
sought to avoid, see note on verse 18,――there is the overwhelming
testimony of the general evidence that a large part of the Pentateuch
_in its final form_, with which the Chronicler was familiar, is of
post-exilic date. _His_ Pentateuch was quite certainly not “the book”
found by Hilkiah. (2) It is extremely interesting to observe that
the first step towards the judgement of modern criticism was taken
at a very early date and by certain of the Christian Fathers――Jerome,
Procopius of Gaza, Chrysostom――who put forward the view that the
book in question was not the whole Pentateuch but only the Book
of Deuteronomy. [For the details the student must be referred to
articles in the _Zeitschrift für alttestamentliche Wissenschaft_, 1902,
pp. 170 f., 312 f., and the _Journal of Biblical Literature_, 1903,
p. 50.] This view, first developed scientifically by De Wette, gained
eventually a very wide acceptance amongst scholars. Stress is laid
upon the resemblance between the reforms ascribed to Josiah and the
exhortations and injunctions of Deuteronomy, particularly as regards
the restriction of sacrificial worship to one sanctuary (i.e. Jerusalem;
compare Deuteronomy xii. 10‒14). For the evidence the student may
consult Chapman, _Introduction to the Pentateuch_, pp. 135‒146,
especially pp. 142‒145 (in this series); or Driver, _Deuteronomy_
(International Critical Commentaries), pp. xliv ff. (3) Further,
internal consideration of the Book of Deuteronomy has led to the
conclusion that it cannot all date from the time of Josiah: and
thus it is now generally held that Hilkiah’s “book of the law”
was not the final form of Deuteronomy, but only the _nucleus_ of
that Book――probably chapters v.‒xxvi. and xxviii., or xii.‒xxvi.
and xxviii., or even certain passages from those chapters (see
Chapman, _Introduction to the Pentateuch_, pp. 144, 145; or Driver,
_Deuteronomy_, pp. lxv ff.). (4) Finally, there are grounds for
doubting whether any part of Deuteronomy can be dated from the time
of Josiah. It is suggested that the Deuteronomic code is not earlier
than Jeremiah but later. Although this view does not yet command
general acceptance, it is fair to insist that it rests upon evidence
which cannot be so lightly set aside as is occasionally supposed.
The student may conveniently refer to remarks by R. H. Kennett in
the _Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics_, vol. VII., s.v. _Israel_
p. 447, and to the references there given, especially the _Journal
of Theological Studies_, VII. [1906], pp. 481 ff. If Deuteronomy be
later than the time of Josiah, what then can we suppose this “book of
the law” (_sēpher hattōrah_) to have been; for there is no reason to
question the accuracy of the tradition that some impressive writing was
discovered in the Temple? The answer will be――in all probability――some
scroll of prophetic teaching, in which the abuses of worship (perhaps
in Manasseh’s reign) and in particular the corruptions of the country
“high places” were searchingly denounced and an appeal made for
reform. Since at that date the term _tōrah_ was applicable to prophetic
teaching as well as to legal instruction, such a work would be known
as “a book of _tōrah_.” It is not a very serious objection that the
text here and in Kings reads “the book of the law (_hattōrah_),”
partly because a peculiarity of Hebrew grammar would still allow the
translation “a book of _tōrah_,” partly because the introduction of
the definite article into the text would be most natural, so soon as
it came to be thought that the phrase referred to Deuteronomy or the
Pentateuch. We may summarise as follows:――To the Chronicler “the book
of the law” signified the whole Pentateuch in its final form; to the
compilers or editors of Kings (the Chronicler’s _source_), who probably
wrote at the “Deuteronomic” stage of the history, it no doubt meant
Deuteronomy; and lastly, according to modern judgement the book
actually discovered was either the earliest or essential portions of
Deuteronomy or possibly a pre-Deuteronomic prophetic writing demanding
the purification of worship in Jerusalem and urging the abolition of
the sacrifices and feasts at the local shrines.