Josiah

Biblical Account

The life of Josiah is recorded in 2 Kings 22–23 and 2 Chronicles 34–35. He was the son of Amon, king of Judah, and the grandson of Manasseh. After his father was assassinated by his officials, Josiah became king at the age of eight and reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem (2 Kings 22:1).

In the eighteenth year of his reign, while the Temple in Jerusalem was being repaired, the high priest Hilkiah found the Book of the Law. When Shaphan the scribe read it before the king, Josiah tore his clothes and sent messengers to the prophetess Huldah to seek the will of God. He then assembled the people and renewed the covenant, and he removed the objects used in the worship of Baal and Asherah, along with the high places (local sites of sacrifice). He also tore down the altar at Bethel in the north, an act that 2 Kings 23:15–16 records as the fulfillment of the prophecy in 1 Kings 13:2. In addition, he kept a Passover so great that Scripture records that no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges (2 Kings 23:21–23).

Josiah died at Megiddo while confronting Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt (2 Kings 23:29). His sons Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah succeeded him on the throne in turn.

Significance Within Scripture

2 Kings 23:25 says of Josiah that there was no king like him before him, nor did any like him arise after him. The prophetic ministries of Jeremiah and Zephaniah began during his reign (Jeremiah 1:2; Zephaniah 1:1). In the New Testament, his name appears in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:10–11.

Interpretation and Debated Issues

• The Book of the Law: Many scholars identify this book as Deuteronomy or its core. Conservative evangelical scholars regard it as all or part of the Pentateuch, emphasizing that it was not newly composed in this period but was a forgotten book that had been rediscovered.
• Differences between the two accounts: 2 Chronicles states that Josiah began to seek God in the eighth year of his reign and began removing idols in his twelfth year (2 Chronicles 34:3). This passage can be read as indicating that the reform began before the discovery of the Book of the Law.
• Early death: Huldah prophesied, "thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace" (2 Kings 22:20). Regarding the relationship between this prophecy and his death in battle, many interpreters take it to mean that he would be spared from seeing the calamity of the nation's destruction. 2 Chronicles 35:22 records that he did not heed the word of God that came through the mouth of Necho.
• Lament: 2 Chronicles 35:25 records that Jeremiah composed a lament for Josiah. Some older interpretations connected this with the book of Lamentations, but the text does not say that the two are the same.

In the Korean Church

The story of Josiah is frequently used in sermons on the theme that reform and revival come when the Word is restored, and it also serves as a sermon text for Reformation Sunday. In Sunday school, it is often presented as the story of a boy who became king at eight and sought God.