His death in the latter account was attributed to him "not listening to what Necho had said at God's command..." when Necho stated: "What have I to do with you, king of Judah? …of the reign of King Josiah of Judah, who died in 609 bce and was the ruler who accepted the Deuteronomic reform that began in 621 bce, and of the Babylonian Exile, which traditionally lasted 70 years, though it began in 597 bce, the temple was destroyed in 587/586, some… Josiah ordered the double grave of the "man of God" and of the Bethel prophet to be left alone as these prophecies had come true. God’s Gracious Promise to Josiah Because king Josiah … He removed Jerusalem's shrines of Asherah and Baal. (Ver. —1Ch 3:14, 15. [25] In fact, some recent European theologians even go so far as to posit that most of the Torah and Deuteronomistic History was composed and finalized several centuries later, during the Persian period. And the only exception to this destruction was for the grave of an unnamed prophet he found in Bethel (2 Kings 23:15–19), who had foretold that these religious sites Jeroboam erected would one day be destroyed (see 1 Kings 13). The Bible describes him as a righteous king, a king who "walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left" (2 Kings 22:2; 2 Chronicles 34:2). Some of these catchphrases become so memorable that one only has to repeat it and immediately the whole movie comes to mind. After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Charchemish by Euphrates…. This battle is recorded in 2 Chronicles 35:20: “After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him. Immediate. [6] His grandfather Manasseh was one of the kings blamed for turning away from the worship of Yahweh. Hit movies love to use catchphrases. Josiah’s death Josiah didn’t listen and forced Neco to a military encounter (not a war). Judah never again had a righteous king, nor one who ruled independently of other nations round about. But on his way, Josiah the king of Judah brings out his army to intercept the Egyptians at Megiddo. His mother was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. the Egyptians went up to the north to help the Assyrians, but to no avail. Josiah reigned for 31 years before his death at the age of 39. Josiah's great-grandfather was King Hezekiah, a noted reformer also respected by the biblical writers as having "done what was right in the sight of the LORD, as David had done. Let’s look at 3 lessons from Josiah’s life: It is doubtful whether "the Gate of Huldah" in the Second Temple (Middot 1:3) has any connection with the prophetess Huldah; it may have meant "Cat's Gate"; some scholars, however, associate the gate with Huldah's schoolhouse (Rashi to Kings l.c.).E. The inscription of the ring says, "(belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King". He was struck by 300 darts; he made no complaint except to acknowledge "The Lord is righteous, for I rebelled against His commandment.[45]. "[41] According to 2 Chronicles 35:25, Jeremiah wrote a lament for Josiah's death. The Second Book of Kings merely states that Necho II met Josiah in battle at Megiddo and killed him (2 Kings 23:29), whereas the second book of Chronicles (2 Chronicles 35:20–27) gives a lengthier account and states that Josiah was fatally wounded by Egyptian archers and was brought back to Jerusalem to die. [18], However it has been noted that the story of the repairs to the Temple is based on those ordered by an earlier Judean king, Joash (who ruled c. 836 – 796 BCE) in 2 Kings 12.[19]. On that basis, Josiah was killed in the month of Tammuz (July–August) 609 BCE, when the Egyptians were on their way to Harran. First, Josiah shows the influence a … This "was a technical term that referred to a body of leaders such as a council of elders or a kind of informal parliament (see 33:25). [48] No other archaeological evidence of Josiah's religious reforms has been discovered. (2Ki 23:31, 34, 36) Of his four sons mentioned in the Bible, only the firstborn, Johanan, did not rule as king over Judah. According to the Bible, King Josiah then changed his form of leadership entirely, entering into a new form of covenant with the Lord. However, a signet ring has been found in the City of David in Jerusalem featuring the name of one of King Josiah's officials, Nathan-Melech, mentioned in 2 Kings 23:11. Josiah, like his forefather Amaziah in 2 Kings 14:8-14, meddled with strife that he ought to have kept away from, and it brought about his death. The people avenged his death; they slew the murderers and declared Josiah, Amon’s son, King of Judah. King Josiah was buried in Jerusalem in his own tomb, and his son Jehoahaz took the role of king. He wiped out all of the pagan cults that had formed within his land. Many scholars see the whole core narrative, from Joshua to 2 Kings, as comprising a Deuteronomistic History (DtrH) written during Josiah's reign. The Prophet Zephaniah. [46], The only textual sources of information for Josiah's reign are from the Bible,[4] notably 2 Kings 22–23 and 2 Chronicles 34–35. King Josiah marched out to meet him in battle, but Necho faced him and killed him ..at Megiddo. In this power vacuum, Jerusalem was able to govern itself for the time being without foreign intervention. [3], Josiah is known only from biblical texts; no reference to him exists in other surviving texts of the period from Egypt or Babylon, and no clear archaeological evidence, such as inscriptions bearing his name, has ever been found. The instruments and emblems of the worship of Baal and "the host of heaven" were removed from the Jerusalem Temple. King Josiah was the son of Amon who became king of Judah after his father died. Necho then took Jehoahaz back to Egypt as his prisoner. He did what was right in the Lord's eyes, and walked faithfully in all the ways of his ancestor King David. In a desperate time for good leadership, this young king was determined to lead his people back to following God. V. JOSIAH'S UNTIMELY DEATH. With Josiah out of the way, it was time for Judah’s destruction to proceed. [39] Josiah attempted to block the advance at Megiddo, where a fierce battle was fought and Josiah was killed. Kingdom of Judah was defeated by Pharaoh Necho., Josiah was wounded by an arrow, broguht in his chariot to Jerusalem where he died. He is also one of the kings mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew's gospel, one of the two divergent genealogies of Jesus in the New Testament (cf. After the setback in Harran, Necho left a sizeable force behind, and returned to Egypt. All the people of Judah and the people who lived in Jerusalem went with him. ): Megillah 14a,b; compare Seder 'Olam R. 21, Pesiḳta Rabbah 26 [ed. [21], The Hebrew Bible states that the priest Hilkiah found a "Book of the Law" in the temple during the early stages of Josiah's temple renovation. [24] That is, historical-critical biblical scholars generally believe that the "Book of the Law"—an early predecessor of the Torah—was invented by Josiah's priests, who were driven by ideological interests to centralize power under Josiah in the Temple in Jerusalem. [39] Taking the coast route Via Maris into Syria at the head of a large army, consisting mainly of mercenaries; and supported by his Mediterranean fleet along the shore, Necho passed the low tracts of Philistia and Sharon. All the articles associated with Baal and Asherah worship were removed from the Temple and burned in the Kidron Valley outside the city. After the fall of Nineveh in 612, the Assyrian army consolidated its positions in the western part of the empire, Harran and Carchemish. [10] Shallum was succeeded by Eliakim, under the name Jehoiakim,[11] who was succeeded by his own son Jeconiah;[12] then, Jeconiah was succeeded to the throne by his uncle Mattanyahu, under the name Zedekiah. Necho imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver (about 33⁄4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons) and a talent of gold (about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms). The priests, the prophets, and all the people—from the least important to the most important—went with him. But Necho sent messengers to him, saying, “What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you and me? Description: The Death of King Josiah at Megiddo projection use - $4.95 learn more Projection use is a license to use the image for live public presentations in software programs like PowerPoint™; the license extends for the life of the licensee (you) only and may be used as … [47] Though it may not directly mention King Josiah by name, it does appear to be from the same time period in which he would have lived. [7], Josiah had four sons: Johanan, and Eliakim (born c. 634 BCE), whose mother was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah; and Mattanyahu (c. 618 BCE) and Shallum (633/632 BCE), whose mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. After the assassination of his father and the execution of the conspirators, eight-year-old Josiah became king … The Babylonian Chronicle dates the battle at Harran between the Assyrians and their Egyptian allies against the Babylonians from Tammuz (July–August) to Elul (August–September) 609 BCE. [42], The account in Chronicles is considered unreliable by some scholars,[43] as it is based on the description of the death of a different king, Ahab, in 1 Kings, and it meets the Chronicler's religious agenda to attribute the death of a righteous king to some form of sin. 2,600 years ago, in the southern kingdom of Judah, there was a young king named Josiah. From Josiah’s death onwards, the nation spiralled towards final destruction and the judgment from God of the sin of Manasseh (II Kings 21:10-15, 24:3-4, II Chr 34:23-28, 36:15-16). [14] The Chronicler records in detail the execution of this program, whereas the account in 2 Kings begins with the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem, which both accounts say was initiated in the eighteenth year of his reign. King Josiah was a seventh-century BCE king of Judah who features in the Old Testament. ... That the full measure of punishment was not meted out to Amon-his evil deeds were such that he should have forfeited his share in the World to come-was due to the circumstance of his having a pious and righteous son";[45] also that Josiah's death was brought about because despite his sincere religious reform, he had in fact been deceived; thus he refused to heed the Prophet Jeremiah, thinking that no sword would pass through the Land of Israel. Josiah had at least two wives, Hamutal and Zebidah. In his seeking, he set about restoring the house of the Lord. 2 Then the king went up to the Lord ’s Temple. [13] Zedekiah was the last king of Judah before the kingdom was conquered by Babylon and the people exiled. 35:25, List of artifacts in biblical archaeology, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, The Three Deaths of Josiah and the Strata of Biblical Historiography, "Tiny First Temple find could be first proof of aide to biblical King Josiah", List of Jewish leaders in the Land of Israel, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Josiah&oldid=998998369, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 8 January 2021, at 00:52. His father, King Amon was assassinated because… After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him. [4] Nevertheless, most scholars believe that he existed historically and that the absence of documents is due to few documents of any sort surviving from this very early period, and to Jerusalem having been occupied, conquered, and rebuilt over thousands of years.[5]. Manasseh adapted the Temple for idolatrous worship. According to the biblical narrative, Josiah was the son of King Amon and Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. The Death of Josiah - After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah marched out to meet him in battle. After the high priest, Hilkiah, re-discovered the Book of the Law in the Temple in Jerusalem in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign (in 624BC), King Josiah called the elders of Judah together to renew their covenant with the LORD. According to 1 Kings 13:1–3 an unnamed "man of God" (sometimes identified as Iddo) had prophesied to King Jeroboam of the northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), approximately three hundred years earlier, that "a son named Josiah will be born to the house of David" and that he would destroy the altar at Bethel. Assyria, weakened by her struggle with Babylon, found the Egyptians as allies. As such, he would have been about 13-14 when Josiah died, and 25 when taken into captivity. Josiah made several fundamental religious reformations to revive the country, and he led the hearts of the people back to Jehovah God. Josiah was only 8 years old when he became king of Judah. The book is not identified in the text as the Torah and many scholars believe this was either a copy of the Book of Deuteronomy or a text that became a part of Deuteronomy. C. L. G. The prophetic activity of Jeremiah began in the reign of Josiah; he was a contemporary of his relative the prophetess Hulda and of his teacher Zephaniah. When Josiah became king of Judah in about 641/640 BCE, the international situation was in flux. On his return march, Necho found that Jehoahaz had been selected to succeed his father, Josiah. [22] Hilkiah then gave the scroll to his secretary Shaphan, who took it to King Josiah. The king addressed her, and not Jeremiah, because he thought that women are more easily stirred to pity than men, and that therefore the prophetess would be more likely than Jeremiah to intercede with God in his behalf. [30] Huldah was not only a prophetess, but taught publicly in the school,[31] according to some teaching especially the oral doctrine. Josiah reigned for thirty-one years, from 641/640 to 610/609 BCE. During the last few centuries, the Old Testament books of Kings and Chronicles have come under intense scrutiny as their historical reliability, theological perspectives, and relationship with one another have all been thoroughly examined.In the midst of this examination and relevant to each of its parts has been the reign and death of King Josiah of Judah. [33] When Josiah restored the true worship, Jeremiah went to the exiled ten tribes, whom he brought to Israel under the rule of the pious king. [40] Necho then joined forces with the Assyrian Ashur-uballit II and together they crossed the Euphrates and lay siege to Harran. The Assyrian Empire was beginning to disintegrate, the Neo-Babylonian Empire had not yet risen to replace it, and Egypt to the west was still recovering from Assyrian rule. He, along with his people, then entered into this new covenant with the Lord to keep the commandments of the Lord. [20], According to the later account in 2 Chronicles, Josiah destroyed altars and images of pagan deities in cities of the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim, "and Simeon, as far as Naphtali" (2 Chronicles 34:6–7), which were outside of his kingdom, Judah, and returned the Ark of the Covenant to the Temple. The 5th year of Jehoiachin’s captivity was also the 5th year of the reign of Judah’s last king, Zedekiah. While Hilkiah was clearing the treasure room of the Temple he discovered a scroll described in 2 Kings as "the book of the Law",[16] and in 2 Chronicles as "the book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses". The defeat of Josiah at Megiddo essentially represents the end of the rule of the Davidic line, since not only were Josiah's successors short-lived, but also Judah's relative independence had crumbled in the face of a resurgent Egypt bent on regaining its traditional control of the region, and the imminent rise of the Babylonian empire which also sought control. King Josiah of Judah (ruled 640–609 b.c.e.) The ironic result of Josiah’s actions was that a battle which was intended to solidify Judah’s position in Palestine did just the opposite, as it brought about the death of their king, whose personal faithfulness was the only thing delaying God’s judgment. [36], King Josiah, who foresaw the impending national catastrophe, concealed the Ark and its contents (including Aaron's rod, the vial of manna and the anointing oil) within a hidden chamber which had been built by King Solomon[37]] (Tosefta, Sotah, 13a); cf. According to rabbinic interpretation, Huldah said to the messengers of King Josiah, "Tell the man that sent you to me ..." (2 Kings 22:15), indicating by her unceremonious language that for her Josiah was like any other man. 2,600 years ago, in the southern kingdom of Judah, there was a young king named Josiah. 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