Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library, © 1998 - 2020 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. The King of Egypt assured Josiah that he had no designs upon Judea's independence, and requested free peaceful transit through the land. Josiah was the son of King Amon and the grandson of King Manasseh, both of which corrupt kings of Judah. The first move of Josiah was the abolition of objectionable cults from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah (23:4–14), then came the destruction of the altar of Bethel, and afterwards the destruction of the high places of the Samarian province (23:19–20). © 2008 The Gale Group. It strains credibility to believe that such a drastic change in Judahite religion (which included the purge of ancient native Israelite practices as well as the newer astral cults that had become popular in the eighth century), as described in II Kings, would have been inspired by the chance finding of the book. Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. JOSIAH (Heb. II Kings 23:29–30 says only that Necho put Josiah to death as soon as he saw him and gives no account of a battle nor any motive for Necho's action. The goal of the Deuteronomists was to highlight the importance of the book. Josiah became king at the age of eight. ADD. Josiah, also spelled Josias, (born c. 648 bce —died 609), king of Judah (c. 640–609 bce), who set in motion a reformation that bears his name and that left an indelible mark on Israel’s religious traditions (2 Kings 22–23:30).

Ultimately, of even greater significance for the history of Judaism was the relocation of divine revelation. ), Scripture in Context II (1983), 177–89; M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB; 1988), 277–302; M. Weinfeld, Deuteronomy 1–11 (1991), 65–84; S. Japhet, I & II Chronicles (1993), 1015–59; W. Dever, in: M. Cogan et al. 34:33) and the celebration of the Passover. According to II Chronicles 35:20–24, Josiah ignored God's word and engaged Necho in battle. Josiah went to Megiddo to meet the Pharaoh, who killed him there. ; Judg. bibl.
In 616 B.C.E. 7), where Beth-El and Jericho (previously Ephraimite cities), on the one hand, and the cities of the coastal plain Lydda and Ono, on the other, are considered part of Judah. The contradictory accounts in II Kings and Chronicles are each motivated by the agenda of their writers. Chronicles, in contrast, tells about three stages of the reform: (1) in the eighth year of his reign (632 B.C.E.) The chronology in Chronicles is more plausible, but as noted by Japhet, the Chronicler depends on the Deuteronomistic source in Kings and gives no indication that he had access to any other.

; R. Althann, in: ABD, 3:1015–18; M. Cogan, in: C. Cohen et al. Each account has its problems. Your … King Josiah name means “healed by Jehovah” and during his reign he helped the people to remain faithful to the Lord. 10:16; I Sam. Josiah's death probably brought an end to his reforming efforts, and in any event, the state of Judah fell in 586 B.C.E. His father had been wicked, as had the Jewish kings and culture for generations before him. Josiah became king as a child of only eight, and soon took an interest in the LORD, contrary to his father For the Chronicler there was need to purge the temple because he had already attributed that to the repentance of wicked King Manasseh (II Chron. But the account is suspect because: (a) it is modeled on the account of Ahab's death (I Kings 22:30, 34–37); (b) it is characteristic of the Chronicler's theology to find some sin to account for the downfall of an otherwise righteous king. Deuteronomy 18:6–8 gives the provincial levite equal rights with the priests of the central shrine: "to serve at the altar and to share the dues," whereas, according to II Kings 23:9, the provincial priests are to share the dues with the Jerusalemite priests but are not permitted to officiate along with them (though one must admit that the levite is not necessarily to be identified with the "priest of the high place").