Josiah facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Josiah |
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| King of Judah | |
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| Reign | 640 to 609 BCE |
| Predecessor | Amon of Judah |
| Successor | Jehoahaz of Judah |
| Born | c. 648 BCE probably Jerusalem |
| Died | Tammuz (July/August) 609 BCE (aged 38–39) Jerusalem |
| Spouse | Zebudah Hamutal |
| Issue | Johanan Jehoiakim Jehoahaz Zedekiah |
| House | House of David |
| Father | Amon |
| Mother | Jedidah |
Josiah, literally meaning "healed by Yah" or "supported of Yah" was a seventh-century BCE king of Judah (c. 649–609) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms. Josiah is credited by most biblical scholars with having established or compiled important Hebrew Scriptures. Josiah became king of Judah at the age of eight, after the assassination of his father, King Amon, and reigned for thirty-one years, from 641/640 to 610/609 BCE.
Josiah is known only from biblical texts; no reference to him exists in surviving texts of the period from Egypt or Babylon, and no clear archaeological evidence, such as inscriptions bearing his name, has ever been found. Nevertheless, most scholars believe he existed and that the absence of documents is due to few documents of any sort surviving from this very early period, and to Jerusalem having been occupied, conquered, and rebuilt for thousands of years.
The Bible describes him as a very righteous king, a king who "walked in all the way of David his father. He is also one of the kings mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew's gospel.
Family
According to the Hebrew Bible, Josiah was the son of King Amon and Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. His grandfather Manasseh was one of the kings blamed for turning away from the worship of Yahweh. Josiah's great-grandfather was King Hezekiah, a noted reformer.
Josiah had four sons, his son Shallum succeeded Josiah as king of Judah, under the name Jehoahaz. Shallum was succeeded by Eliakim, under the name Jehoiakim, who was succeeded by his own son Jeconiah; then, Jeconiah was succeeded to the throne by Mattanyahu, under the name Zedekiah. Zedekiah was the last king of Judah before the kingdom was conquered by Babylon and the people exiled.
Book of the Law
The Second Book of Chronicles records that Josiah was eight years old when he became king. Josiah ordered the High Priest Hilkiah to use the tax money which had been collected over the years to renovate the Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. While Hilkiah was clearing the treasure room of the Temple he discovered a scroll described in 2 Kings as "the book of the Law".
Hilkiah then gave the scroll to his secretary Shaphan, who took it to King Josiah. According to the Bible, King Josiah then changed his form of leadership entirely, entering into a new form of covenant with the Lord. He wiped out all of the pagan cults that had formed within his land. He, along with his people, then entered into this new covenant with the Lord to keep the commandments of the Lord.
For much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it was thought that this "Book of the Law" was an early version of the Book of Deuteronomy, but modern scholars believe that the "Book of the Law"—an early predecessor of the Torah—was invented by Josiah's priests, who were driven by ideological interests to centralize power under Josiah in the Temple in Jerusalem.
Foreign relations
When Josiah became king of Judah in about 641/640 BCE, the international situation was in flux. The Assyrian Empire was beginning to disintegrate, the Neo-Babylonian Empire had not yet risen to replace it, and Egypt to the west was still recovering from Assyrian rule. In this power vacuum, Jerusalem was able to govern itself for the time being without foreign intervention.
In the spring of 609 BCE, Pharaoh Necho II led a sizable army up to the Euphrates River to aid the Neo-Assyrian Empire, which was collapsing under the attacks of the Medes and the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Taking the coast route Via Maris into Syria at the head of a large army, consisting mainly of mercenaries; and supported by his Mediterranean fleet along the shore, Necho passed the low tracts of Philistia and Sharon. However, the passage over the ridge of hills which shuts in on the south of the great Jezreel Valley was blocked by the Judean army led by Josiah. The reason for Josiah attempting to halt the Egyptian campaign is not known, but he may have considered that the Assyrians and Egyptians were weakened by the death of pharaoh Psamtik I only a year earlier (610 BCE): Psamtik having been appointed and confirmed by Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal. According to the Biblical Books of Chronicles, Necho had not intended to do battle with the Judeans and was confused by Josiah's decision to attack him, supposedly sending a letter saying "what have we done to each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day."
Josiah attempted to block the advance at Megiddo, where a fierce battle was fought and Josiah was killed. Necho then joined forces with the Assyrian Ashur-uballit II and crossed the Euphrates to lay siege to Harran. The combined forces failed to capture the city, and Necho retreated to northern Syria.
Death
There are two accounts of Josiah's death in the Bible. The Second Book of Kings merely states that Necho II met Josiah in battle at Megiddo and killed him, whereas the second book of Chronicles gives a lengthier account and states that Josiah was fatally wounded by Egyptian archers and was brought back to Jerusalem to die.
Images for kids
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View of the inner court and House of the Temple of Solomon as depicted in a 3-D computer model
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A sketch of the Temple of Solomon based on descriptions in the Tanakh.
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View of the Temple of Solomon with ceiling removed as depicted in a 3-D computer model
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Pharaoh Necho II
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Death of king Josiah as illustrated by Francesco Conti
See also
In Spanish: Josías de Judá para niños
