2 Chronicles 34:6-7

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Chronicles 34:1-7

Concerning Josiah we are here told, 1. That he came to the crown when he was very young, only eight years old (yet his infancy did not debar him from his right), and he reigned thirty-one years (2 Chron. 34:1), a considerable time. I fear, however, that in the beginning of his reign things went much as they had done in his father's time, because, being a child, he must have left the management of them to others; so that it was not till his twelfth year, which goes far in the number of his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Chronicles 34:6

And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali ,.... Which though they belonged to the ten tribes, yet these being carried captive by the king of Assyria, they that were left became subject to the kings of Judah; see Gill on 2 Kings 23:19 , with their mattocks round about ; or hammers or mauls, as Kimchi, or pick axes, such sort of instruments as were used in demolishing altars and images: the Targum is,"in the house of their desolation;' and so... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Chronicles 34:7

And when he had broken down the altars and the groves ,.... The statues or images in them: and had beaten the graven images into powder ; and strewed it on the graves of the idolaters: and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel ; the sun images as in 2 Chronicles 34:4 , he returned to Jerusalem ; this tour of his throughout the whole land, and the things done by him, which are represented as done before the repairs of the temple were made, and the book of the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Chronicles 34:6

The cities of Manasseh - Even those who were under the government of the Israelitish king permitted their idols and places of idolatry to be hewn down and destroyed: after the truth was declared and acknowledged, the spade and the axe were employed to complete the reformation. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Chronicles 34:1-7

Josiah the good. I. HIS EARLY ACCESSION . "Josiah ['Whom Jehovah heals'] was eight years old when he began to reign" ( 2 Chronicles 34:1 ). Manasseh, Uzziah, and Joash had been twelve, sixteen, and seven respectively when they ascended the throne. Generally speaking, it is perilous to have greatness thrust upon one at too early an age; sometimes premature responsibility calls forth capacities that might otherwise have continued latent. Edward VI ; who assumed the crown of England... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Chronicles 34:1-33

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Chronicles 34:1-33

The reign of Josiah-its unexpected boon, in a republication of revealed religion, with the legitimate and happy results following thereupon. In the reign and person of Josiah, once more and for the last time in the now numbered years of the kingdom of Judah, the light of piety and "goodness" flickered up in the socket. His reign began when his yearn numbered but eight; it lasted thirty-one years. Four reigns succeeded his to the date of the destruction of Jerusalem, but the four together... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Chronicles 34:6

In the cities of Manasseh,… Ephraim,… Simeon, even unto Naphtali. Manasseh and Ephraim lay very nearly in the centre of the whole land, while Simeon and Naphtali were respectively at the southern and northern extremities. With their mattocks. This rendering may be correct, and cannot be said to be foreign to the sense and connection of the passage, the Hebrew word in that ease being the feminine plural of חֶרֶב Perhaps, however, the word is one with that found in Psalms 109:10 , and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Chronicles 34:7

When . Cut out this word, which represents nothing in the original. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Chronicles 34:6

The power of Assyria being now (629-624 B.C.) greatly weakened, if not completely broken, Josiah aimed not merely at a religious reformation, but at a restoration of the kingdom to its ancient limits (see the 2 Kings 23:19 note).With their mattocks ... - Or “in their desolate places” (comparePsalms 109:10; Psalms 109:10). Another reading gives the sense, “he proved their house round about.” read more

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