READING: 2 Chronicles chapters 34-35
DIVISION
34:1-2 Opening Formula
34:3-5 Josiah’s religious purification of Jerusalem and Judah in his 12th regnal year
34:6-7 The extension of his activities to the northern tribal areas of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, Naphtali, all Israel
34:8-18 Temple repairs and the finding of a torah scroll
34:19-28 Huldah’s oracle
34:29-32 Covenant-making
34:33 A summary verse
35:1-19 The Passover Celebration
35:20-27 The Death of King Josiah
THE JOSIAH ACCOUNT IN 2 CHRONICLES 34-35
34:1-2 Opening Formula
As in 2 Kings this introductory formula introduces the king and profiles his reign. Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign and the length of his reign was thirty-one years (640-609 BCE). He is commended for doing what was right in the sight of YHWH and like 2 Kgs 22:2 his name is linked with that of his ancestor David. The opening formula in 2 Kings gives us three facts; 1) his age at accession 2) the number of years he reigned 3) his mother’s name. The latter piece of information is not mentioned by the Chronicler. In both 2 Kings 22:2 and 2 Chron 34:2 Josiah is said to have deviated ‘neither to the right hand, nor to the left.’ Both formulae therefore immediately link Josiah to the book of Deuteronomy, where it is said that the model king should make a copy of the torah and read it all his life so that ‘he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left.’
See my post: ‘King Josiah of Judah in 2 Kings‘
34:3-5 Josiah’s religious purification of Jerusalem and Judah in his 12th year
Unlike the Kings account which seems unconcerned with chronology and telescopes the main events of Josiah’s career into just one year (his eighteenth), the Chronicler is at pains to emphasize that his reforms were a step-by-step process. According to 2 Chronicles 34:3 he had a religious awakening during his eighth regnal year (633/2 BCE) while he was still young (about 16 years of age). It was then that he began to seek YHWH. It does not seem that his advisers, whoever they were, during the early part of his reign were concerned to guide him in the ways of the Lord. Presumably, for the first sixteen years of his life, those advising him were pro-Assyrian, and his religious policies would therefore have been similar to those pursued by his father Amon. We are not told why it took him four years of ‘seeking after’ the Lord before launching his campaign to rid the land of idolatry in the twelth year of his reign. 2 Kings has the purge initiated following the discovery of a torah scroll in the Temple in his eighteenth year (621 BCE). Here in 2 Chronicles the reforms begin in his twelth year – a full six years before the discovery of the law-book. This sequence of events is the most noticeable difference between the accounts of 2 Kgs 22-23 and 2 Chron 34-35.
In his twelth year (c. 628 BCE), at age twenty, he began a purge aimed at ridding Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the groves, the carved idols and the cast images and restoring the pure worship of YHWH. Verses 3b-5 give a fuller explanation of what he did in Jerusalem and Judah. He personally supervised the destruction of places of idolatry, of the images themselves and of objects related to their worship. The high places must have been those which his grandfather Manasseh had rebuilt but at which the people only sacrificed to YHWH (33:3, 17). Verse 4 clearly states that the altars of the Baals were destroyed by him and that, as part of the same event, so were the images that were located high above them. It is not clear what these images were, possibly they had something to do with sun worship. The Chronicler does not record him purging the Jerusalem Temple, this had already been done by Manasseh ( 33:15-16). The purification of the temple mentioned in v. 8 would have been to sanctify it again through rituals after the completion of restoration works.
Verses 4b and 5 tell us that Josiah desecrated the graves of the idolatrous priests and burned their bones upon their altars. This was a crime for which the prophet Amos had denounced the king of Moab (Amos 2:1), yet the Chronicler passes no comment upon it. (cp. another passage about the disrespectful treatment of bones Jer 8:1-3). Perhaps this was seen as posthumous punishment for the idolaters, cremation being the punishment meted out to those regarded as false priests in Num16:35. Cremation is also prescribed as a punishment in Lev 20:14; 21:9 and Josh 7:25.
34:6-7 The extension of Josiah’s activities to the northern tribal areas of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, Naphtali, all Israel
Taking advantage of Assyrian weakness at that time Josiah extended his campaign against idolatry into the territory that had been the Northern kingdom of Israel but was then part of the Assyrian empire. Although the Bible says little about his military exploits Josiah must have been strong enough to act independently and recover this territory from Assyrian control. The religious purge he conducted there was just as thorough as that in Judah:
‘In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.’ 2 Chron 34:6-7 (NIV)
Thus Josiah set out on a personal, fanatical crusade against idolatry which, as clarified in 2 Kings 23:4-20, was implemented in three stages; 1) Judah and Jerusalem 2) Bethel 3) the towns of Samaria. Apart from the plural subject (they) at the beginning of v.4, the Chronicler, in 34:3-7, portrays Josiah himself as the one who toured the country systematically demolishing and burning;
‘he began to purge, he cut down, he broke..made dust, strewed, he burnt, so did he, when he had broken.’
2 Chron 34:4 and 2 Kgs 23:16 actually place him on site supervising the destruction.
34:8-18 Temple repairs and the finding of a torah scroll
The Chronicler comes now to the eighteenth year of Josiah which features so prominently in the 2 Kings account of his reign and relates the story of the finding of ‘a book of the law of the Lord given by Moses’ during restoration work on the Temple. Before this work by Josiah there seems to have been few changes made to the Temple since its construction by Solomon more than three hundred years earlier except;
* Some repairs by King Jehoash (2 Kgs 12:5-17).
* King Jotham built the upper gate of the temple (2 Kgs 15:35)
* King Ahaz made some structural changes on account of the king of Assyria (2 Kgs 16:17-18)
When money that had been given by people visiting the temple was brought out Hilkiah the priest found the law-book. This money appears to have been collected in large collection chests situated near the altar and watched over (2 Kgs 12:10; 22:4) by the ‘keepers of the threshold’ (Levites stationed at the door). Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan the scribe who told Josiah about it while reporting on the finances of the Temple restoration project. Shaphan then read ‘out of it’ to the king who was greatly affected by what he heard and instructed a committee to inquire of the Lord concerning the book.
34:19-28 Huldah’s oracle and 34:29-32 Covenant-making
For comments on the above topics see my post: ‘King Josiah of Judah in 2 Kings‘
34:33 A summary verse
This verse emphasizes the role of the king in the religious purges and emphasizes that he ‘made’ the people serve the Lord. Compelled by Josiah, the commitment of the people to YHWH was superficial, there had been no inner change; they were still idolators at heart. Is it any wonder that his reforms had no permanent results, but died along with him? The Chronicler adds a comment of his own: ‘And all his days they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.’ There was no open idolatry for the rest of Josiah’s reign.
35:1-19 The Passover Celebration see also 1 Esdras 1:1-22
This Passover celebration, expressing renewed commitment to YHWH, is given prominence in the Chronicles account whereas it is mentioned but briefly in 2 Kings 23:21-23. Prior to this families would have observed the Passover in their own homes. This Passover, however was a public celebration in Jerusalem (35:1), in accordance with Deut 16:1-5. According to the Chronicler, there had never been a Passover like it (35:18). Much the same was said of Hezekiah’s Passover (2 Chron 30:26). From v.1 we learn that Josiah held it on the 14th day of the first month (Nisan). That was the correct date; Hezekiah’s celebration had been held a month later, on the 14th of the second month (2 Chron 30:15), and had lasted for two weeks rather than one (2 Chron 30:23).
By way of preparation for the great Passover Josiah set in motion the Temple service. For some reason he had to ‘urge’ the priests to take up their duties. He also organised the Levites, changing their responsibilities since they no longer carried the ark, see point a). They were to assist the priests in the Temple worship and in flaying the sacrificial animals. They are identified in v. 3 as teachers in Israel, a role formerly fulfilled by the priests (Jer 18:18; Hos 4:6) The obligations of the Levites are listed as:
a) To take the Ark of the Covenant back to its place in the Temple (35:3). It must have been stored elsewhere while the renovations were ongoing. It would no longer be a burden upon their shoulders i.e. its location in the Temple would be permanent so other duties would be allocated to them (35:11).
b) To serve the Lord their God and his people Israel (35:3).
c) To arrange themselves by families into divisions as appointed and decreed by David and Solomon (35:4)
d) To stand in the holy place in groups representing the subdivisions of each family(35:5)
e) To slaughter the Passover lambs (35:6)
f) To consecrate themselves (35:6)
g) To prepare the lambs for their fellow-Israelites (35:6).
THE SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS
The king, representing the nation and as the leading worshipper of YHWH, the national God, was the major supplier of animals for sacrifice. For this Passover he is said to have contributed 30,000 flock animals (lambs and kids) and 3000 bullocks.
2600 small animals and 300 oxen were willingly supplied by three men ( Hilkiah, Zechariah, Jehiel) who, all at the one time, shared the title ‘chief of the Temple.’ In other references to this position only one official bore the title (1 Chron 9:11; 2 Chron 31:13; Neh 11;11).
Other chiefs (named in v.9) donated 5000 small animals and 500 oxen. The sacrificial victims therefore numbered 41,400; 37,600 small animals and 3800 large animals.
35:10-19 With the priests and Levites in appointed stations the Passover began. The Levites slaughtered the sacrificial animals and passed the blood on to the priests who sprinkled it upon the altar. As this was a public Passover the blood could not be sprinkled on the side posts and upper door posts of family homes (Ex 12:7). The Levites butchered the cattle and prepared the pieces for the burnt offerings. They also roasted the Passover and boiled the consecrated offerings – distributing the cooked meat among the people. Since the priests were busy with the burnt offerings they and the Levites did not partake until later. The musicians and doorkeepers (Temple security) participated without having to leave their posts. Th Chronicler gives an extravagantly positive assessment of the occasion saying that there was never a Passover like it.
It is interesting to read, compare and contrast the major biblical Passovers:
1. In Egypt – at the Exodus. Exod 12;1-51
2. At Sinai. Num 9:1-5
3. In Canaan. Josh 5:10-12
4. Hezekiah’s Passover. 2 Chron 30:1-27
5. Josiah’s Passover 2 Kgs 23:21-23; 2 Chron 35:1-19
6. After the return from exile. Ezra 6:19-21
35:20-27 The Death of King Josiah
We are told nothing about the final thirteen years of King Josiah’s life. His death as a result of a confrontation with Pharaoh Neco at Megiddo is recorded. He was buried in one of the royal tombs and mourned by all Judah and Jerusalem, including the prophet Jeremiah who wrote a lament for him. In 2 Chronicles Jeremiah is mentioned here (35;25) and also in 36:12, 22, and 22. We know from an oracle pronounced against Shallum (Jehoahaz), a son of Josiah, that Jeremiah considered Josiah to be a just man:
‘Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.’ Jer 22:15-16
See my posts:
King Josiah of Judah in 2 Kings
Written Exposition 
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