Josiah

Josiah
Josiah in a painting by unknown artist in the choir of St. Mary's Church, Åhus, 17th century
King of Judah
Reign640–609 BCE
PredecessorAmon
SuccessorJehoahaz
Bornc. 648 BCE
probably Jerusalem
DiedTammuz (July/August) 609 BCE (aged 38–39)
Jerusalem
SpouseZebudah
Hamutal
IssueJohanan
Jehoiakim
Zedekiah
Jehoahaz
HouseHouse of David
FatherAmon
MotherJedidah

Josiah (Greek: Ἰωσίας; Latin: Iosias)[1] or Yoshiyahu (Hebrew: יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ, Modern: Yōʾšīyahū, Tiberian: Yōʾšīyyāhū, literally meaning "healed by Yah" or "supported of Yah") was the 16th king of Judah (c. 640–609 BCE). According to the Hebrew Bible, Josiah ascended to the throne at the age of eight following the assassination of his father, King Amon[2] and reigned for 31 years, during which he expanded Judah and initiated major religious reforms, centralizing worship in Jerusalem and eliminating the worship of foreign gods.[2][3]

The biblical account of Josiah's reforms, especially the removal of idol worship and the destruction of high places, has traditionally been considered historically accurate.[3] The accuracy of these descriptions is now widely debated among scholars[4] with some denying their historicity entirely[5][6][7] and some arguing for the historicity of the reforms.[8][9][10][11] There are no direct reference to Josiah in other contemporary texts from Egypt or Babylon, and no inscriptions bearing his name; however, a seal bearing the name "Nathan-melech," an official mention as being under Josiah in 2 Kings 23:11, was discovered in situ in an archeological site in Jerusalem.[12] Most scholars agree that Josiah existed.[13]

The Deuteronomistic History, a collection of biblical texts that evaluate the reigns of Israelite and Judahite kings based on their adherence to the laws of Deuteronomy discusses Josiah’s reign.[3] Josiah is depicted as the most righteous king in this tradition, the only one to fully implement the reforms outlined in the "Book of the Law."[3]

  1. ^ Wells, John C. (1990). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow, England: Longman. p. 386. ISBN 0-582-05383-8. entry "Josiah"] Dictionary.com. Retrieved 25 July 2011
  2. ^ a b Edwin Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, (1st ed.; New York: Macmillan, 1951; 2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965; 3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983). ISBN 0-8254-3825-X, 9780825438257, 217.
  3. ^ a b c d Stiebing, William H.; Helft, Susan N. (2023). Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture (4th ed.). Routledge. pp. 479–482. ISBN 9780367744250.
  4. ^ Grabbe, Lester L. (2017). Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 249. ISBN 978-0-567-67044-1. It was once conventional to accept Josiah's reform at face value, but the question is currently much debated (Albertz 1994: 198–201; 2005; Lohfink 1995; P. R. Davies 2005; Knauf 2005a).
  5. ^ Pakkala, Juha (2010). "Why the Cult Reforms In Judah Probably Did Not Happen". In Kratz, Reinhard G.; Spieckermann, Hermann (eds.). One God – One Cult – One Nation. De Gruyter. pp. 201–235. ISBN 9783110223576. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  6. ^ Fried, Lisbeth S. (2002). "The High Places (Bāmôt) and the Reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah: An Archaeological Investigation". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 122 (3): 437–464. doi:10.2307/3087515. JSTOR 3087515. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  7. ^ Grabbe, Lester (2017). Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?. T&T Clark. p. 249-250. “We have no direct evidence outside the biblical text, which makes us at least ask whether it is an invention of the Deuteronomist. The alleged absence of any reference to this reform in Jeremiah has always been a major puzzle. Some have found allusions here and there, but one has to admit that they are surprisingly obscure. Considering Jeremiah’s overall message and position, he should have embraced such a reform and made copious comments about it.”
  8. ^ Na’aman, Nadav (2006). "The King Leading Cult Reforms in his Kingdom: Josiah and Other Kings in the Ancient Near East". Zeitschrift für altorientalische und biblische Rechtsgeschichte. 12 (1): 131–168. doi:10.13173/ZAR.12.1.131 (inactive 1 August 2025). ISSN 2747-4461.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of August 2025 (link)
  9. ^ Römer, Thomas (2017). "The Rise and Fall of Josiah". In Lipschits, O.; Gadot, Y.; Adams, M. J. (eds.). Rethinking Israel: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Ancient Israel in Honor of Israel Finkelstein. Penn State Press. pp. 329–340. ISBN 978-1-57506-787-2.
  10. ^ Hess, Richard S. (2022). "2 Kings 22-3: Belief in One God in Preexilic Judah?". In Watson, Rebecca S.; Curtis, Adrian H. W. (eds.). Conversations on Canaanite and Biblical Themes: Creation, Chaos and Monotheism. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. pp. 135–150. ISBN 978-3-11-060629-4.
  11. ^ Elitzur, Yoel (2023). "The Altar at Tel Dothan – A Trace of Josiah's Reform?". Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society. 36 (1): 62–89.
  12. ^ Mendel-Geberovich, Anat; Shalev, Yiftah; Bocher, Efrat; Shalom, Nitsan; Gadot, Yuval (2019). "A Newly Discovered Personal Seal and Bulla from the Excavations of the GivꜤati Parking Lot, Jerusalem". Israel Exploration Journal. 69 (2): 154–174. ISSN 0021-2059. JSTOR 27098633.
  13. ^ Sweeney, Marvin A. (2001). King Josiah of Judah: The Lost Messiah of Israel. Oxford University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-19-028528-9.
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