Ahikara. The friend of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:24 ) and father of Gedaliah (Compare 2 Kings 25:22 .Jeremiah 39:14 , Jeremiah 40:5 ). See note on "Shaphan" (2 Kings 22:3 ). Achbor. Not the same person as Abdon, in 2 Chronicles 34:20 . read more
12-15. the king commanded . . . Go, inquire of the Lord for me, c.—The agitated feelings of the king prompted him to ask immediate counsel how to avert those curses under which his kingdom lay and forthwith a deputation of his principal officers was sent to one endowed with the prophetic spirit. Ahikam—a friend of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:24). read more
D. Josiah’s Good Reign 22:1-23:30Since Josiah was eight years old when his father died at age 22, he must have been born when Amon was only 14. It was very common, both in the ancient Near East generally and in Israel, for kings to marry very young and to father children when they were early teenagers. [Note: Nadav Na’aman, "Historical and Chronological Notes on the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah in the Eighth Century B.C.," Vetus Testamentum 36 (1986):83-91.] The years Josiah ruled were 640-609... read more
2. Josiah’s reforms 22:3-23:27Josiah began to seek Yahweh when he was 16 years old and began initiating religious reforms when he was 20 (2 Chronicles 34:3-7). His reforms were more extensive than those of any of his predecessors. One of them involved the repair of Solomon’s temple (2 Kings 22:5; cf. 2 Kings 12:4-16). He began this project when he was 26.". . . Josiah rules during years in which Assyria fades but also those in which Babylon is not yet ready to rule as far west as Judah and in a... read more
Josiah. The finding of a Book of the Law1. Boscath] in Judah: cp. Joshua 15:39.4. That he may sum, etc.] Josiah was contemplating a restoration of the Temple similar to that carried out previously by Joash (2 Kings 12:4.), and a collection of money had been made for the purpose: see 2 Chronicles 34:9. 5. The doers of the work.. to the doers of the work] The first were the overseers, the second were the labourers. 7. There was no reckoning] cp. 2 Chronicles 12:15.8. The book of the law] As the... read more
(12) And the king commanded . . .—Comp. the similar embassy to Isaiah (2 Kings 19:2).As to Ahikam see Jeremiah 26:24; Jeremiah 40:5; and for Achbor, Jeremiah 26:22; Jeremiah 36:12.Asahiah a servant of the king’s.—Probably the same officer as “the knight” or aide-de-camp who attended on the king (2 Kings 7:2; 2 Kings 9:25.) read more
A Talk to Boys and Girls 2 Kings 22:1-2 Two verses, and yet that is a miniature of the good King Josiah, in which six things are told us about him. I. He Made an Early Start. He was eight years old when he began to reign. These duties were laid upon him when he was quite a young boy and the first thing we learn from him is to make an early start. II. He Had a Very Long Race. He reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. It is not enough to make an early start; we want to run a long race, keeping... read more
JOSIAHB.C. 639-6082 Kings 22:1-20; 2 Kings 23:1-37Jos., "Ant.," X 4:1."In outline dim and vast Their fearful shadows cast The giant forms of Empires, on their way To ruin: one by one They tower, and they are gone."- KEBLEIF we are to understand the reign of Josiah as a whole, we must preface it by some allusion to the great epoch-marking circumstances of his age, which explain the references of contemporary prophets, and which, in great measure, determined the foreign policy of the pious... read more
JOSIAH’S REFORMATION2 Kings 22:8-20; 2 Kings 23:1-25"And the works of Josias were upright before his Lord with a heart full of godliness."- #/RAPC 1 Esdras 1:23"From Zion shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem."- Isaiah 2:3IT is from the Prophets-Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Ezekiel-that we catch almost our sole glimpses of the vast world-movements of the nations which must have loomed large on the minds of the King of Judah and of all earnest politicians in... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 22:1-20
Josiah repairs the temple (22:1-20)Included in Josiah’s reformation was a project for extensive repairs to the temple, which had been damaged during the reigns of Manasseh and Amon (22:1-7). By this time Assyrian power had weakened considerably, which enabled Josiah to carry out his reformation program without interference from outside. He even extended his power into the conquered territory of the former northern kingdom (see 23:15,19; 2 Chronicles 34:6-7).During the fifty-seven years when... read more