Information AboutJosiah |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT JOSIAH | |
| kings of ancient judah | |
| 648 bc births | |
| 609 bc deaths | |
| killed in action | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
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William F. Albright has dated his reign to 640 BC - 609 BC , while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 641 BC - 609 BC . The chief sources of his reign are '' 2 Kings '' 22-23, and '' 2 Chronicles '' 34-35; '' 1 Esdras '' 1 is clearly a copy of the relevant portion of ''2 Chronicles''. Archaeologists have recovered a number of "scroll-style" stamps dating to his reign. JUDAH'S CONDITION AT HIS ACCESSION When Josiah was placed on the throne of Judah at the age of eight by the "People of the Land", the international situation was in flux: to the east, the , Ephraim , "and Simeon , as far as Naphtali " (2 Kings 23:8f);(2 Chr. 34:6f). In his 18th Regnal Year , Josiah again worked on behalf of Yahweh by having the High Priest Hilkiah take the tax monies that had been collected over the years, and use them to repair the neglect and damage the Temple had suffered during the reigns of Amon and Manasseh . DEUTERONOMIC REFORM While Hilkiah was clearing the treasure room of the Temple (2 Chr. 34:14), he is said to have found a scroll described as "the book, book of the , Dillman and Driver disagree, pointing out that priestly forgery of the Deuteronomic text was unlikely as the text placed restrictions on the privileges of the priestly class. In the ancient near east it was commonplace for religious scrolls to be deposited in temple walls when they were constructed (Hertz 1936), and according to the Swiss Egyptologist Naville, this was the custom amongst the Jews at the time of Solomon. It would have been more unusual if such scrolls were ''not'' found in during the renovation of a temple building, and Naville recounts a similar find recounted in the Egyptian Book Of The Dead . In that same 18th year, he celebrated a Passover that had not been done in such a manner "since the days of The Judges " (lit.: "For it had not been done, like this Pesach, from the days of the Judges who judged Israel . . .") (''2 Kings'' 23:22). 2 Chr. 35:1-19 provides the most complete description of the celebration. ASSERTION OF CONTROL OVER ISRAEL At some point between this year and his death, Josiah reasserted Judean control in the former territories of the Kingdom Of Israel , which is recorded in ''2 Kings'' as systematically destroying the cultic objects in various cities, as well as executing the priests of the pagan gods. The only exception he made was for the grave of an unnamed prophet he found in Bethel , who had foretold that these religious sites Jeroboam erected would one day be destroyed (23:15-19). JOSIAH'S DEATH There are two versions of Josiah's violent death. The author of ''Kings'' tersely remarks that , and the other was to help the king of Assyria , who was defeated by the Babylonians at the Battle Of Carchemish . Josiah's actions suggest that he was aiding the Babylonians by engaging the Egyptian army. In either case, the death of this king was a serious blow to his country, as shown by the fact Jeremiah wrote a lament for Josiah's passing which has not survived. SEE ALSO
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