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á . Josiah’s Beginnings; the Extirpation of Idolatry: 2Ch_34:1-7
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26And the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his kindness, as it is written in the law of the Lord, 27And his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
á . Jehoahaz: 2Ch_36:1-4
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1. Josiah’s Beginnings; the Eradication of Idolatry: 2Ch_34:1-7.
2Ch_34:1-2 agree with 2Ki_22:1-2, especially with regard to the eulogy applied to Josiah (alone of all kings), that he “declined not to the right hand nor to the left”; only the mention of his mother (Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah) is wanting in our passage.
2Ch_34:3. And in the eighth year of his reign, when he was sixteen years old. The “seeking after God,” as 22:19 and elsewhere. On the relation of the present chronological statements, especially that referring to the twelfth year of Josiah’s reign as the date of the beginning of the abolition of idolatry, in 2Ki_22:3 ff, and 2Ch_34:33 of our chapter, see Bähr’s full discussion (Bibelw. vii. 453 ff.). This agrees with the conclusion of almost all recent expositors in this, that neither the Chronist nor the author of 2 Kings proceeds exactly in chronological order, in so far as the latter compresses the whole measures of the purification of worship and extirpation of idolatry into the eighteenth year of his reign; but the former (according to 2Ch_34:4-7, which are to be taken partly as proleptic) attaches to that which was put in operation in the twelfth year part of that which was only carried into effect in the eighteenth year, as he himself indicates at the close of the chapter (2Ch_34:33).
2Ch_34:4. And they pulled down before him the altars of Baalim, and the sun-statues . . . he hewed down; comp. 2Ch_33:3, 2Ch_31:1; and for the sun-statues especially, 2Ch_14:4; and for that which follows, 2Ch_15:16.—And strewed (the dust of the ground images) upon the graves of them that had sacrificed to them, literally, “upon the graves that sacrificed to them.” In 2Ki_23:6, perhaps more exactly the ashes of the great asherim merely are designated as strewn upon the graves of the idolaters.
2Ch_34:5. And the bones of the priests he burned; for the particulars, see 2Ki_23:13-14; 2Ki_23:16-20.
2Ch_34:6. And in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, and unto Naphtali, that is, in all the land, from the most southern to the most northern part of the tribes. That the regions belonging to the northern kingdom (among which here, as in 2Ch_15:9, Simeon also is named as a tribe addicted to idolatry) were at that time wasted by the invasion of Shalmaneser and Sargon, is indicated by the addition: “in their ruins around.” For the exclusive admissibility of this reading ( áְּçָøְáֹúֵéäֶí ), see Crit. Note. Moreover, the present account (with the parallel statement in 2Ki_23:19-20 f.), according to which the kingdom of Josiah included again in some measure all the twelve tribes, is certainly to be estimated in the same way as the statement in 2Ch_30:18, according to which, even in the beginning of Hezekiah’s reign, before the northern kingdom had fallen, a partial annexation of its inhabitants to the southern kingdom in respect of worship had taken place. Here also it is only the introduction of the remnant of the inhabitants of the north into the work of the purification of worship that is spoken of, not the exercise of a formal sovereignty over their country. What Neteler says, p. 261, of a supposed “reunion of the country of Israel with the kingdom of Judah” under Manasseh, and of an inheritance of this collective Israelitish kingdom, restored to its original compass, on the part of Josiah son of Manasseh, is devoid of all definite hold in the text as well of the books of Kings as of Chronicles.
2Ch_34:7. Pulled down the altars; here first is the chief sentence to the (in the form of an absolute sentence, 2Ch_34:6) premised determination of the scene of the king’s action.—And the asherim; ìְäֵãַ÷ is a perfect-like (retaining the vowel of the perfect) infinitive with ìְ , on which see Ewald, § 238, d.—And he returned to Jerusalem, from his campaign against the idols, which had carried him into the former region of Ephraim and Simeon. In 2Ki_23:20 also is this notice found, but there certainly in reference to the eighteenth year of Josiah. A chronological contradiction of the two accounts, however, can scarcely be found in this circumstance; comp. Bähr on the passage.
2. The Purging of the Temple and Recovery of the Book of the Law: 2Ch_34:8-21. Comp. 2Ki_22:3-13, and Bähr on the passage.—In the eighteenth year . . . when he purged. ìְèַäֵø is neither “after the purging, after he had purged” (Luther, de Wette, etc.), nor “in order to purge” (Berth., Kamph.), but a note of time and circumstance “in the purging” (Keil, Net.); comp. Jer_46:13. In the naming of Shaphan, his designation as scribe or royal secretary (2Ki_22:3) has perhaps fallen out of the text of our account by a mere oversight, for the two other officers named by the Chronist (reporting more exactly than 2 Kings) are introduced by the addition of their titles. For “repair (literally, ‘strengthen’) the house of the Lord,” see on 2Ch_24:5, and also on 2Ch_34:9 of the present report concerning the repair of the temple under Joash (2Ch_24:11-13); see, moreover, the Crit. Note on 2Ch_34:9.
2Ch_34:10. Put it into the hand of the work-masters, etc. åַéִּúְּðåּ is a resuming of the same verb in the foregoing verse, but connected with òַìÎéַã , “into the hand,” by which the sense of “handing” is reached. For the plur. òùֵֹׁä äַîְּìָàëָä (for òùֵֹׁé ä× ), comp. 1Ch_23:24.—The work-masters . . . gave it, etc.; so according to the received text; but if, as 2Ki_22:5 seems to show, a ìְ has fallen out before òùֵֹׁé , it should be rendered: “they gave it to the work-masters” (or labourers). The latter reading appears the more suitable, though it cannot be affirmed that it is the original one.
2Ch_34:11. And timber for girders and for joists of the houses, literally, “to joist the houses”; comp. Neh_3:3; Neh_3:6. This means, naturally, not any houses of the city, but the buildings of the temple.—Which the kings of Judah had destroyed, let go to ruin; a like exaggeration of phrase as in the case of Athaliah, 2Ch_24:7.
2Ch_34:12. And the men wrought faithfully at the work, literally, “were working.” For áàîåðä , “truly, conscientiously,” see on 2Ch_31:12.—To oversee the building; comp. ìְðַöֵּç in essentially the same meaning, Ezr_3:8.—And the Levites, all that had skill in instruments of song; comp. 1Ch_15:16; 1Ch_25:7; Dan_1:17. These closing words of 2Ch_34:12 are to be connected with 2Ch_34:13 a, so that the repeated åְ is = “as well as.” This is simpler and less violent than the proposal of Bertheau, accepted by Kamph., to erase the first åְ of 2Ch_34:13, and annex the words “over the carriers” to 2Ch_34:12. On 2Ch_34:14, comp. 2Ki_22:8.—The book of the law of the Lord by Moses, that is, the Mosaic law (comp. for the phrase, 2Ch_33:8). The whole Torah at all events is meant, not merely Deuteronomy, as the modern critical school (last of all, Hitzig, Gesch p. 236) think; and not merely the groups of laws contained in the three middle cooks of the Pentateuch (according to Bertheau’s hypothesis, Beiträge zur israelit. Gesch. p. 375). Decisive grounds against these modern hypotheses, especially so far as they endeavour to connect the assertion of an origin from Manasseh or even Josiah with our passage, see in Kleinert, Das Deuteronomium und der Deuteronomiker, 1871, and in Klostermann, “Das Lied Mosis und das Deuteronomium,” Theol. Stud. und Krit. 1871, ii.;1872, ii. and iii. Comp. also Stähelin, Einleit. ins A. T. (1862) p. 242 ff.; J. Fürst, Gesch. der bibl. Literat. i. 351 ff.; and Bähr on 2Ki_22:7.
2Ch_34:16. And Shaphan brought the book to the king. Somewhat different in the parallel 2Ki_22:9, where at first it is only related: “and Shaphan the scribe came to the king,” and where, therefore, no òåֹã , “yet,” stands in the following: “and brought the king word.” The structure of the words in the Chronist appears in every respect the younger, although none of its deviations is of any essential importance; comp. Keil on this passage.
2Ch_34:17. Given it into the hands; comp. on 2Ch_34:10 at the beginning.
2Ch_34:20. And Ahikam son of Shaphan, the father of Gedaliah and protector of Jeremiah; see Jer_26:24; Jer_40:5. For the probable originality of the reading “Achbor” for “Abdon,” see the Crit. Note. The Achbor of this passage appears the same who is so named Jer_26:22; Jer_36:12.
Ver 21. And for them that are left in Israel, literally, “for that which is left”; a significant phrase, like the parallel 2Ki_22:13 : “for the people and for all Judah.” The expression “that is poured out” ( ðִúְּëָä ) stands for the essentially synonymous “that is kindled” ( ðִöְּúָä ) of the parallel.
3. Consultation of Huldah, and Solemn Reading of the Law in the Temple: 2Ch_34:22-33. Comp. 2Ki_22:14-20; 2Ki_23:1-3, and Bähr on this passage.—Went to Huldah . . . the wife of Shallum. The forefathers of this husband of Huldah are called in 2 Kings, not Tokehath and Hasrah, but Tikvah and Harhas. Which of these (nowhere else occurring) names are original cannot now be decided. For “the second” quarter or district of the lower city, see Bähr.—And they spake to her to this effect, namely, as Josiah had said to them; this ëָּæֹàú , which reminds us of 2Ch_32:15, is wanting in 2 Kings.
2Ch_34:24. All the curses, etc.; in 2 Kings less strong: “all the words.”
2Ch_34:25. And my wrath is poured out on this place. As in 2Ch_34:21, here again stands the verb ðúêְ instead of ðöú , the one usual in the parallel (2Ki_22:17), which latter, moreover, the Sept. expresses also in our passage, perhaps because it appears to suit better the following words: “and will not be quenched.”
2Ch_34:27. Because thy heart was tender . . . when thou heardest his words. In the original text the construction is somewhat different, namely, “the words which thou hast heard” (2Ch_34:26 for example), “because thereby thy heart was made tender, and thou didst bow down before God, when thou heardest,” etc. The words äַãְּáָøִéí àֲùֶׁø ùָׁîַòְúָּ , absolutely prefixed, can scarcely be translated. In 2Ki_22:19, moreover, the words “against this place” are rendered still more distinct by the addition wanting here: “that they should become a desolation and a curse.”
2Ch_34:28. And they brought the king word again; comp. 2Ch_34:16.
2Ch_34:32. Caused all . . . to stand to it, namely, to the covenant. In 2Ki_23:3, instead of åַéַּòֲֽîֵã stands rather the Kal åַéַּòֲֽîֹã , joined with áַּáְּøִéú , “and all the people stood to the covenant.”
2Ch_34:33. And Josiah took away all the abominations. For the relation of this statement, that reverts to 2Ch_34:3-7 in the way of recapitulation, to 2Ki_23:4-20, see above, Preliminary Remark, and on 2Ch_34:3, By “all the countries of the sons of Israel” are here meant the territories of the former kingdom of the ten tribes, as distinguished from Jerusalem and Benjamin, 2Ch_34:32 (that is, Jerusalem, Judah, and Benjamin). Comp. above, 2Ch_34:6, also 2Ki_23:15; 2Ki_23:19, where in particular Bethel and the cities of Samaria are mentioned as places of the former Israel that were subjected to the great purging process of Josiah.—And bound all … to serve ( åַéַּֽòֲáֵã ìַֽòֲáֹã ), “caused to serve,” bound to the service of the Lord.—All his days they departed not from the Lord. This theocratic behaviour of the people during the whole reign of Josiah can, at all events, have only been external, without true conversion of heart, and therefore without real constancy; see Evangelical and Ethical Reflections, No. 1.
4. The Passover: 2Ch_35:1-19. Comp. 2Ki_23:21; 2Ki_23:23; as also the tolerably close Greek version of our section in 1Es_1:1-21 (in Tischendorf’s edit. of the Sept. the first book of Esdras).—And they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month; thus, though Hitzig (Gesch. p. 235) doubts it without any ground, at the time prescribed by law, otherwise than in the passover of Hezekiah, 2Ch_30:2 ff. The year of this solemnity is (2Ch_35:9; see on this verse) the eighteenth of Josiah’s reign, and therefore 623 (or 622) b.c.
2Ch_35:2. And he set the priests in their charges (watches; comp. 2Ch_7:6, 2Ch_8:14), in their functions; comp. 1Ch_23:32.—And strengthened them for the service of the Lord, by comforting, encouraging exhortation, as also by instructions in their legal functions; comp. Neh_2:18, where çִæֵּ÷ stands in the same sense, and 2Ch_29:5.
2Ch_35:3. Who taught all Israel. Comp. äֵáִéï in Neh_8:7; Neh_8:9, also the synonymous ìîã above, 2Ch_17:8-9. For the following designation of the Levites as “consecrated to the Lord,” that is, alone entitled to enter His sanctuary and conduct His holy service, comp. 2Ch_23:6.—Put the holy ark into the house. These words are somewhat surprising, and admit of various interpretations, as a parallel yielding a more definite explanation is wanting. But although not äָùִׁéáåּ , “bring back,” but úְּðåּ , “give place,” is the verb used, yet the assumption of a previous removal of the ark from its place in the holy of holies appears to present itself with constraining necessity, even if we think (with many ancients, as well as Berth. and Kamph.) of Manasseh or Amon as the author of this temporary transference of the ark; in which case, however, it would be very surprising that nothing should be expressly stated in the reign of these godless kings concerning so profane a violation; or if (with Starke and others) we consider Josiah’s repair of the temple to be the occasion of the temporary removal of the ark from its place, which is undoubtedly the simplest and best supposition. Quite arbitrary is the hypothesis of some ancients, that the ark was, in the days of the idolatrous kings, sometimes carried round the country as a means of strengthening the faith of the people, and Josiah now forbids this custom in the present words (see v. Mosheim in Calmet’s Bibl. Untersuchungen, vi. 226 ff.); and equally so the Rabbinical conceit, that Josiah here gives orders to remove the ark from its place in the holy of holies to a subterranean chamber, to place it in safety from the impending destruction of the temple. But even the rendering: “Leave the holy ark in the house, leave it in the temple, to which it properly belongs” (Keil, after the ancients), is arbitrary; and so is Neteler’s attempted emendation, which, against the grammar, would change the imperat. úְּðåּ into the perf. úַּðּåּ (from ðúï = úðï , “give”), and translate accordingly: “And he said to the Levites, Those who taught all Israel, who were consecrated to the Lord, have put the ark of the sanctuary into the house,” etc. Were such an explanation of the passage possible, how surprising that it is first discovered in the 19th century !—It shall not be a burden on your shoulders; comp. Num_4:15; Num_7:9. The sense of these words can only be: ye have to minister to the ark of the Lord not as a moveable sanctuary, to be carried laboriously on the shoulders, through the wilderness or from city to city, but as the throne of God standing in the centre of the temple; the times of the toilsome and perilous (comp. 1Ch_13:9) transport of the ark are over; an easier ministry before this sanctuary, but not the less conscientiously to be discharged, now lies upon you. If we take the words thus (with Keil, Kamph., etc.), there seems to be no necessity for Bertheau’s assumption that the Levites at the pass-over had carried round the ark on their shoulders in an inconsiderate way, and Josiah therefore instructed them that this function of carrying was no longer binding on them with regard to the ark of the covenant.
2Ch_35:4. And make you ready (see Crit. Note) . . . after the writing of David, properly, “in the writing,” etc. ( áְּ , as in 2Ch_29:25). There were then writings or notes ( îִáְúָּá , as in 2Ch_26:22, 1Ch_28:19) of David and Solomon, in which these kings had established as law their prescriptions for the ministry of priests and Levites in the sanctuary, from which also our author had directly or indirectly drawn his former communications on this subject (1 Chronicles 23-26); comp. Introd. § 5, for example, and the preliminary remark in explanation of 1 Chronicles 23-26
2Ch_35:5. And a part of a father-house of the Levites (for each); so that to every division ( ôְּìֻâָּä , as Ezr_6:18) of the non-Levitical father-houses may correspond a part of a Levitical father-house (comp. 1Ch_24:6). In this way it is not necessary to erase åְ before çֲìֻ÷ַּú in the sense of “and indeed,” or “namely” (against Berth.).
2Ch_35:6. Kill the passover and sanctify you, namely, by washing, before ye hand to the priests the blood to sprinkle on the altar; comp. 2Ch_30:16 f.
2Ch_35:7-9. The King and his Princes bestow Victims.—And Josiah dealt to the sons of the people; äֵøִéí , bestow as a heave-offering, as in 2Ch_30:24, Ezr_8:25.—To the number of 30,000 head of small cattle, and 3000 bullocks,—the latter, as appears from 2Ch_35:13, for slaying and consuming as peace-offerings. All this was from the king’s domains; comp. 2Ch_31:3, 2Ch_32:29.
2Ch_35:8. And his princes presented a free gift; so is ìִðְãָáָä to be taken here (comp. the corresponding ìַôְּñָçִéí for passover-offerings in the verse before), not as an adverb, “willingly,” as Berth. thinks. How many the princes gave as free gifts is not here mentioned (it is otherwise in 2Ch_30:24); for the three “rulers of the house of God” named in b as in 2Ch_35:9, and six chiefs of the Levites, are certainly as different from “the princes of the king” as the spiritual office-bearers in any kingdom are from the temporal. Moreover, of the three princes of the house of God, Zechariah, named next after the high priest Hilkiah, appears to be his nearest subordinate or deputy ( ëֹּäֵï îִùְׁðֶä , 2Ki_25:18); but the third, Jehiel, seems to be the head of the line of Ithamar (comp. Ezr_8:2, and Berth, on this passage). Of the six chiefs of the Levites named in 2Ch_35:9, three—Conaniah, Shemaiah, and Jozabad—have the same names with those named in 2Ch_31:12-15 on the occasion of the reform of Hezekiah, but are scarcely the same persons.
2Ch_35:10 ff. depicts the preparation of the passover and the sacrificial feast connected with it.—And the service was prepared (or arranged, Luther), comp. 2Ch_35:16; 2Ch_29:35; for the following, also 2Ch_30:16 f.
2Ch_35:12. And they removed the burnt-offering; äֵñִéø is here to separate the parts of the victim that were to be burned on the altar; comp. Lev_3:9 f., Lev_4:31. These parts are here called äָòåֹìָä , because, as the law of the peace-offering, Lev_3:6-16 (especially 2Ch_35:11; 2Ch_35:16), directs, they were wholly burned as the burnt-offering, and, moreover, on the flesh of the evening sacrifice. A special burnt-offering is not to be thought of, because such were not prescribed on the evening of the 14th Nisan for the pass-over; the only offerings to be presented thereon were the paschal lambs.—To give them to the divisions; “them,” namely, the separated pieces, to be burned as burnt-offerings.—And so with the oxen; they also (those special gifts in oxen mentioned 2Ch_35:7-9, 3800 head in all) were presented not as burnt-offerings or holocausts to be wholly burned, but as peace-offerings, to be eaten as a joyful festival in part, that is, after taking away the fat that was to be burned.
2Ch_35:13. And they roasted the passover with fire, according to the ordinance; see Exo_12:8-9. The “holy things” ( äַ÷ֳּãָùִׁéí ) are the slain oxen (see 2Ch_29:33). If it is further said of these, that their flesh, after being sodden in pots, etc., is to be brought “quickly” to the sons of the people, that is, the non-Levitical partakers in the feast, it does not follow that this was done on the first evening of the feast, the 14th Nisan, and thus that all that was provided, passover lambs and peace-offerings, was consumed on the very first evening (as Berth. and apparently also Kamph. think). On the contrary, Keil justly remarks: “Such a junction or rather mingling of the feast prepared of the roasted lambs with the eating of the boiled beef would have been so rude an offence against the legal prescriptions concerning the passover, that we shall not ascribe it either to King Josiah and the priests, or even to the author of Chronicles, as the latter expressly remarks that they proceeded in the festival according to the prescription of the law of Moses, and according to the ordinance.” Accordingly, that which is here and in the two following verses recorded concerning the preparation of the offering and the feast refers not merely to the opening evening, but to the whole seven days of unleavened bread.
2Ch_35:14. And afterwards, when the laity were provided for.—Because the priests . . . (were engaged) in offering the burnt-offering and the fat until night, and thus could not cook and prepare for themselves, the Levites must do this for them. Burnt-offering and fat appear to denote one and the same thing, and so to form a hendiadyoin; or also the conjunctive å between the two phrases appears to be explicative (Keil).
2Ch_35:15. And the singers . . . were in their place (comp. 1Ch_23:28; 1Ch_25:1; 1Ch_25:6). What is here recorded concerning the co-operation of the singers and the porters in the solemnity clearly refers, as the comprehensive character of the scene shows, not merely to one, but to all the seven days of the feast. The phrase “that day,” at the beginning of 2Ch_35:16, does not oppose this view, but reverts to the 14th Nisan as the fundamental day of the festival; comp. the sing. éåֹí in Gen_2:4 and in 2Ch_35:17, which shows most directly and clearly the correctness of our interpretation.
2Ch_35:18. And there was no passover like that kept. . . from the days of Samuel. This does not contradict 2Ch_30:26, for there the point of comparison is the magnificence and numerous participation in the solemnity; here, on the contrary, its theocratic purity and legitimacy. Comp. above on that passage, as well as Bähr on the parallel 2Ki_23:22. On “all Judah and Israel that were present,” that is, so far as they were present, comp. 2Ch_34:33.
2Ch_35:19. In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept; thus in the same year in which, according to 2Ch_34:8, the full execution and conclusion of Josiah’s reform of worship took place (comp. on 2Ch_35:1). There is no proper chronological difficulty in this date, which is also found in 2Ki_23:23; for the 18th year which is here spoken of is a reign and calendar year (Bähr), and if dated from the autumn, from that time till the legal term of the paschal feast, about the middle of Nisan (in the spring of the following calendar year), all that is related in 2Ch_34:8-33 may take place. And all the more because not a little that referred to the cleansing and repair of the temple might have been already prepared in the previous years of Josiah’s reign (from the 12th, 2Ch_34:3).
5. Josiah’s Battle with Necho of Egypt, and End: 2Ch_35:20-27. Comp. 2Ki_23:25-30.—After all this . . . Necho, king of Egypt, came up; not the Necho I. (Ni-ik-ku-u sar Mi’-im-im-piu S’a-ai, “king of Memphis and Sais,” on an inscription of Asurbanipal) mentioned 2Ch_33:11, who had reigned before 664, but the successor of Psammetichus, Necho II., who reigned till about 605. The Assyrian (or rather Babylonian) king who is attacked by Necho in the present campaign is probably Asur-idil-ili, the Sarak of Abydenus and Syncellus (see Schrader, p. 231 ff.), or even, if Nineveh was already fallen, Nabo-polassar (see Then., Berth., Bähr, etc.), but by no means Sardanapalus (5. Gumpach, Zeitrechnung der Babyl. und Assyr. p. 146), who was much earlier. For Carchemish = Circesium, on the Euphrates, comp. the expositors on Isa_10:9; Jer_46:2.
2Ch_35:21. What have I to do with thee? properly, “what is there to me and thee?” comp. Jdg_11:12; 2Sa_10:9; Joh_2:4.—I am not against thee this day, “I am come up” ( òָìִéúִé ), my attack is not on thee; after òָìֶéêָ the suffix of the second pers. is rendered emphatic by an added àַúָּä , which would be expressed in English by “even thee.”—But against the house of my war. ַ These words must, if original, be interpreted like the phrase: “man of wars of Tou,” 1Ch_18:10, or the similar form in 2Sa_8:10, and would thus denote the hereditary foe of the Egyptian king. But it seems more natural to amend, as in 1 Esdras 1, according to the Crit. Note.—And God hath commanded me to make haste. By this God, to whose command he was obedient, Necho means not any Egyptian deity, as the Targ. as well as some recent expositors (appealing to Herodotus, 2:158) think, but, according to 2Ch_35:22, the true supreme God, the acknowledgment of whom in the mouth of Necho cannot surprise us more than 2Ch_36:23 in the edict of Cyrus. The older expositors assume a special divine command (sive per somnium, sive per prophetam aliquem ad ipsum a Judœa missum) without sufficient necessity; what Necho had recognised as agreeable to the will of his Egyptian deity, that he transfers at once to a supposed indication of the will of Jehovah.
2Ch_35:22. But disguised himself to fight with him; he gave up his true character, the part of the peaceful, which he was bound to play, and engaged against the will of God in combat with Necho. Perhaps, however (with Berth., Kamph.), the reading of the Sept.: “but made himself strong for battle” (comp. 2Ch_25:11), is to be preferred. A literal disguise, such as that of Ahab, 2Ch_18:29, should in no case be thought of (against Starke and other ancients, also Neteler). For the well-founded opinion of our author, that the battle of Josiah with Necho was a contravention of the divine will, see Evangelical and Ethical Reflections, No. 1. For the valley of Megiddo, see on 2Ki_23:29 f.
2Ch_35:24. And his servants . . . put him in his second chariot, perhaps a more commodious one, which he had with him besides the war chariot. Not so exact 2Ki_23:30.
2Ch_35:25. And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah. This lamentation of Jeremiah was certainly included in the collection of lamentations ( ÷ִéðåֹú ) on Josiah mentioned immediately after at the end of the verse, but is no longer found in the present Lamentations of Jeremiah, which must be regarded as a later collection than that here named. Perhaps the passages in Jer_22:10; Jer_22:18, and Zec_12:11 contain allusions to the older laments in memory of Josiah that are here intended; comp. Nägelsbach on Jeremiah, and Köhler on Zechariah.
2Ch_35:26. And his kindness; çֲñָãִéí , as in 2Ch_32:32 of Hezekiah, but more exactly defined in our passage by the addition: “as it is written in the law of the Lord,” corresponding to the characteristic peculiarity of Josiah, as a prince living and reigning in the strictest sense according to law.
6. Jehoahaz: 2Ch_36:1-4. Comp. 2Ki_23:30-35.—And the people of the land took Jehoahaz; the same mode of elevation to the throne as in Josiah, 2Ch_33:25, and Uzziah, 2Ch_26:1. In the present case, the will of the people took effect in a usurping way, as the younger brother (Jehoahaz, or properly Shallum; see 1Ch_3:15, and comp. remarks on this passage) was preferred to the older Jehoiakim, perhaps because they had learned to fear the latter on account of the tyrannical spirit early manifested by him (comp. on 2Ch_36:8).
2Ch_36:3. Put him down. For the here probably necessary supplement of îִîְּìֹêְ after åַéְñִéøֵäåּ , see Crit. Note. On the terms 100 talents of silver and a talent of gold, which are also found in 2 Kings 23, see Bähr on this passage.
7. Jehoiakim: 2Ch_36:5-8. Comp. 2Ki_23:36 to 2Ki_24:7.—Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he became king, and so two years older than his brother Shallum-Jehoahaz.—Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar; according to the Assyrio-Babylonian monuments, Nabiuv-kudurriusur (comp. the Hebrew form ðְáåּëַãְøֶàöåֹø , Jer_49:28 and Ezr_2:1, Kethib; likewise Íáâïêïäñüóïñïò in Alex. Polyhistor, Megasthenes, and Abydenus). The name (according to Schrader, p. 235) is compounded of the idol name Nabiuv or Nabu, the subst. Kudur, “crown” ( êßäáñéò ), and the imperat. usur or nasar, “protect,” and means: “Nebo, guard the crown” (not Nebo guards the crown, as Keil states our passage and at Dan_1:1).—And bound him in fetters, as befell Manasseh, and as the Assyrio-Babylonish sovereigns were wont to do to all captive princes; comp. on 2Ch_33:11.—To carry him to Babel. That this carrying to Babel was only intended, not executed, almost all recent expositors justly assume; comp. besides Movers (Chron. p. 333), Bertheau, Keil, Neteler on our passage, also Bahr on 2Ki_24:1 ff., Nägelsbach on Jer_22:17 ff., as well as my remarks on Dan_1:2. If the Sept., which presents a text often deviating from the Masoretic text, and amplified with many additions, makes out of “to carry him” ( ìְäåֹìִéëåֹ ) an actual “and carried him” ( êáὶ ἀíÞãáãåí áὐôὸí åἰò Âáâõëῶíá ), and also 1 Esdras and the Vulg. translate accordingly (et vinctum catenis duxit Babylonem), this has its ground in the erroneous assumption derived mainly from a onesided view of Dan_1:2, as if already the misfortune of being carried to Babel had befallen Jehoiakim, which, according to the sequel, first overtook his son Jehoiachin, whereas he himself, according to the express statement of 2Ch_36:5, reigned eleven years at Jerusalem (the last of these eleven years, naturally, as the vassal of Nebuchadnezzar). On the date of this first invasion of Nebuchadnezzar, according to Dan_1:1 “in the third year of Jehoiakim,” about 606 or 605 b.c., comp. our remarks in the Introd. to the book of Daniel, § 8 (Bibelw. xvii. 28, 30 ff.). On 2Ch_36:7, comp. Dan_1:2; Ezr_1:7.
2Ch_36:8. And his abominations which he did; not certainly a mere designation of the idolatry of Jehoiakim (as Berth. thinks, who understands òָùָׂä úåֹòֲáåֹú of the making of idols), but also of his other evil deeds—for example, his shedding of innocent blood, 2Ki_24:4. The next phrase: “and that which was found against him,” is a still more general and comprehensive expression for these evil deeds; comp. 2Ch_19:3.
8. Jehoiachin: 2Ch_36:9-10. Comp. the fuller account, 2Ki_24:8-17.—Jehoiachin was eight years old. That the number eight here is, at all events, a miswriting for eighteen, see in Crit. Note. Not merely in 2Ki_24:8 is Jehoiachin designated as a youth of eighteen years at his accession, but Eze_19:5-9 makes him appear at least as old, since he is depicted as a young lion, who practised man-stealing, oppressed widows, and laid waste cities, abominations which a boy of eight years could not have committed. Against Bertheau’s opinion, that it follows from 2Ki_24:12; 2Ki_24:15, Jer_22:26, where Jehoiachin’s mother is mentioned along with him, that he was still in his minority, and thus the present statement of the Chronist that he is only eight years old is correct, is the joint mention of the queen-mother in the account of the accession of a new king which is usual in the books of Kings, and occurs, for example, also in Jehoahaz (2Ki_23:31), Jehoiakim (2Ki_23:36), and Zedekiah (2Ki_24:18). For the name Jehoiachin, and its relation to the kindred form Jechoniah or Coniah, comp. on 2Ki_3:16.
2Ch_36:10. And at the turn of the year, in the spring, when men are wont to open the campaign (comp. 2Sa_11:1; 1Ki_20:22).—And brought him to Babel (“caused him to come”) with the goodly vessels, etc. In the mention of these “goodly vessels” (as in 2Ch_32:27) there is an advance in comparison with “some of the vessels,” as in 2Ch_36:7. The spoliation under Jechoniah (598 b.c.) was more thorough than under Jehoiakim.—And he made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem. That this designation of Zedekiah, the last king before the exile, as the brother of Jehoiachin is inexact, and, according to 2Ki_24:17, to be explained by father’s brother (uncle, ãּåֹø ), or even directly changed into this term, is shown by the full list of Josiah’s four sons already communicated by the Chronist, 1Ch_3:15 f. Comp. on this passage, especially on 1Ch_3:16, where also mention is made of Mattaniah, the name borne by Zedekiah before he ascended the throne.
9. Zedekiah: 2Ch_36:11-21. Comp. 2Ki_24:18 to 2Ki_25:21, also Jeremiah 52. and 1Es_1:44-55.—Zedekiah was twenty-one years old. The younger Zedekiah, brother of Jehoiachin, and nephew of Mattaniah Zedekiah (see 1Ch_3:16), could not have been so old at the time when Jehoiachin, being eighteen years old, was deposed. The eleven years of Zedekiah’s reign extend from 598 to 587.
2Ch_36:12. Humbled himself not before Jeremiah the prophet from the mouth of the Lord, who spoke from the mouth of God; comp. 2Ch_35:22; Jer_23:16. Of these prophetic warnings and threatenings addressed by Jeremiah to Zedekiah, Jer_21:4 ff. especially comes into account; comp. also Jer_37:2 ff.
2Ch_36:13. And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar. This revolt is also censured by the prophet Ezekiel (Eze_17:13 ff.) as a grievous transgression.—And he stiffened his neck (showed himself stiff-necked; comp. 2Ki_17:14; Jer_19:15, etc.) and hardened his heart, “made his heart firm.” Comp. Deu_2:30, where God is said to harden and make stiffnecked; which does not, however, warrant the conclusion that he must also here be the subject of åַéֶּ÷ֶùׁ , as Bertheau thinks; comp., on the contrary, Deu_15:7.
2Ch_36:14. Also all the chiefs of the priests and the people transgressed very much; comp. Eze_8:6 ff., where priests and people are described as sunk in base idolatry under the last kings, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, while prominence is expressly given to the “elders of the people” (2Ch_36:11) and the priests (2Ch_36:16) as the chief participators in these abominations. Neither there nor here would a reference of the accusation concerning idolatrous abominations to an earlier time than that of the last kings, namely, to that of Manasseh and Amon, be justified (against Berth.). From the circumstance that in the prophetic discourses of Jeremiah such complaints of idolatry are less vehement under Zedekiah, no inference can be drawn against this view. The phrase: “chiefs of the priests,” denotes here, as in Ezr_10:5, the presidents of the twenty-four classes, together with the high priests, and therefore the same whom Ezekiel has in view in the twenty-five men in the temple; comp. Hitzig, Gesch. p. 238.
2Ch_36:15. Sent to them by his messengers, rising early and sending, constantly and earnestly; äַùְׁë