Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 23:28
Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
Josiah lived for 13 years after the celebration of his great Passover. Of this period we know absolutely nothing, except that in the course of it he seems to have submitted himself to Nabopolassar; who, after the fall of Nineveh, was accepted as the legitimate successor of the Assyrian monarchs by all the nations of the western coast. Josiah, after perhaps a little hesitation (see Jer 2:18, Jer 2:36), followed the example of his neighbors, and frankly accepted the position of an Assyro-Babylonian tributary. In this state matters remained until 608 B.C., when the great events happened which are narrated in 2Ki 23:29.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did,…. For abolishing idolatry, and restoring the true worship of God:
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? and also of Israel, in which an account was kept of the transactions of their reign; many other of the acts of Josiah are recorded in the canonical book of Chronicles, 2Ch 34:1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
I. THE DEATH AND BURIAL OF JOSIAH 23:2830
TRANSLATION
(28) Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? (29) In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went up on behalf of the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. And King Josiah went to confront him, and he killed him in Megiddo when he had seen him. (30) And his servants brought him in a chariot as he was dying from Megiddo; and they brought him to Jerusalem and they buried him in his sepulcher. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him king in place of his father.
COMMENTS
Much more information about Josiah was contained in the prophetic annals of Judah (2Ki. 23:28). This king was remembered by his people for his goodness rather than his greatness. No mention is made of his might. The Chronicler mentions his kindness or his good deeds (2Ch. 35:26).
With the fall of Nineveh to the Medo-Babylonian coalition in 612 B.C., a refugee Assyrian government was established at Haran. In 610 B.C. Haran also fell to the Chaldean king Nabopolassar. Fearing that the international balance of power was about to be upset, Pharaoh Necho (609593 B.C.) decided to intervene in the struggle on behalf of the tottering Assyrian kingdom. The King James and American Standard versions give the impression that Necho marched north to fight against the Assyrians. However a Babylonian text published by Wiseman in 1956 has made it clear that the purpose of Necho was to fight on behalf of the Assyrians.[659] The Hebrew preposition used in 2Ki. 23:29 can be translated either against or on behalf of.[660] Here is a case where the texts from antiquity have actually aided modern scholars in producing a more accurate translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Necho had to go through the narrow pass at Megiddo in northern Palestine. It is not entirely clear why Josiah decided to take his tiny army to Megiddo in an attempt to stop the advance of Necho. Probably he simply resented this Egyptian incursion into the territory which he had recently annexed.[661] Had he allowed Egyptian armies to march uncontested back and forth across his land, he would not long be able to maintain his independence. However, Necho tried to dissuade the Jewish king from this foolish confrontation. Necho assured Josiah that he had no quarrel with Judah. The Egyptian insisted that God had directed him to undertake this mission, and he warned that should Josiah persist in resisting his advance, he would be fighting against God. The Chronicler seems to concur that the action of Josiah was contrary to the will of God for he declares that Josiah hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God (2Ch. 35:22). The battle was joined and Josiah was mortally wounded (2Ki. 23:29).
[659] The relevant portions of this test have been translated in DOTT, p. 17. Older interpreters understood the king of Assyria in 2Ki. 23:29 to be Nabopolassar the father of Nebuchadnezzar who was then king of Babylon. On this interpretation, the Jews regarded Nabopolassar as the inheritor of the Assyrian empire, just as they later regarded the Persian kings (Ezr. 6:22).
[660] Gray (OTL, p. 748) recognizes this possible translation, but still insists on the translation against. He then charges the author of Kings with failure to understand the political situation of that time.
[661] Others contend that Josiah opposed the Egyptians in support of the Chaldeans. See JNES, XII (1953), pp. 5658.
When Josiah was wounded, his servants put him in his second chariot (2Ch. 35:24)a chariot of much lighter construction and drawn by fleeter horsesand hastened toward Jerusalem. The Chronicler implies that Josiah succumbed to his wound en route to the captial (2Ch. 35:23-24). He was buried in his sepulcher, i.e., the sepulcher of his fathers (2Ch. 35:24). Jeremiah seems to have led the nation in lamenting the death of this good king (2Ch. 35:25).[662] The people of the land, i.e., the landed gentry, then took Jehoahaz, otherwise named Shallum (1Ch. 3:15; Jer. 22:11), and made him king in place of his father (2Ki. 23:30). On what grounds the people preferred this son to his elder brother Eliakim is not known.[663] Commentators generally speculate that the elder son was pro-Egyptian and therefore was passed over in favor of the next oldest who was committed to an independent Judah. But if this be the case, why was Jehoahaz so willing to go to Riblah and meet with the Pharaoh? Rawlinson offers the hypothesis that Eliakim had accompanied his father to Megiddo and had been captured by Necho.[664]
[662] For many years the anniversary of the death of Josiah was marked by weeping and lamentation. Cf. Zec. 12:11.
[663] Jehoahaz was twenty-three when he began to reign (2Ki. 23:31) and his brother, three months later, is said to have been twenty-five (2Ki. 23:36).
[664] Gray (OTL, p. 748) thinks the selection was made on the grounds that Jehoahaz was stronger in character than his older brother (actually, his half-brother).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(28-30) Josiahs end. The historical abstract broken off at 2Ki. 22:2 is now continued. (Comp. the more detailed account in 2Ch. 35:20 seq.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
The Closure of Josiah’s Reign ( 2Ki 23:28-30 ).
Josiah’s glorious reign came to a sorry end when he made a fatal miscalculation without consulting YHWH. Assyria were by this time in dire straits after the sack of Nineveh and fighting for their very existence against the Babylonians, Medes and Scythians. The result of this was that Egypt decided in their own interests to aid Assyria’s survival in order that they might act as a barrier between Egypt and the aggressors, and so as to ensure their own control over the lands south of the Euphrates. They did not want a powerful Assyrian empire to be replaced by an equally powerful Babylonian one on their own doorstep. So with this in mind Pharaoh Necoh marched his troops northward to Assyria’s aid. But this meant that they passed through the plain of Esdraelon on Judah’s borders (Megiddo, on the western side of the Vale of Esdraelon was probably already in Egyptian hands and fortified by them, having been taken over from the Assyrians. It had been the administrative centre of the Assyrian province of Megiddo). We are given no reason why he made his decision, but we learn here that for some reason Josiah decided that he must prevent Egypt’s progress, evidently without consulting YHWH. This may simply have been a defensive move, with Josiah seeing Egypt’s aim as control of all the lands south of the Euphrates, but the more probable reason was that he had some form of treaty with the Babylonian alliance (otherwise why not consult YHWH?). If so it was a fatal move. As Hezekiah had before him Josiah was dallying with major players who could swallow Judah up whole.
As so often in Kings the author tells us what happened historically but does so with a theological motive. He expects his readers to recognise in what happened the hand of YHWH, and clearly saw Josiah’s action as a sin against YHWH, especially in view of YHWH’s promise of peace in Josiah’s day. The result would be the death of Josiah at a time when Judah could least afford it, surrounded as it was by powerful nations combating each other. Furthermore his decision to fight the Egyptians would give Egypt the excuse (if any were needed) to be the first to swallow up Judah.
Analysis.
a
b In his days Pharaoh Necoh king of Egypt went up to meet the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates, and king Josiah went against him (2Ki 23:29 a).
c And Pharaoh Necoh slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him (2Ki 23:29 b).
b And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre (2Ki 23:30 a).
a And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king instead of his father (2Ki 23:30 b).
Note that in ‘a’ we have the usual closing formula in which we are referred to the royal annals of the kings of Judah for the remainder of the acts of Josiah’s reign, and in the parallel the description of the cessation of his reign. In ‘b’ Josiah’s aggression against Egypt is described and in the parallel we are informed of its consequence. Centrally in ‘c’ we have described the death of Josiah, because he chose war and not peace.
2Ki 23:28
‘Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?’
In accordance with the usual closing formula we are referred for the other activities of Josiah’s reign to the official royal annals of the king’s of Judah. This included the expanding of his kingdom by taking in much of what had been Samaria.
2Ki 23:29
‘In his days Pharaoh Necoh king of Egypt went up to meet the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates, and king Josiah went against him; and Pharaoh Necoh slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.’
As always in Kings any mention of an incident has theological reasons. It is clear therefore that the author did not approve of Josiah’s action as described here and saw it as a sin against YHWH, a sin which resulted in his violent death. That is something confirmed in 2Ch 35:20-25. As mentioned above Pharaoh Necoh was marching northward in order to assist the Assyrians in their rearguard action against the Babylonian/Medan alliance, no doubt with a view to ensuring Egypt’s control over the lands south of the Euphrates, and so as to ensure that the alliance did not become too powerful. No reason is given for Josiah’s action in opposing him, but it was either because he saw Egypt’s advance through the Plain of Esdraelon as a major threat to Judah’s future (which it may well have been), or because he was actually in alliance with the Babylonians and was acting on their behalf. Either way there is no suggestion that he consulted YHWH, in spite of the fact that YHWH had promised peace in his day. The result was that he was wounded in the subsequent battle, and later died of his wounds. His successful reign had culminated in an ignominious death.
‘Went up ‘al the king of Assyria.’ At this time ’el and ‘al were virtually interchangeable. Thus ‘to meet with’ rather than ‘against’. The Babylonian Chronicle makes clear that he was going to Assyria’s assistance, simply in order to obtain control of lands south of the Euphrates (which in the past Egypt had always seen as within her sphere of influence), and because he wanted to stem the Medo-Babylonian tide which might then overflow on Egypt.
2Ki 23:30
‘And his servants carried him in a chariot dying from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king instead of his father.’
Josiah’s followers bore their mortally wounded king in a chariot from Megiddo and brought it to Jerusalem, and there he died and was buried in his own sepulchre. And the consequence was that ‘the people of the land’ anointed Jehoahaz as king instead of his father. Jehoahaz was not the eldest son and may well have been chosen because of his anti-Egyptian attitude. The people of the land would not want to find themselves once again under Egyptian rule without a fight. Or it may simply be because he was seen as more suitable than Jehoiakim who would later prove so disreputable.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
No character among the sons of men is free from imperfection. The best pictures have their shade. Of none but he who is the brightness of his Father’s glory, and fairer than the children of men, could it ever be said that in his mouth was found no guile. None but thee, thou blessed Jesus, was altogether holy, harmless, undefiled; separate from sinners, and higher than the heavens! Josiah, we see in this instance, lost his confidence in the Lord. What though Pharaoh went up against the king of Assyria, what was that to Josiah? Was he afraid that in so doing, he might come too nigh to Judah? And if so, why did he not consult the Lord? Beside, as we read in the parallel history, (2Ch 35:20-21 ) the king of Egypt told him that he was acting under the authority of God, Yet Josiah slighted all these things, and the consequence was fatal. Alas! what is man in his highest attainments! Oh! dearest Lord Jesus, how glorious to the view is it, in my soul’s esteem, that thy righteousness is complete, by which the poor sinner is justified.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ki 23:28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
Ver. 28. Now the rest of the acts, &c. ] See 1Ki 15:23 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
are they not . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the rest: 2Ki 20:20
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3. Josiah’s death 23:28-30
The king seems to have preferred Babylon to Assyria in his foreign policy. When Egyptian armies moved up the Mediterranean coast to join Assyria in resisting Babylonian advance westward, Josiah intercepted Pharaoh Neco II (609-595 B.C.) at Megiddo and tried to stop him. Unfortunately for Judah, the Egyptians killed Josiah there in 609 B.C. Egypt continued north, united with Assyria, and battled Babylon at Carchemish on the upper Euphrates River. There Babylon defeated the allies and broke the domination of the Assyrian Empire over the ancient Near Eastern world. The Battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C. was one of the most important in ancient Near Eastern history for this reason. [Note: See the map "The Babylonian Empire" in Merrill, Kingdom of . . ., p. 434.]
Josiah was a strong influence for righteousness in his day and a very capable ruler. The success of his far-reaching reforms indicates his ability to overcome much popular opinion that must have opposed his convictions. His influence for good extended even into the fallen territory of Israel. [Note: See the map of his kingdom in Wiseman, p. 295.] Unfortunately, he died prematurely as a result of his unwise decision to challenge Pharaoh Neco (cf. 2Ch 35:20-27).