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2 Kings 22

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Josiah's Righteous Reign Begins 1–2

1
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. ​
2
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. ​

Repairing the Temple 3–7

3
And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of Jehovah, saying, ​
4
Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the money which is brought into the house of Jehovah, which the keepers of the threshold have gathered of the people:
5
and let them deliver it into the hand of the workmen that have the oversight of the house of Jehovah; and let them give it to the workmen that are in the house of Jehovah, to repair the breaches of the house,
6
unto the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the house.
7
Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand; for they dealt faithfully. ​

Discovery of the Book of the Law 8–10

8
And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan, and he read it. ​
9
And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen that have the oversight of the house of Jehovah.
10
And Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.

Huldah Prophesies Judgment and Grace 11–20

11
And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes. ​
12
And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying,
13
Go ye, inquire of Jehovah for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found; for great is the wrath of Jehovah that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us. ​
14
So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter); and they communed with her. ​
15
And she said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Tell ye the man that sent you unto me,
16
Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read.
17
Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched. ​
18
But unto the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of Jehovah, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: As touching the words which thou hast heard,
19
because thy heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before Jehovah, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith Jehovah. ​
20
Therefore, behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for 2 Kings 22

Verse 1

Josiah was eight years old — Josiah was named before his birth: 'a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name' (1 Kings 13:2), and the fulfilment is in 2 Kings 23:15–17. He began to seek God in his eighth year and to purge Judah in his twelfth (2 Chr 34:3). Matthew lists 'Amon begat Josias' (Matt 1:10).

Verse 2

turned not aside to the right hand or to the left — The words are those of the law for a king, who was to write out the law, read in it all his days, and 'turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left' (Deut 17:18–20). 'Walked in all the way of David his father' is the standard set against Ahaz (2 Kings 16:2).

Verse 3

Shaphan the son of Azaliah — The eighteenth year came after the purging of the land and the house (2 Chr 34:8). Shaphan's household appears throughout this period: his son Ahikam is in the delegation of v.14, and 'the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah' when the people would have put him to death (Jer 26:24).

Verse 7

they dealt faithfully — The same words were said of the workmen in Joash's repairs (2 Kings 12:15). Emunah, faithfulness, is the quality in which the money was handled, and Chronicles says 'the men did the work faithfully' (2 Chr 34:12). The repair of the house of the LORD is the setting in which the book is found.

Verse 8

I have found the book of the law — Chronicles describes it as 'a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses' (2 Chr 34:14). Moses had commanded that the book of the law be put 'in the side of the ark of the covenant' (Deut 31:26). Hilkiah gives it to Shaphan, who reads it, and in v.10 he reads it to the king.

Verse 11

he rent his clothes — The king rends his clothes on hearing the words of the law, and v.19 gives the reason as a 'tender' heart, so that the outward act is joined to the inward. The contrast is in Jehoiakim's court, where the king and his servants heard the words of Jeremiah's roll and 'they were not afraid, nor rent their garments' (Jer 36:24).

Verse 13

enquire of the LORD — The verb is darash, to seek out. Josiah sends to ask 'concerning the words of this book', and bases the question on the book's own warnings: the LORD 'rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation' (Deut 29:28). 'Our fathers' are named, though the king does not exempt himself.

Verse 14

Huldah the prophetess — She stands with Miriam (Ex 15:20) and Deborah (Judg 4:4) among the women the Old Testament calls prophetesses. She is the wife of Shallum, keeper of the wardrobe, and lived in Jerusalem 'in the college', Hebrew mishneh, 'the second', a district of the city named in Zeph 1:10 next to the fish gate.

Verse 17

shall not be quenched — The verb kabah is used of the fire of the LORD's anger poured out on 'this place': 'it shall burn, and shall not be quenched' (Jer 7:20). The reasons are the ones given before: they 'have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods'. Josiah's reform did not turn it (2 Kings 23:26).

Verse 19

thine heart was tender — Rakak, soft, joined with 'humbled' (kana), a verb used in Kings only here and of Ahab, when the LORD said, 'because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days' (1 Kings 21:29). The same exchange is made with Josiah in v.20. 'Desolation and a curse' is language Jeremiah uses (Jer 25:18).

Verse 20

gathered into thy grave in peace — The peace is spelled out in the next clause: 'thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place'. Josiah was slain by Pharaohnechoh at Megiddo (2 Kings 23:29), and Isaiah's line fits the case: 'the righteous is taken away from the evil to come' (Isa 57:1).