Josiah assembles all the people of Judah at the Temple and reads aloud every word of the Book of the Covenant found in the house of the LORD. He stands by the pillar and makes a covenant before the LORD to follow him, to keep his commands, decrees, and statutes with all his heart and soul, and to carry out the words written in the scroll. All the people pledge themselves to the covenant. Josiah then launches the most sweeping religious reform in Judean history: he removes from the Temple all vessels made for Baal, Asherah, and the host of heaven and burns them in the Kidron Valley; he deposes the idolatrous priests appointed by previous kings; he brings out the Asherah from the Temple, burns it at the Kidron, and grinds it to dust; he tears down the quarters of the cult prostitutes in the Temple complex; he defiles Topheth in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom so no one can sacrifice children to Molech; he removes the horses dedicated to the sun at the Temple entrance and burns the sun-chariots; he demolishes the altars Manasseh built in the Temple courts and the altars on the roof; he destroys the high places Solomon built for Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Milcom; he smashes the sacred pillars and cuts down the Asherah poles. He extends his reforms north into the former territory of Israel, destroying the altar at Bethel that Jeroboam son of Nebat had built — fulfilling the prophecy of the man of God from Judah (1 Kings 13). He celebrates a Passover in Jerusalem of unprecedented scale — nothing like it since the days of the judges. Despite all this, the narrator delivers a crushing verdict: the LORD did not turn from the fierce burning of his great wrath against Judah because of everything Manasseh had done to provoke him. Josiah's reforms cannot reverse the sentence. The chapter ends with Josiah's death: Pharaoh Neco of Egypt marches to the Euphrates to aid Assyria against Babylon, and Josiah goes to confront him at Megiddo. Neco kills him. His servants carry his body back to Jerusalem in a chariot. The people of the land anoint his son Jehoahaz, who reigns three months before Neco deposes him, installs Jehoiakim, and imposes tribute on Judah. Jehoiakim does evil in the eyes of the LORD.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
This chapter is the climactic reform narrative of the entire Deuteronomistic History — the moment when a king finally does everything Deuteronomy demands. Josiah's purge is comprehensive beyond anything attempted before: he addresses every form of syncretism accumulated across four centuries, from Solomon's high places to Manasseh's abominations. The destruction of the Bethel altar fulfills a prophecy spoken nearly three hundred years earlier (1 Kings 13:2), and the narrator takes care to note the fulfillment. The Passover celebration (verses 21-23) is described as the greatest since the judges — surpassing even those under Moses and Joshua in the narrator's estimation. Yet the theological punch of the chapter lies in verses 26-27: despite the most perfect reform by the most righteous king, the sentence stands. Manasseh's sins have created an irreversible momentum toward destruction. The Deuteronomistic historian has set up a devastating theological paradox: obedience matters absolutely, yet the accumulated weight of disobedience can reach a point of no return. Josiah's death at Megiddo — sudden, unexplained, seemingly unjust — is the narrative confirmation that the age of grace for Judah has ended.
Translation Friction
The relationship between Josiah's righteousness and his violent death at Megiddo is the chapter's central difficulty. Huldah promised he would die 'in peace' (22:20), yet he dies in battle. Various explanations exist: Josiah was not killed by the Babylonian catastrophe (the disaster Huldah specified); or 'peace' refers to his era generally; or Josiah exceeded his mandate by confronting Neco (2 Chronicles 35:21-22 suggests Neco warned him). The scope of Josiah's northern reforms (verses 15-20) raises historical questions: could a Judean king exercise authority in the former northern kingdom? The decline of Assyrian power by the 620s BCE may have created a power vacuum that Josiah exploited. The narrator's assertion that no Passover like this had been celebrated since the judges (verse 22) seems to contradict Hezekiah's Passover (2 Chronicles 30), though Kings does not mention Hezekiah's Passover. The theological problem of verses 26-27 — why reform if the outcome is fixed — is the deepest tension in Deuteronomistic theology.
Connections
The covenant renewal ceremony (verses 1-3) echoes Joshua 24 (the Shechem covenant), Exodus 24 (the Sinai covenant), and anticipates Nehemiah 8-10 (Ezra's covenant renewal). The destruction of the Bethel altar (verses 15-16) fulfills 1 Kings 13:2 with remarkable specificity — the man of God named Josiah by name three centuries before his birth. The Passover (verses 21-23) connects to Exodus 12 (the original Passover) and Deuteronomy 16:1-8 (centralized Passover legislation). The removal of the Asherah from the Temple reverses Manasseh's act in 21:7. The destruction of Topheth connects to Jeremiah 7:30-34 and 19:1-15. Josiah's death at Megiddo becomes a defining moment for later tradition — Zechariah 12:11 references 'the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddo,' and the very name Megiddo (Armageddon in Greek) becomes the symbol of final battle in Revelation 16:16.
The king sent word, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were assembled before him.
KJV And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The assembly of kol ziqnei Yehudah vi-Yerushalayim ('all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem') creates a national gathering — the elders are the representative leaders of the people. The verb va-ya'asfu ('they gathered') indicates formal convocation. This is a covenant-renewal assembly, paralleling Moses at Sinai and Joshua at Shechem.
The king went up to the house of the LORD with every man of Judah, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the prophets, and the entire population from the least to the greatest. He read aloud to them every word of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD.
KJV And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD.
berit here appears as sefer ha-berit ('Book of the Covenant') — the written document that formalizes the relationship between God and Israel. The covenant is not merely an idea but a text, and the text must be read aloud, heard, and accepted for the covenant to function. What had been lost was not just a scroll but the relationship it encoded.
Translator Notes
The scroll is now called sefer ha-berit ('the Book of the Covenant') rather than sefer ha-torah — emphasizing its covenantal character. The gathering is comprehensive: le-miqaton ve-ad gadol ('from the small to the great') means every social class is present. The king himself reads — va-yiqra be-ozneihem ('he read in their ears') — assuming the role of covenant mediator that belongs to Moses (Deuteronomy 31:11). The public reading transforms a private discovery into a national event.
The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD: to follow the LORD, to keep his commands, his decrees, and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, and to carry out the words of this covenant as written in this scroll. And all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.
KJV And the king stood by a pillar, 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 their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.
berit here is the act of covenant-making itself — va-yikhrot et ha-berit ('he cut the covenant'). The verb karat ('to cut') preserves the ancient ritual of cutting animals in a covenant ceremony (Genesis 15:10, 18). Josiah cuts a new covenant with the old words, binding king and people to the scroll's demands.
Translator Notes
The threefold division — mitsvot ('commands'), edot ('decrees, testimonies'), and chuqqot ('statutes') — is the standard Deuteronomic way of referring to the comprehensive body of divine law. The phrase le-haqim ('to establish, to carry out, to fulfill') indicates not just intellectual assent but active implementation. The people's response — va-ya'amod kol ha-am ba-berit ('all the people stood in the covenant') — uses the verb amad ('to stand') in its sense of 'taking a stand, committing oneself.'
The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the second rank, and the doorkeepers to remove from the Temple of the LORD all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for the entire host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the terraces of the Kidron Valley and carried their ashes to Bethel.
KJV And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The reform begins inside the Temple itself — the defilement must be removed from the innermost sacred space outward. The kohanei ha-mishneh ('priests of the second rank') are the deputy priests. The burning takes place in shadmot Qidron ('the terraces/fields of the Kidron'), the valley east of Jerusalem that serves as a disposal site for ritual impurity. The transportation of ashes to Bethel is significant: the contamination is returned to the site of Jeroboam's great sin (1 Kings 12:28-33).
He deposed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense at the high places in the towns of Judah and in the areas around Jerusalem — those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to the entire host of heaven.
KJV And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The kemarim ('idolatrous priests') is a term distinct from kohanim ('legitimate priests') — it designates priests of non-Yahwistic cults, possibly derived from an Aramaic root meaning 'to be dark' or a Syriac word for priest. The verb hishbit ('he caused to cease, he deposed') means official removal from office. The astral deities listed — shemesh ('sun'), yareach ('moon'), mazzalot ('constellations, zodiacal signs') — reflect Assyrian-influenced astral worship that flourished under Manasseh.
He brought the Asherah pole out of the house of the LORD to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem, burned it there, ground it to dust, and scattered the dust over the common burial ground.
KJV And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The treatment of the Asherah follows a pattern of total destruction: removal (va-yotse), burning (va-yisrof), grinding to powder (va-yadeq le-afar), and scattering the powder on graves (al qever benei ha-am, 'over the grave of the sons of the people' — the common cemetery). Scattering the dust on graves adds ritual defilement to physical destruction, ensuring the object can never be reconstituted or venerated. This reverses Manasseh's installation of the Asherah in the Temple (21:7).
He tore down the quarters of the cult prostitutes that were in the house of the LORD, where women wove coverings for the Asherah.
KJV And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The battei ha-qedeshim ('houses/quarters of the cult prostitutes') were built within the Temple complex itself — a measure of how deeply pagan practice had infiltrated the sacred precinct. The women weaving battim la-Asherah ('coverings/houses for the Asherah') were likely producing ritual garments or tent-coverings for the Asherah image. The entire scene — cult prostitution and pagan textile work inside the LORD's Temple — illustrates the comprehensive desecration Josiah faced.
He brought all the priests from the towns of Judah and defiled the high places where those priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beer-sheba. He also demolished the high places at the gates — the one at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the city governor, on the left as one enters the city gate.
KJV And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba, and brake down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man's left hand at the gate of the city.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The scope is comprehensive: mi-Geva ad Be'er Shava ('from Geba to Beer-sheba') describes the full extent of Judah from north to south. The priests from the high places are brought to Jerusalem — centralization of worship is the Deuteronomic ideal (Deuteronomy 12:5-14). The bamot ha-she'arim ('high places of the gates') were small shrines at city gate entrances, where worship and commerce intersected.
However, the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did eat unleavened bread among their fellow priests.
KJV Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The displaced priests receive a compromise: they cannot serve at the Jerusalem altar (maintaining the exclusive sanctity of centralized worship) but they eat matzot ('unleavened bread') — their priestly food allotment — be-tokh acheihem ('among their brothers'). This arrangement parallels Deuteronomy 18:6-8, which allows Levites from the provinces to serve in Jerusalem, though in practice the Jerusalem priesthood restricted access.
He defiled Topheth in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom so that no one could pass a son or daughter through the fire to Molech.
KJV And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The Tofet was the site in the Gei Ven-Hinnom ('Valley of the Son of Hinnom,' later 'Gehenna') where children were sacrificed by fire to Molech (or Molek). The verb timme ('he defiled, rendered ritually impure') means Josiah deliberately contaminated the site to make it unusable for worship — likely by spreading human bones or refuse on it. The phrase le-ha'avir et beno ve-et bitto ba-esh ('to pass his son and his daughter through the fire') uses the same language as 21:6 describing Manasseh's practice.
He removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun at the entrance of the house of the LORD, near the chamber of Nathan-melech the court official in the colonnade, and he burned the sun-chariots with fire.
KJV And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathanmelech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Horses and chariots dedicated to the sun (la-shemesh) reflect Assyrian or broader Near Eastern solar worship. The horses were stationed at the Temple entrance — a powerful visual statement of syncretism. Nathan-melech ha-saris ('Nathan-melech the official/eunuch') had a chamber in the parvarim ('colonnade, precincts, suburbs') of the Temple. The burning of the markevot ha-shemesh ('chariots of the sun') — ceremonial vehicles associated with the sun-god's journey across the sky — eliminates the entire apparatus of solar cult.
The altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars Manasseh had built in the two courtyards of the house of the LORD — the king demolished them, smashed them, and threw their rubble into the Kidron Valley.
KJV And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Two sets of altars are destroyed: rooftop altars (al ha-gag aliyyat Achaz, 'on the roof of the upper room of Ahaz') used for astral worship, and Manasseh's courtyard altars (21:5). The verb natats ('he demolished, tore down') followed by va-yarats ('he smashed, he ran/crushed') indicates violent destruction. The rubble is disposed of in the Kidron, which serves as Jerusalem's sacred waste site throughout the reform.
The king defiled the high places east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the detestable god of the Ammonites.
KJV And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The reform reaches back to Solomon himself — these high places had stood for over three centuries since 1 Kings 11:7. The Har ha-Mashchit ('Mount of Corruption/Destruction') is a wordplay on Har ha-Mishchah ('Mount of Anointing,' the Mount of Olives) — the narrator renames the hill to reflect its desecrated status. Solomon is identified as melekh Yisra'el ('king of Israel') rather than 'king of Judah,' a subtle rebuke linking him to the northern kingdom's sin. The three deities — Ashtoreth, Chemosh, Milcom — represent Sidonian, Moabite, and Ammonite religion respectively.
He smashed the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and filled the sites with human bones.
KJV And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The matssevot ('sacred pillars, standing stones') were upright stones used in Canaanite worship. The Asherim ('Asherah poles') were wooden cult objects. Filling the sites with atsmot adam ('human bones') ensured permanent ritual defilement — contact with the dead renders a site impure beyond reclamation. The method is systematic: destroy, then contaminate so thoroughly that the sites cannot be reused.
He also demolished the altar at Bethel — the high place that Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, had built. He demolished that altar and the high place, burned the high place, ground it to dust, and burned the Asherah pole.
KJV Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The reform now crosses the old border into the former northern kingdom. The altar at Bethel — ha-mizbeach asher be-Veit El — was the foundational sin of the divided monarchy (1 Kings 12:28-33). The phrase Yarov'am ben Nevat asher hecheti et Yisra'el ('Jeroboam son of Nebat who caused Israel to sin') is the standard epithet that has accompanied every mention of Jeroboam's influence throughout Kings. The destruction follows the same pattern: demolition, burning, grinding to dust.
When Josiah turned and saw the tombs on the hillside, he sent men to take the bones from the tombs and burned them on the altar, defiling it — in fulfillment of the word of the LORD that the man of God had proclaimed when he proclaimed these things.
KJV And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The narrator explicitly marks this as prophetic fulfillment: ki-dvar YHWH asher qara ish ha-Elohim ('according to the word of the LORD that the man of God proclaimed'). The unnamed 'man of God' is the prophet from 1 Kings 13:1-2 who prophesied that a king named Josiah would burn human bones on the Bethel altar — a prophecy spoken roughly three hundred years earlier. The fulfillment is precise: the named king, the specific altar, the burning of bones.
He asked, "What is that marker I see?" The men of the city told him, "It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed the very things you have done against the altar of Bethel."
KJV Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The tsiyyun ('marker, monument, gravestone') catches Josiah's eye. The townspeople identify it as the burial site of the Judean prophet from 1 Kings 13. Their description — va-yiqra et ha-devarim ha-elleh asher asita ('he proclaimed the very things you have done') — makes the prophetic fulfillment explicit within the narrative. The people of Bethel themselves testify that Josiah's actions were predicted centuries ago.
He said, "Leave him alone. No one is to disturb his bones." So they left his bones undisturbed, along with the bones of the prophet who had come from Samaria.
KJV And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Josiah honors the man of God by leaving his grave intact — the one tomb spared from desecration. The 'prophet who came from Samaria' is the old prophet from 1 Kings 13:11-32 who had asked to be buried alongside the man of God. Both sets of bones are preserved, fulfilling the old prophet's request (1 Kings 13:31). The detail connects the two narratives across the centuries.
Josiah also removed all the shrine buildings at the high places in the towns of Samaria that the kings of Israel had built, provoking the LORD. He did to them everything he had done at Bethel.
KJV And all the houses of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The reform extends throughout the former northern kingdom: be-arei Shomron ('in the towns of Samaria'). The phrase ke-khol ha-ma'asim asher asah be-Veit El ('according to all the acts he had done at Bethel') means the same pattern — demolition, burning, bone defilement — was applied to every northern high place. The scope implies Josiah exercised effective control over former Israelite territory during the Assyrian power vacuum of the late seventh century.
He slaughtered all the priests of the high places on their own altars and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
KJV And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The northern reform is violent: va-yizbach et kol kohanei ha-bamot ('he slaughtered all the priests of the high places'). The verb zavach normally means 'to sacrifice' — the priests are sacrificed on their own altars, a grim irony. This fulfilled the specific words of the man of God in 1 Kings 13:2: 'He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who burn incense on you.' The burning of human bones on the altars permanently defiles them. The return to Jerusalem (va-yashav Yerushalayim) transitions from destruction to restoration.
The king commanded all the people, "Celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God as it is written in this Book of the Covenant."
KJV And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
פֶּסַחpesach
"Passover"—Passover, passing-over, the festival of deliverance, the lamb of protection
pesach from the root pasach ('to pass over, to skip, to spare') commemorates God's protection of Israel during the tenth plague in Egypt. Josiah's Passover is the first centralized celebration in Jerusalem as Deuteronomy requires — transforming the festival from a local family observance to a national pilgrimage.
Translator Notes
The shift from destruction to celebration: asu Pesach la-YHWH Eloheikhem ('make/celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God'). The phrase ka-katuv al sefer ha-berit ha-zeh ('as it is written in this Book of the Covenant') anchors the celebration in the discovered scroll — specifically the Passover legislation of Deuteronomy 16:1-8, which requires centralized celebration in Jerusalem.
No Passover like this had been celebrated since the days of the judges who governed Israel — not in all the days of the kings of Israel or the kings of Judah.
KJV Surely there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah;
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
פֶּסַחpesach
"Passover"—Passover, passing-over, the festival of deliverance, the lamb of protection
pesach here carries its full weight as the defining festival of Israel's identity — the celebration of God's deliverance from Egypt. That this greatest Passover since the judges occurs just before the nation's destruction creates an agonizing irony: the people celebrate liberation on the eve of their captivity.
Translator Notes
The narrator's assessment is sweeping: mi-yemei ha-shoftim ('since the days of the judges'). This Passover surpasses not only the monarchic period but reaches back to the pre-monarchic era — roughly four hundred years. The statement implicitly surpasses Solomon's Temple dedication (1 Kings 8), Hezekiah's Passover (2 Chronicles 30), and every other national celebration. It is the apex of Israelite worship in the monarchic period.
It was in the eighteenth year of King Josiah that this Passover was celebrated to the LORD in Jerusalem.
KJV But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, wherein this passover was holden to the LORD in Jerusalem.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The date — the eighteenth year, the same year as the scroll's discovery — means all of Josiah's reforms and this unprecedented Passover belong to a single year of spiritual revolution. The phrase la-YHWH bi-Yerushalayim ('to the LORD in Jerusalem') emphasizes both the object of worship and the centralized location — exactly as Deuteronomy 16 requires.
Josiah also swept away the mediums, spiritists, household gods, worthless idols, and every abomination found in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, in order to carry out the words of the instruction written in the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found in the house of the LORD.
KJV Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
A comprehensive catalog of what was purged: ovot ('mediums'), yid'onim ('spiritists'), terafim ('household gods, figurines'), gillulim ('worthless idols'), and kol ha-shiqquttsim ('all the abominations'). The purpose clause — le-ma'an haqim et divrei ha-torah ('in order to carry out the words of the instruction') — explicitly ties every reform action to the discovered scroll. Josiah's program is not arbitrary iconoclasm but systematic obedience to a text.
Before him there had been no king like him who turned to the LORD with all his heart, all his soul, and all his strength, in full accordance with the instruction of Moses. And after him no one like him arose.
KJV And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The superlative evaluation — lo hayah lefanav ('there was none before him') and lo qam acharav ('none arose after him') — brackets Josiah as the ultimate Deuteronomic king. The phrase ke-khol torat Mosheh ('according to all the instruction of Moses') makes the standard explicit: complete Mosaic obedience. This verse and 18:5 (Hezekiah's evaluation) create a theological pair — the two best kings, each praised in different terms, neither able to save the nation from the consequences of its collective history.
Yet the LORD did not turn from the fierce burning of his great wrath that blazed against Judah because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him.
KJV Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The devastating akh ('yet, however, notwithstanding') overturns everything that preceded it. After the most comprehensive reform, the most perfect obedience, the greatest Passover — lo shav YHWH me-charon appo ha-gadol ('the LORD did not turn from the burning of his great anger'). The cause is named: Manasseh. The accumulated sin of Manasseh's fifty-five-year reign has created an irreversible trajectory. This is the theological crisis at the heart of the Deuteronomistic History: obedience matters, but late obedience cannot undo the consequences of sustained rebellion.
The LORD declared, "I will remove Judah also from my presence, just as I removed Israel. I will reject this city that I chose — Jerusalem — and the house of which I said, 'My name will be there.'"
KJV And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The divine verdict is final: gam et Yehudah asir me'al panai ('even Judah I will remove from my presence'). The word gam ('also, even') links Judah's fate to Israel's — the northern kingdom's destruction in 722 BCE is now the template for the south. The rejection of Jerusalem (u-ma'asti et ha-ir ha-zot) and the Temple (ve-et ha-bayit asher amarti yihyeh shemi sham) revokes both the election of Zion and the name theology of Deuteronomy. Everything promised is now being un-promised.
The rest of the acts of Josiah — everything he did — are they not recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?
KJV Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The standard source citation. For a king of Josiah's stature, the formula feels almost inadequate — 'everything he did' encompasses the most comprehensive reform in Judean history. But the Deuteronomistic historian is moving the narrative forward; the annals contain the details, while this text delivers the theological verdict.
In his days, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt marched toward the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went to confront him, and Neco killed him at Megiddo when they met.
KJV In his days Pharaohnechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The death of Josiah is reported with shocking brevity. Pharaoh Neco II (610-595 BCE) was marching to aid the remnant of Assyria against Babylon at Carchemish on the Euphrates. The phrase al melekh Ashur ('against/toward the king of Assyria') likely means 'to assist,' not 'against.' Josiah intercepted Neco at Megiddo — probably as a Babylonian ally or to prevent Egyptian resurgence — and va-yemitehu ('he killed him'). The greatest king dies in a single sentence. The narrative refuses to explain why God allowed this or how it relates to Huldah's promise of death 'in peace.'
His servants carried his body by chariot from Megiddo, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. The people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in his father's place.
KJV And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The transport of Josiah's body — va-yarkivuhu avadav met mi-Megiddo ('his servants carried him dead from Megiddo') — is a somber reversal of the royal progress. He is buried bi-qvurato ('in his tomb'), receiving proper royal burial unlike Manasseh and Amon in the Garden of Uzza. The am ha-arets ('people of the land') again exercise their role as kingmakers, anointing Jehoahaz (also called Shallum in Jeremiah 22:11). They bypass the eldest son, possibly choosing someone they believed would continue Josiah's policies.
Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah.
KJV Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The regnal formula for Jehoahaz signals a tragically brief reign — three months. His mother Chamutal ('my father-in-law is the dew') was from Libnah, a Judean town. The Jeremiah mentioned is not the prophet but a Libnite. The three-month reign (609 BCE) was cut short by Egyptian intervention.
He did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his ancestors had done.
KJV And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The negative evaluation — ke-khol asher asu avotav ('according to everything his ancestors had done') — is jarring after Josiah's superlative righteousness. The son of the best king immediately reverts to the pattern of the worst. The 'ancestors' in question are not Josiah but the broader royal line including Manasseh and Amon.
Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at Riblah in the land of Hamath to prevent him from reigning in Jerusalem, and imposed on the land a levy of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold.
KJV And Pharaohnechoh put him in bands at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem: and put the land to a tribute of an hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Riblah in the land of Hamath (modern Lebanon) was a strategic military headquarters on the Orontes River — the same location Nebuchadnezzar would later use (25:6, 21). Neco's action demonstrates Egypt's control over Judah: he removes a king and imposes tribute. The levy — me'ah kikkar kesef ve-kikkar zahav ('one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold') — is substantial, approximately 3,400 kg of silver and 34 kg of gold.
Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He took Jehoahaz away to Egypt, where he died.
KJV And Pharaohnechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away: and he came to Egypt, and died there.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Neco installs a puppet king: Eliakim (Elyaqim, 'God raises up') is renamed Jehoiakim (Yehoyaqim, 'the LORD raises up'). The name change — va-yassev et shemo ('he turned around his name') — is an act of sovereignty: the one who names rules. Paradoxically, the Egyptian pharaoh gives a Yahwistic name to his vassal. Jehoahaz is exiled to Egypt, where va-yamot sham ('he died there') — a terse end for Josiah's chosen successor. Jeremiah 22:10-12 mourns Jehoahaz (Shallum) and declares he will never return.
Jehoiakim paid the silver and gold to Pharaoh. But to meet Pharaoh's demand, he imposed a tax on the land; each person was assessed according to his means. He extracted the silver and gold from the people of the land to pay Pharaoh Neco.
KJV And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give it unto Pharaohnechoh.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb he'erikh ('he assessed, he valued') means Jehoiakim conducted a formal property assessment to determine each person's tax obligation — ish ke-erkko ('each man according to his valuation'). The phrase nagash et ha-kesef ve-et ha-zahav ('he exacted/extracted the silver and the gold') uses the verb nagash ('to drive, to press, to exact'), suggesting aggressive tax collection. The cost of Egyptian vassalage falls on the common people.
Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah, from Rumah.
KJV Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The regnal formula for Jehoiakim: eleven years (roughly 609-598 BCE), the period during which Judah shifts from Egyptian to Babylonian vassalage. His mother Zevidah ('gift, endowment') was from Rumah, a town in Galilee or Judah. Jehoiakim is the older brother of Jehoahaz — Neco chose him over the people's choice, perhaps because he was more compliant.
He did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his ancestors had done.
KJV And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The chapter closes with the same negative verdict that opened the post-Josiah era (verse 32). The phrase ke-khol asher asu avotav ('according to everything his ancestors had done') is now a refrain of decline. After Josiah, every king does evil. The Deuteronomistic History has entered its final descent — from here to the fall of Jerusalem, the narrative moves with the inevitability of the divine sentence pronounced in verses 26-27.