2 Kings 22:1

THE BEGINNING OF THE REIGN OF JOSIAH; AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE HOLY BOOKS OF MOSES;

JOSIAH CAME TO THE THRONE AT AGE EIGHT

"Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. And he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left."

"He reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem" (2 Kings 22:1). The date of this reign by Montgomery was 639-608 B.C.[1] "The death of Josiah may be accurately dated by the Babylonian Chronicle in 609 B.C; therefore, he became king in 639 B.C."[2] This period of almost forty years was a crucial one in world history. "The Scythian invasion, the fall of Assyria, the formation of the Median empire, and the foundation of the Babylonian empire by Nabopolasar all occurred during this time."[3]

The righteousness of this monarch is recorded here in words that are matched only by the sacred records regarding the reign of Hezekiah, the great-grandfather of Josiah.