King Josiah, after the discovery of the Book of the Covenant, leads Judah in a national covenant renewal with the LORD. He then initiates a sweeping religious reformation, systematically purging idolatry, high places, and abominable practices throughout Judah and even into the former kingdom of Israel. This extensive purification culminates in an unprecedented Passover celebration. Despite Josiah's unparalleled devotion, the LORD's fierce wrath against Judah remains due to Manasseh's sins, and Josiah's reign ends tragically in battle, followed by the wicked reigns of his sons.
The king went up to the house of ADONAI with all the men of Y'hudah, all those living in Yerushalayim, the cohanim, the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing everything written in the scroll of the covenant that had been found in the house of ADONAI.
The king stood on the platform and made a covenant in the presence of ADONAI to live following ADONAI, observing his mitzvot, instructions and regulations wholeheartedly and with all his being, so as to confirm the words of the covenant written in this scroll. All the people stood, pledging themselves to keep the covenant.
Then the king ordered Hilkiyahu the cohen hagadol, the cohanim of the second rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the sanctuary of ADONAI all the articles that had been made for Ba'al, for the asherah and for the entire army of heaven; and he burned them up outside Yerushalayim in the fields of Kidron and carried their ashes to Beit-El
He deposed the idolatrous priests the kings of Y'hudah had ordained to offer on the high places by the cities of Y'hudah and in the places surrounding Yerushalayim; he also deposed those who offered to Ba'al, the sun, the moon, the constellations and the whole army of heaven.
He took the asherah from the house of ADONAI to Vadi Kidron outside Yerushalayim and burned it in Vadi Kidron, stamped the ashes to powder and threw the powder onto the burial-ground for the common people.
He removed the cohanim from the cities of Y'hudah; then, from Geva to Be'er-Sheva, he desecrated the high places where the cohanim had been making offerings. He also smashed the High Places of the Gates that were at the entrance of the Gate of Y'hoshua the governor of the city, on the left as one enters the city.
But although the cohanim who had been at the high places did not come up to the altar of ADONAI in Yerushalayim, nevertheless they did share matzah with their kinsmen.
He desecrated the Tofet fire pit in the Ben-Hinnom Valley, so that no one could cause his son or daughter to pass through fire [as a sacrifice] to Molekh.
He confiscated the horses which the kings of Y'hudah had given to the sun, at the entrance to the house of ADONAI near the room of the officer N'tan-Melekh, in the side-courtyard; and he burned up the chariots of the sun.
The king smashed the altars on the roof of the upper room of Achaz, which the kings of Y'hudah had made, and the altars which M'nasheh had made in the two courtyards of the house of ADONAI. He broke them into pieces and threw the rubble into Vadi Kidron.
The king desecrated the high places facing Yerushalayim south of the Mount of Destruction, which Shlomo the king of Isra'el had built for 'Ashtoret the abomination of the Tzidonim, K'mosh the abomination of Mo'av and Milkom the abomination of the people of 'Amon.
He smashed the altar that was at Beit-El and the high place made by Yarov'am the son of N'vat, who caused Isra'el to sin. Yes, he smashed that altar and the high place; he burned the high place, stamped the ashes to powder, and burned up the asherah.
Then, as Yoshiyahu was turning around, he noticed the burial caves that were there on the mountain; so he sent and had the bones taken out of the burial caves and burned them on the altar, thus desecrating it, in keeping with the word of ADONAI which the man of God had proclaimed, foretelling that these things would happen.
Then he asked, "This monument here that I'm looking at, what is it?" The men of the city told him, "It marks the burial cave of the man of God who came from Y'hudah and foretold the very things you have done to the altar of Beit-El."
He replied, "Let him be; no one is to move his bones." So they left his bones undisturbed, along with the bones of the prophet who had come from Shomron.
Yoshiyahu also removed all the shrines of the high places in the cities of Shomron, which the kings of Isra'el had made in order to provoke [ADONAI] to anger, and treated them the same as in Beit-El
For Pesach had not been so observed since the days when the judges ruled Isra'el - not during the times of any of the kings of Isra'el or of the kings of Y'hudah.
Yoshiyahu got rid of the mediums and the people using spirit guides, as well as the household gods, the idols and all the disgusting things spotted anywhere in Y'hudah and Yerushalayim. He did this in order to establish the words of the Torah written in the scroll Hilkiyahu the cohen had found in the house of ADONAI.
No previous king was like him; because he turned to ADONAI with all his heart, with all his being and with all his power, in accordance with all the Torah of Moshe; nor did any king like him arise afterwards.
Nevertheless, ADONAI did not turn away from his fiercely raging, furious anger that burned against Y'hudah because of all the things M'nasheh had done to provoke him.
ADONAI said, "Just as I removed Isra'el, I will also remove Y'hudah out of my sight; and I will reject this city, which I chose, Yerushalayim, and the house concerning which I said, 'My name will be there.'"
During his time Pharaoh N'khoh king of Egypt went up toward the Euphrates River to attack the king of Ashur. King Yoshiyahu went out to oppose him; but at Megiddo, Pharaoh spotted Yoshiyahu and killed him.
His servants carried his dead body from Megiddo to Yerushalayim in a chariot and buried him in his own tomb. The people of the land took Y'ho'achaz the son of Yoshiyahu, anointed him, and made him king in his father's place.
Y'ho'achaz was twenty-three years old when he began his reign, and he ruled for three months in Yerushalayim. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Yirmeyahu from Livnah.
Pharaoh N'khoh imprisoned him at Rivlah in the land of Hamat, so that he would not be able to rule in Yerushalayim. He also imposed a penalty on the land of three-and-a-quarter tons of silver and sixty-six pounds of gold.
Then Pharaoh N'khoh made Elyakim the son of Yoshiyahu king in place of Yoshiyahu his father and changed his name to Y'hoyakim. He also carried Y'ho'achaz off to Egypt, where he died.
Y'hoyakim remitted the silver and gold to Pharaoh; but in order to pay the money Pharaoh demanded, he had to levy a tax on the land. He taxed the people of the land, each according to his means, to pay the silver and gold to Pharaoh N'khoh.
Y'hoyakim was twenty-five years old when he began his reign, and he ruled for eleven years in Yerushalayim. His mother's name was Z'vudah the daughter of P'dayah, from Rumah
He did what was evil from the perspective of ADONAI, following the example of everything his ancestors had done.
Study Notes for 2 Kings 23
Verse 2
Reading the book of the covenant publicly validates the reform effort and emphasizes the authority of the rediscovered Law (likely Deuteronomy) as the foundation for national life.
Verse 3
The public renewal of the covenant (a Deuteronomic requirement) shows Josiah's commitment and binds the entire nation to the Law, reversing the apostasy of previous reigns.
Verse 4
The vessels used for pagan worship were destroyed outside the city, and the ashes were taken to Bethel, symbolically defiling the primary cult center established by Jeroboam (1 Kings 12).
Verse 5
The 'idolatrous priests' were likely non-Levitical priests (kĕmārîm) ordained by previous kings to serve pagan deities, including the pervasive astral cults ('all the host of heaven').
Verse 7
The 'sodomites' (Hebrew: qadesh) refers to male cult prostitutes associated with Canaanite fertility rites, indicating the depth of pagan corruption even within the temple complex.
Verse 8
'From Geba to Beersheba' is a classic phrase defining the geographical extent of Judah, confirming that Josiah purified the entire territory under his control.
Verse 9
These priests were disqualified from serving at the central Jerusalem altar because they had served at high places, but they were not completely defrocked; they were permitted to eat community provisions (unleavened bread).
Verse 10
Topheth, located in the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna), was the site of child sacrifice to the god Molech. Defiling this site was critical, as this ritual represented the height of moral depravity.
Verse 11
This verse reveals the extent of syncretism: even horses and chariots were dedicated to the sun god, a practice common in Mesopotamian and Egyptian religion.
Verse 13
These high places, built by Solomon centuries earlier for his foreign wives (1 Kings 11:7), had persisted through all previous reform efforts, illustrating the tenacity of foreign cults.
Verse 15
Josiah extended his reform into the territory of the former Northern Kingdom (Israel), which was by this time under Assyrian control, demonstrating his zeal and political influence.
Verse 16
Burning human bones upon the altar ritually defiled the site beyond redemption, ensuring it could never be used for worship again. This action fulfills the prophecy made in 1 Kings 13:2.
Verse 17
The preservation of the bones of the prophet from Judah confirms the accuracy and longevity of the divine word spoken centuries earlier against Jeroboam's altar.
Verse 20
Slaying the idolatrous priests of the high places was a severe act of judgment, mirroring the actions of Elijah (1 Kings 18:40) and confirming the Deuteronomic demand for the execution of those who lead Israel astray.
Verse 22
The emphasis on the unparalleled nature of this Passover highlights the thoroughness of Josiah's reform, which successfully centralized worship in Jerusalem as demanded by the covenant Law.
Verse 24
Josiah’s removal of all magical and occult practices was a final effort to make the nation conform precisely to the Law found in the rediscovered book.
Verse 25
This verse provides the definitive Deuteronomic evaluation of Josiah: he was the most righteous king, turning to God with total devotion. His piety sets the standard for all subsequent kings.
Verse 26
God’s refusal to turn back confirms the doctrine of corporate responsibility; Manasseh's deep, institutionalized evil was so pervasive that even Josiah’s righteousness could not avert the decreed judgment.
Verse 27
The coming destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple is inevitable. The Lord treats Judah exactly as he had treated Israel (the Northern Kingdom), demonstrating impartiality in judgment.
Verse 29
Pharaoh Neco II was marching to aid the collapsing Assyrian Empire against the rising Babylonians. Josiah opposed him, likely attempting to prevent Egyptian dominance over Judah, a fateful political error.
Verse 30
Josiah’s death marks the end of Judah’s independence and the beginning of its final decline under the influence of foreign powers.
Verse 31
Jehoahaz (also called Shallum in Jeremiah 22:11) reigned only three months, indicating the rapidly deteriorating political stability of the kingdom.
Verse 33
Pharaoh Neco deposed Jehoahaz and imposed a heavy tribute, confirming Judah’s status as an Egyptian vassal state subject to foreign political control.
Verse 34
The renaming of Eliakim to Jehoiakim by Pharaoh Neco was a powerful symbolic act asserting Egyptian sovereignty and control over the Judean throne.
Verse 36
Jehoiakim was a puppet king installed by Egypt. His reign was characterized by political submission to foreign powers and internal wickedness (cf. Jeremiah 22:13-19).
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