Difference between revisions of "Josiah" - New World Encyclopedia
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The deat of this king was a serious blow to the Yahweh-only faction in Judea. 2 Chronicles 35:25 implies that [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]] wrote a lament for Josiah's passing. A Jewish tradition claims that this lament is preserved in Lamentations chapter 4. From a geo-political viewpoint, Josiah's death also signalled an end to the pro-Babylonian policy apparently followed by Josiah and ultimately resulted in the destruction of Judah by King Nubuchadrezzar II in 586 B.C.E. Jeremiah and later prophets saw opposition to Babylon as sinful, because the Babylonian empire was being used by God to punish [[Judah]]. | The deat of this king was a serious blow to the Yahweh-only faction in Judea. 2 Chronicles 35:25 implies that [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]] wrote a lament for Josiah's passing. A Jewish tradition claims that this lament is preserved in Lamentations chapter 4. From a geo-political viewpoint, Josiah's death also signalled an end to the pro-Babylonian policy apparently followed by Josiah and ultimately resulted in the destruction of Judah by King Nubuchadrezzar II in 586 B.C.E. Jeremiah and later prophets saw opposition to Babylon as sinful, because the Babylonian empire was being used by God to punish [[Judah]]. | ||
| − | == | + | ==Critical Views== |
| − | + | King Josiah plays a pivotal role in the modern critical interpretation of biblical history. The key incident in this reappraisal is the "finding" of the "Book of the Law" in the Temple which precipidated Josiah's brutal repression of non-Yahwist religion. | |
| − | + | Skepticism over the antiquity of the Book of the Law dates back to the English deists of the 16th century (Hertz 1936). Biblical scholars today generally believe that, rather than being written by Moses, the book was a pious forgery created either by Hilkiah or other priests. It served to strengthen the pro-Yahweh group under Josiah, and was also used by Josiah to solidify his rule and justify his military campaign against Egypt and Assyria. Many consider the Book of the Law to have actually been a version of the Book of Deuteronomy, which specifically forbids not only pagan worship, but also the offering of sacfrices to Yahweh outside of Jerusalem. (Other biblical books portray authentic priests and prophets of Yahweh — including such notable figures as [[Samuel]] and [[Elijah]] — offering such sacrifices at vairous altars and "high places." | |
| − | + | Proponents of this theory also point to linguistic evidence and to the many anachronisms contained in the Book of [[Deuteronomy]] which suggest that the scroll was likely to have been written during the reign of King Josiah. Some scholars go on to propose that the core narrative from Genesis to 2 Kings up to Josiah's reign comprise a "Deuteronomistic History" written during Josiah's reign. This narrative used earlier sources such a "J," "E," and the the records of court historians. However it edited them so as to present the view that God rewarded those kings supported the Yahweh-only policy in religious affairs, while punishing both Israel and Judah when they failed to repress pagan worship. King Josiah was thus the ideal ruler as the Deuteronomists defined it. Such claims are detailed in ''Who Were the Early Israelites?'' by [[William G. Dever]] (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 2003). Another such book, also drawing heavily on archaelogical evidence is ''The Bible Unearthed'' by [[Neil A. Silberman]] and [[Israel Finkelstein]] (Simon and Schuster, New York, 2001). | |
| + | |||
| + | However, scholars such as W.R. Smith, Rudolf Kittel, Dillman and Driver disagree, pointing out that priestly forgery of the Deuteronomic text was unlikely, as the text placed restrictions on the privileges of the priestly class, who were a thorn in the side of King Josiah. In the ancient Near East it was commonplace for religious scrolls to be deposited in temple walls when they were constructed (Hertz 1936), and according to the Swiss Egyptologist Naville, this was the custom among the Jews at the time of [[Solomon]]. Naville recounts a similar find recounted in the [[Egyptian Book of the Dead]]. | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 16:55, 2 February 2007
Josiah or Yoshiyahu (יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ "supported of the Lord", Standard Hebrew Yošiyyáhu, Tiberian Hebrew Yôšiyyāhû) was king of Judah, and son of Amon and Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. His grandfather was King Manasseh, who had turned from the Jewish religion, even adapting the Temple for worship that was considered idolatrous by faithful Jews. Josiah is credited by some historians with having established Jewish scripture in written form as a part of the Deuteronomic reform that occurred during his rule.
William F. Albright has dated his reign to 640 B.C.E.-609 B.C.E., while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 641 B.C.E.-609 B.C.E. The chief sources of his reign are 2 Kings 22-23, and 2 Chronicles 34-35; 1 Esdras 1 clearly a copy of the relevant portion of 2 Chronicles. Archaeologists have recovered a number of "scroll-style" stamps dating to his reign.
Josiah in the Bible
The biblical authors view Josiah as the greatest king since David. His story does not begin with his birth, but with a prophecy by an unnamed "man of God" in the time of Jeroboam I who reportedly predicted the act that will win Josiah his reputation as a king fully approved by the Temple priests:
- O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: "A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you." (1 Kings 13:1-3)
The Boy-King Josiah
The story is taken up again in 2 Kings 22 when Josiah became ruler of Judah at the age of eight. His reign resulted from the assassination of his father, Amon, by court officials and the "people of the land." Both international affairs and Judah's internal situation at the time were in flux. To the east, the Assyrian Empire was in the beginning stages of its eventual disintegration, the Babylonian Empire had not yet risen to replace it, and Egypt to the southwest was still recovering from Assyrian dominance. This favored the resurgence of Jerusalem as a serious power in the region. The nation of Judah was still recovering from a devasting Assyriann invasion in the previous century that resulted in the capture of every Judean town except the capital. Josiah's grandfather Manasseh had reversed the Yahweh-only religious policy of his own father Hezekiah, and Josiah's father Amon continued in Manasseh's footsteps. The boy-king Josiah, however, was strongly influenced by the priests of Yahweh who raised and protected him, especially Hilkiah.
By the age of 16, Josiah had become a champion of the exclusive worship of Yahweh, and at the age of 20 he had intituted a program to "to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles, carved idols and cast images." (2 Chronicles 34:3) Pagan priests throughout the land were slaughtered, and the bones of earlier such priets exhumed from their graves and burned. (2 Kings 23:4, et seq.) Moreover, priests of Yahweh who offered sacrifice outside of Jerusalem were banned from practicing their religious profession outside of the Temple.
The Temple Reform
In his 18th regnal year, Josiah began a reform of the Temple itself, authorizing the High Priest Hilkiah take the tax monies that had been collected over the years and use them to repair the neglect that the Temple had suffered during the reigns of Amon and Manasseh.
Hilkiah claimed that while was clearing the treasure room of the Temple (2 Chr. 34:14), he found a scroll described as "the book, book of the Torah (2 Kings 22:8) or as "the book of the Torah of Yahweh by the hand of Moses" (2 Chr. 34:14). Many scholars believe this was either a copy of the Book of Deuteronomy, or a text that became Deuteronomy as we have it. Hilkiah brought this scroll to Josiah's attention, and the king had it read to a crowd in Jerusalem. He was praised for this piety by the prophetess Huldah, who made the prophecy that all involved would die peacefully (2 Kings 22:14-20; 2 Chr. 34:22-28). As the fate of King Josiah shows, this prophecy was not fulfilled in a physical sense.
Huldah's endorsement of the Book of Law prompted Josiah to redouble his efforts to purify the religion of Judah. He instituted a national celebration of Passover, etc.
Attempt at Reunification
At some point between this year and his death, Josiah reasserted Judean control in the former territories of the kingdom of Israel. This is recorded in 2 Kings as systematically destroying the cultic objects in various cities, as well as executing the priests of the pagan gods. This campaign included the destruction of major Israelite altar at Bethel. (The account in Kings, however, differs from that of Chronicles both in terms of chronology and the manner of Josiah's demise.)
This attempt at re-unifying Israel and Judah was made possible largely due to the waning of Assyrian power in the region while the new Babylonian Empire asserted itself to the East. Pharoah Necho had left Egypt around 609 B.C.E. in support of his Assyrian allies. Josiah made a fateful decision to attack the Eyptians at Megiddo, where he was reportedly struck by Egyptian archers and soon died in Jerusalem.
The deat of this king was a serious blow to the Yahweh-only faction in Judea. 2 Chronicles 35:25 implies that Jeremiah wrote a lament for Josiah's passing. A Jewish tradition claims that this lament is preserved in Lamentations chapter 4. From a geo-political viewpoint, Josiah's death also signalled an end to the pro-Babylonian policy apparently followed by Josiah and ultimately resulted in the destruction of Judah by King Nubuchadrezzar II in 586 B.C.E. Jeremiah and later prophets saw opposition to Babylon as sinful, because the Babylonian empire was being used by God to punish Judah.
Critical Views
King Josiah plays a pivotal role in the modern critical interpretation of biblical history. The key incident in this reappraisal is the "finding" of the "Book of the Law" in the Temple which precipidated Josiah's brutal repression of non-Yahwist religion.
Skepticism over the antiquity of the Book of the Law dates back to the English deists of the 16th century (Hertz 1936). Biblical scholars today generally believe that, rather than being written by Moses, the book was a pious forgery created either by Hilkiah or other priests. It served to strengthen the pro-Yahweh group under Josiah, and was also used by Josiah to solidify his rule and justify his military campaign against Egypt and Assyria. Many consider the Book of the Law to have actually been a version of the Book of Deuteronomy, which specifically forbids not only pagan worship, but also the offering of sacfrices to Yahweh outside of Jerusalem. (Other biblical books portray authentic priests and prophets of Yahweh — including such notable figures as Samuel and Elijah — offering such sacrifices at vairous altars and "high places."
Proponents of this theory also point to linguistic evidence and to the many anachronisms contained in the Book of Deuteronomy which suggest that the scroll was likely to have been written during the reign of King Josiah. Some scholars go on to propose that the core narrative from Genesis to 2 Kings up to Josiah's reign comprise a "Deuteronomistic History" written during Josiah's reign. This narrative used earlier sources such a "J," "E," and the the records of court historians. However it edited them so as to present the view that God rewarded those kings supported the Yahweh-only policy in religious affairs, while punishing both Israel and Judah when they failed to repress pagan worship. King Josiah was thus the ideal ruler as the Deuteronomists defined it. Such claims are detailed in Who Were the Early Israelites? by William G. Dever (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 2003). Another such book, also drawing heavily on archaelogical evidence is The Bible Unearthed by Neil A. Silberman and Israel Finkelstein (Simon and Schuster, New York, 2001).
However, scholars such as W.R. Smith, Rudolf Kittel, Dillman and Driver disagree, pointing out that priestly forgery of the Deuteronomic text was unlikely, as the text placed restrictions on the privileges of the priestly class, who were a thorn in the side of King Josiah. In the ancient Near East it was commonplace for religious scrolls to be deposited in temple walls when they were constructed (Hertz 1936), and according to the Swiss Egyptologist Naville, this was the custom among the Jews at the time of Solomon. Naville recounts a similar find recounted in the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
See also
- The Bible Unearthed : Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts for the possible role of Josiah in creation of the Bible.
- Hertz J.H. (1936) The Pentateuch and Haftoras. Deuteronomy. Oxford University Press, London.
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