2 Kings 22

Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for thirty-one years. His mother's name was Jedidah. She was the daughter of Adaiah, and she came from Bozkath.

1Josiah 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 Boscath.

NoteJudah was the smaller southern kingdom, with its capital and temple at Jerusalem; Josiah ruled it from about 640 to 609 BC. The books of Kings follow a fixed formula when introducing each king of Judah: his age at accession, the length of his reign, and his mother's name. The mother is named because the king's mother held a recognized position at court. Bozkath was a town in the low hill country of Judah.

2He did what was right in the LORD's sight. He lived the way his forefather David had lived, and he did not turn away from that path to either side.

2And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.

Note"Did what was right in the LORD's sight" is the standard verdict the book of Kings passes on each ruler, alongside its opposite, "did evil in the sight of the LORD"; it is a formal judgment rather than a description of personality. David is called Josiah's "father" in the King James wording in the sense of ancestor, David had died roughly three hundred years earlier. "Turned not aside to the right hand or to the left" is a set phrase from Israel's law books meaning he kept to the instructions exactly, adding nothing and dropping nothing.

3In the eighteenth year of King Josiah's reign, the king sent Shaphan to the temple of the LORD. Shaphan was the royal secretary, the son of Azaliah and grandson of Meshullam. The king told him,

3And 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 the LORD, saying,

NoteA "scribe" here is not a copyist but a senior officer of state, the king's secretary, who handled royal correspondence, records and finances. The eighteenth year of Josiah's reign was about 622 BC, when the king was roughly twenty-six.

4"Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him add up the money that has been brought into the temple of the LORD. The gatekeepers have been collecting it from the people.

4Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people:

NoteThe high priest was the chief officiant of the temple, at the head of the whole priesthood. Coined money did not yet circulate in Judah, so the "silver" or "money" was metal weighed out by amount rather than counted in coins, which is why it has to be "summed" or weighed up. The "keepers of the door" were priests posted at the temple entrances who took in the contributions worshipers brought.

5Have them hand it over to the men who supervise the work on the temple of the LORD. Those supervisors are to pay the workers who are repairing the damaged parts of the building.

5And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD: and let them give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of the LORD, to repair the breaches of the house,

6The money goes to the carpenters, the builders, and the stoneworkers, and to buy timber and cut stone for the repairs.

6Unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house.

7But no one needs to make the workers account for the money handed to them, because they are honest men."

7Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.

NoteRequiring no accounts from the workmen was a deliberate arrangement, described in the same terms as an earlier temple repair under King Joash; it marks the foremen as trusted rather than unsupervised by oversight.

8Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD." Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and Shaphan read it.

8And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.

NoteA "book" at this date means a scroll, written by hand on leather or papyrus and rolled, not a bound volume. "The book of the law" is a scroll of instruction attributed to Moses; the reforms Josiah then carries out follow the demands of Deuteronomy closely, and many readers have taken the scroll to be some form of that book, though the text itself does not say which writings it contained.

9Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported back to him. He said, "Your servants have collected the money that was in the temple and handed it over to the men who supervise the work on the temple of the LORD."

9And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD.

10Shaphan the secretary also told the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read it aloud to the king.

10And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.

NoteReading was normally done aloud, and few people could read at all, so having the scroll read out to the king was the ordinary way a written text reached its hearer.

11When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.

11And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.

NoteTearing one's clothes was a recognized public gesture of grief, horror or dismay, a visible, deliberate act performed in front of others, not a loss of self-control.

12Then the king gave an order to Hilkiah the priest, to Ahikam son of Shaphan, to Achbor son of Micaiah, to Shaphan the secretary, and to Asaiah, one of the king's officials. He said,

12And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king’s, saying,

Note"A servant of the king's" is a court title, not a description of household service: it marks Asaiah as a royal official. Note also that Ahikam is the son of Shaphan, the secretary in the same delegation; these were families that supplied officials across generations.

13"Go and ask the LORD for me, for the people, and for all Judah about what this book that has been found says. The LORD's anger is burning fiercely against us, because our ancestors did not obey the words of this book. They did not do everything written in it about us."

13Go ye, enquire of the LORD 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 the LORD 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.

Note"Enquire of the LORD" is a technical expression for seeking a divine answer to a specific question, normally by putting it to a prophet, who then replied in God's name. It is a formal consultation, not private prayer.

14So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas; Shallum took care of the royal clothing. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District. They talked with her.

14So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, 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 college;) and they communed with her.

NoteA prophetess is a woman recognized as speaking messages from God; Israel's traditions name a few others, such as Miriam and Deborah. "Keeper of the wardrobe" was a court post, responsible for the royal or priestly robes. Where the King James has "the college," the Hebrew word means "the second", the Second District or Second Quarter, a newer part of Jerusalem outside the older walls. No school or college is meant.

15She said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me

15And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me,

Note"Thus saith the LORD" is the opening formula a messenger used when delivering someone else's words verbatim, the ordinary way an envoy began before a king. Everything that follows it is spoken in the first person as God's own words. Huldah does not name Josiah but calls him "the man that sent you," a notably plain form of address.

16that the LORD says this: I am going to bring disaster on this place and on the people who live here, exactly as the book says that the king of Judah has read.

16Thus saith the LORD, 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:

NoteThe King James "evil" here translates a Hebrew word meaning harm, ruin or disaster; it refers to the calamity coming on the city, not to moral wickedness. The same word is used again in verse 20.

17They have abandoned me and have burned incense to other gods, making me angry with everything they have made with their hands. So my anger will burn against this place, and no one will put it out.

17Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.

NoteBurning incense was a standard act of worship, offering fragrant smoke at an altar or shrine, and doing it "to other gods" means transferring that worship elsewhere. "The works of their hands" can mean their deeds in general, but in contexts like this one it commonly means manufactured images, gods made by craftsmen, and the phrase carries both senses.

18But this is what you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to ask the LORD a question. Tell him the LORD, the God of Israel, says this about the words you heard:

18But to the king of Judah which sent you to enquire of the LORD, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard;

19Your heart was soft and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I said against this place and the people who live here, that they would become a ruin and a name people use when they curse. You tore your clothes and wept in front of me, and I have heard you, says the LORD.

19Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, 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 the LORD.

Note"Thine heart was tender" means responsive and open to what he heard, not sentimental or weak.

20So I will take you to your ancestors, and you will be laid in your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place." And they took her answer back to the king.

20Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.

Note"Gathered to your fathers" and "gathered into your grave" are idioms for dying and being buried with one's ancestors, often literally in a shared family tomb; they describe death, not a judgment on how the person lived. "In peace" is usually understood to mean before the disaster arrives, since 2 Kings 23 goes on to report that Josiah was killed in battle at Megiddo.