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Texts -- 2 Chronicles 34:1-33 (NET)

Context
Josiah Institutes Religious Reforms
34:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem . 34:2 He did what the Lord approved and followed in his ancestor David’s footsteps ; he did not deviate to the right or the left . 34:3 In the eighth year of his reign , while he was still young , he began to seek the God of his ancestor David . In his twelfth year he began ridding Judah and Jerusalem of the high places , Asherah poles , idols , and images . 34:4 He ordered the altars of the Baals to be torn down , and broke the incense altars that were above them. He smashed the Asherah poles , idols and images , crushed them up and sprinkled the dust over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them. 34:5 He burned the bones of the pagan priests on their altars ; he purified Judah and Jerusalem . 34:6 In the cities of Manasseh , Ephraim , and Simeon , as far as Naphtali , and in the ruins around them, 34:7 he tore down the altars and Asherah poles , demolished the idols , and smashed all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel . Then he returned to Jerusalem . 34:8 In the eighteenth year of his reign , he continued his policy of purifying the land and the temple . He sent Shaphan son of Azaliah , Maaseiah the city official , and Joah son of Joahaz the secretary to repair the temple of the Lord his God . 34:9 They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the silver that had been brought to God’s temple . The Levites who guarded the door had collected it from the people of Manasseh and Ephraim and from all who were left in Israel , as well as from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the residents of Jerusalem . 34:10 They handed it over to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple . They in turn paid the temple workers to restore and repair it . 34:11 They gave money to the craftsmen and builders to buy chiseled stone and wood for the braces and rafters of the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into disrepair . 34:12 The men worked faithfully . Their supervisors were Jahath and Obadiah (Levites descended from Merari ), as well as Zechariah and Meshullam (descendants of Kohath ). The Levites , all of whom were skilled musicians , 34:13 supervised the laborers and all the foremen on their various jobs . Some of the Levites were scribes , officials , and guards . 34:14 When they took out the silver that had been brought to the Lord’s temple , Hilkiah the priest found the law scroll the Lord had given to Moses . 34:15 Hilkiah informed Shaphan the scribe , “I found the law scroll in the Lord’s temple .” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan . 34:16 Shaphan brought the scroll to the king and reported , “Your servants are doing everything assigned to them . 34:17 They melted down the silver in the Lord’s temple and handed it over to the supervisors of the construction foremen .” 34:18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king , “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll .” Shaphan read it out loud before the king . 34:19 When the king heard the words of the law scroll, he tore his clothes . 34:20 The king ordered Hilkiah , Ahikam son of Shaphan , Abdon son of Micah , Shaphan the scribe , and Asaiah the king’s servant , 34:21 “Go , seek an oracle from the Lord for me and those who remain in Israel and Judah . Find out about the words of this scroll that has been discovered . For the Lord’s fury has been ignited against us, because our ancestors have not obeyed the word of the Lord by doing all that this scroll instructs !” 34:22 So Hilkiah and the others sent by the king went to Huldah the prophetess , the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath , the son of Hasrah , the supervisor of the wardrobe . (She lived in Jerusalem in the Mishneh district .) They stated their business, 34:23 and she said to them: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says : ‘Say this to the man who sent you to me: 34:24 “This is what the Lord says : ‘I am about to bring disaster on this place and its residents , the details of which are recorded in the scroll which they read before the king of Judah . 34:25 This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to other gods , angering me with all the idols they have made . My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished !’” 34:26 Say this to the king of Judah , who sent you to seek an oracle from the Lord : “This is what the Lord God of Israel says concerning the words you have heard : 34:27 ‘You displayed a sensitive spirit and humbled yourself before God when you heard his words concerning this place and its residents . You humbled yourself before me, tore your clothes and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the Lord . 34:28 ‘Therefore I will allow you to die and be buried in peace . You will not have to witness all the disaster I will bring on this place and its residents .’”’” Then they reported back to the king . 34:29 The king summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem . 34:30 The king went up to the Lord’s temple , accompanied by all the people of Judah , the residents of Jerusalem , the priests , and the Levites . All the people were there, from the oldest to the youngest . He read aloud all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s temple . 34:31 The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant before the Lord , agreeing to follow the Lord and to obey his commandments , laws , and rules with all his heart and being , by carrying out the terms of this covenant recorded on this scroll . 34:32 He made all who were in Jerusalem and Benjamin agree to it. The residents of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God , the God of their ancestors . 34:33 Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the areas belonging to the Israelites and encouraged all who were in Israel to worship the Lord their God . Throughout the rest of his reign they did not turn aside from following the Lord God of their ancestors .

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • TEMPLE, A1

    [isbe] TEMPLE, A1 - tem'-p'l (hekhal, "palace"; sometimes, as in 1 Ki 6:3,5, etc.; Ezek 41:1,15 ff, used for "the holy place" only; bayith, "house," thus always in the Revised Version (British and American); hieron, naos): A. STRUC...

  • Revivals

    [nave] REVIVALS. Religious Zech. 8:20-23. Prayer for, Hab. 3:2. Prophecies concerning, Isa. 32:15; Joel 2:28; Mic. 4:1-8; Hab. 3:2. Instances of Under Joshua, Josh. 5:2-9; Samuel, 1 Sam. 7:1-6; Elijah, 1 Kin. 18:17-40; Jehoas...

  • Pentateuch

    [ebd] the five-fold volume, consisting of the first five books of the Old Testament. This word does not occur in Scripture, nor is it certainly known when the roll was thus divided into five portions Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Nu...

  • PURGE

    [isbe] PURGE - purj: A number of words in both the Old Testament and the New Testament are so rendered in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American), although frequently in the Revised Version (British an...

  • OVERSEER

    [isbe] OVERSEER - o-ver-se'-er, or -ser': One who overlooks, inspects; in the Old Testament from natsach (2 Ch 2:18; in 2 Ch 34:13 the Revised Version (British and American) changes to "set forward"), and paqadh (Gen 39:4,5; 2 Ch 3...

  • MUSIC

    [isbe] MUSIC - mu'-zik: I. IMPORTANCE 1. The Sole Art Cultivated 2. A Wide Vocabulary of Musical Terms 3. Place in Social and Personal Life 4. Universal Language of Emotions 5. Use in Divine Service 6. Part at Religious Reformation...

  • KIDRON, THE BROOK

    [isbe] KIDRON, THE BROOK - (nachal qidhron; in Jn 18:1 (the King James Version Cedron), ho cheimarrhous ton Kedron, according to the Revised Version margin, the last two words are to be considered as meaning "of the cedars." The He...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Influence

    [nave] INFLUENCE. Evil 1 Kin. 11:3, 4; 1 Kin. 15:25, 26; 1 Kin. 21:25; 1 Kin. 22:51-53; 2 Kin. 8:16-18, 25-27; 2 Kin. 17:21, 22; 2 Kin. 21:9; 2 Chr. 21:5, 6; 2 Chr. 22:3-5; 2 Chr. 33:9; Prov. 22:24, 25; Prov. 29:12; Jer. 17:1, 2;...

  • Idol

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. aven, "nothingness;" "vanity" (Isa. 66:3; 41:29; Deut. 32:21; 1 Kings 16:13; Ps. 31:6; Jer. 8:19, etc.). (2.) 'Elil, "a thing of naught" (Ps. 97:7; Isa. 19:3); a word of contempt, used of the gods of Noph (Ezek. 30...

  • IMAGES

    [isbe] IMAGES - im'-aj-iz (tselem; eikon): 1. Definition 2. Origin 3. Historical Beginnings and Early Developments 4. Bible References and Palestinian Customs 5. Most Important Technical Terms (1) Matstsebhah ("pillar") (2) 'Ashera...

  • HINNOM

    [smith] (lamentation), Valley of, otherwise called "the valley of the son" or "children of Hinnom," a deep and narrow ravine, with steep, rocky sides, to the south and west of Jerusalem, separating Mount Zion to the north from the "h...

  • GOLDSMITH

    [isbe] GOLDSMITH - gold'-smith (tsreph): Goldsmiths are first mentioned in connection with the building of the tabernacle (Ex 31:4; 36:1). Later, goldsmiths' guilds are mentioned (Neh 3:8,32). The art of refining gold and shaping i...

  • Deuteronomy

    [ebd] In all the Hebrew manuscripts the Pentateuch (q.v.) forms one roll or volume divided into larger and smaller sections called parshioth_ and _sedarim. It is not easy to say when it was divided into five books. This was probab...

  • Covenant

    [ebd] a contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word berith is always thus translated. Berith is derived from a root which means "to cut," and hence a covenant is a "cutting," with reference to t...

  • Congregation

    [ebd] (Heb. kahal), the Hebrew people collectively as a holy community (Num. 15:15). Every circumcised Hebrew from twenty years old and upward was a member of the congregation. Strangers resident in the land, if circumcised, were,...

  • CHRONOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

    [isbe] CHRONOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT - kro-nol'-o-ji: I. INTRODUCTORY 1. Difficulties of the Subject 2. Plan of Treatment 3. Bible to be Regarded as Highest Authority II. THE AGES BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS III. PERSIAN PERIOD IV. BA...

  • CARVING

    [isbe] CARVING - karv'-ing: Carving, or engraving, was extensively used among the peoples of Bible lands. There were no materials used in the arts which were not subjected to the graver's skill. Carved objects of wood, stone, ivory...

  • BISHOP

    [isbe] BISHOP - bish'-up: The word is evidently an abbreviation of the Greek episkopos; Latin, episcopus. GENERAL 1. Use in the Septuagint and Classic Greek: The Septuagint gives it the generic meaning of "superintendency, oversigh...

  • Anna

    [ebd] grace, an aged widow, the daughter of Phanuel. She was a "prophetess," like Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah (2 Chr. 34:22). After seven years of married life her husband died, and during her long widowhood she daily attended the...

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Hymns

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  • [2Ch 34:30] Book Of Books

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • Solomon's sin in going after other gods was the quintessence of covenant infidelity. David had sinned against God deliberately (2 Sam. 11), but his heart remained devoted to Yahweh. His sin was not as serious as Solomon's was...
  • Jeroboam, who would become the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, was from Ephraim, the most prominent tribe in the North (v. 26).Part of Benjamin affiliated voluntarily with Judah eventually (v. 32; cf. 12:21; 2 C...
  • Second Kings is a sequel to 1 Kings. First Kings covers about one and a half centuries and 2 Kings about three centuries. In both books the two thrones are in view: the earthly and the heavenly.First Kings emphasizes the fact...
  • Josiah began to seek Yahweh when he was 16 years old and began initiating religious reforms when he was 20 (2 Chron. 34:3-7). His reforms were more extensive than those of any of his predecessors. One of them was the repair o...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. "An Interpretation of the Babylonian Exile: A Study of 2 Kings 20, Isaiah 38-39."Scottish Journal of Theology27:3:(August 1974):329-52.Albright, William F. The Archaeology of Palestine. 1949. Revised ed. Pel...
  • Chronicles covers a broader period of history than any other Old Testament book. It begins with Adam and ends with Anani who lived eight generations after King Jehoiachin (1 Chron. 3:24). If we allow 25 years for each generat...
  • Even though 1 and 2 Chronicles give one continuous story the emphasis in 2 Chronicles is different from that in 1 Chronicles. In 1 Chronicles the emphasis is the importance of the temple in national life. However in 2 Chronic...
  • (Continued from notes on 1 Chronicles)III. The reign of Solomon chs. 1-9A. Solomon's wisdom and prosperity ch. 1B. The building of the temple 2:1-5:11. Preparations for building the temple ch. 22. The temple proper 3:1-93. Th...
  • The Chronicler featured Azariah's sermon (vv. 1-7), Asa's reformation (vv. 8-15), and Maacah's removal (vv. 16-19) during the middle part of Asa's reign.A message from the prophet Azariah was the spark that ignited revival in...
  • The godly in Judah may have regarded Josiah as the most likely candidate to fulfill the promises God had given to David. His early life and reign were spiritually exemplary (vv. 2-3). He sought to purge idolatry from the whol...
  • As Hezekiah had done, Josiah led his people in observing the Passover, that greatest feast of Israel that commemorated her redemption from Egyptian slavery. Josiah's Passover was even greater than Hezekiah's that Hezekiah had...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah. London: SCM Press, 1973.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed., New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William F. The...
  • The texts of the individual psalms do not usually indicate who wrote them.1However some of the titles of the individual psalms do contain information about the writers.2This is the only really reliable information we have as ...
  • The biblical records of the times in which Jeremiah ministered are 2 Kings 21-25 and 2 Chronicles 33-36. His contemporary prophets were Zephaniah and Habakkuk before the Exile, and Ezekiel and Daniel after it began.King Manas...
  • This passage consists of five short parts (vv. 1-5, 6-8, 9-10, 11-14, and 15-17). Most scholars believe it dates from the reign of Josiah, perhaps after the discovery of the Law but before he initiated his reforms (about 621 ...
  • 41:4-5 Two days after Gedaliah's murder, before the news of it had spread, 80 religious pilgrims came down from the old towns of Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria in northern Israel on their way to Jerusalem. Their dress and other...
  • This chapter belongs after chapter 36 chronologically, either after 36:8 or 36:32. It serves as an appendix to the historical incidents recorded there. Perhaps the writer or final editor placed it here to show that Yahweh exe...
  • The key to the Book of Zephaniah is the phrase "the day of the Lord."This phrase appears in most of the prophetic literature of the Old Testament. As we saw in Joel, "the day of the Lord"can be a past day, a day in the relati...
  • 1:4 Yahweh announced that He would stretch out His hand in judgment against Judah and the people of Jerusalem. Stretching out the hand is a figure of speech that implies a special work of punishment (cf. Exod. 6:6; Deut. 4:34...
  • 1:7 In view of the inevitability of coming judgment for idolatry, it was appropriate for the Judeans to be quiet before sovereign Yahweh (cf. Hab. 2:20)."This is a call to the people of Judah to cease every manner of oppositi...
  • 9:20 These three severe judgments (fire, smoke, and brimstone, vv. 17-18) will not move the remaining unbelievers as a whole to repent (cf. Exod. 7:13, 23; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 12, 35; 10:20; 11:10)."In all cases in the apocaly...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. 2. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neithe...
  • And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the Lord given by Moses. 15. And Hilkiah answered and said go Shaphan the scribe; I have found the...
  • Shaphan was closely connected with Josiah, as his office made him a confidant. It is ordinarily taken for granted that he and the other persons named in this lesson formed a little knot of earnest Jehovah worshippers, fully s...
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