Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Josiah cuts down all idolatry, restores the temple and worship of God, and ratifies a new covenant between God and the people.
Vulgate Text: 2 Paralipomenon 34:1-33
1. Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father: he turned aside neither to the right nor to the left. 3. And in the eighth year of his reign, when he was still a boy, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year after he had begun to reign, he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the images, and the carved idols. 4. And they destroyed the altars of the Baals before him, and the idols that had been placed upon them they demolished; the groves also, and the carved images he cut down and broke in pieces, and scattered the fragments upon the tombs of those who had been accustomed to sacrifice to them. 5. Moreover, he burned the bones of the priests on the altars of the idols, and he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6. And also in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even to Naphtali, he overthrew all things. 7. And when he had torn down the altars, and crushed the groves and the carved images into pieces, and demolished all the shrines throughout the whole land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. 8. Therefore in the eighteenth year of his reign, when the land and the temple of the Lord had now been cleansed, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. 9. And they came to Hilkiah the high priest, and received from him the money that had been brought into the house of the Lord, and which the Levites and the gatekeepers had collected from Manasseh, and Ephraim, and all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 10. and they put it into the hands of those who were overseeing the workmen in the house of the Lord, to restore the temple and repair whatever was weak. 11. And they gave it to the craftsmen and the masons, to buy hewn stones from the quarries, and timber for the joints of the building and the roofing of the houses that the kings of Judah had destroyed. 12. And they did all things faithfully. Now the overseers of the workers were Jahath and Obadiah of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of Kohath, who pressed the work forward — all Levites skilled in playing instruments. 13. And over those who carried burdens for various uses there were scribes and masters from among the Levites who were gatekeepers. 14. And when they were carrying out the money that had been brought into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given through Moses. 15. And he said to Shaphan the scribe: I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord. And he gave it to him. 16. And he brought the scroll to the king and reported to him, saying: All that you have entrusted into the hands of your servants, behold, it is being accomplished. 17. The silver that was found in the house of the Lord they have melted down, and it has been given to the overseers of the craftsmen and to those making various works. 18. Moreover, Hilkiah the priest gave me this book. And when he had read it aloud in the king's presence, 19. and the king had heard the words of the law, he tore his garments. 20. And he commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and also Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying: 21. Go and pray to the Lord for me, and for the remnant of Israel and Judah, concerning all the words of this Book that has been found; for the great fury of the Lord has distilled upon us, because our fathers did not keep the words of the Lord, to do all the things that are written in this volume. 22. So Hilkiah and those who had been sent by the king together with him went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe — who dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter — and they spoke to her the words that we have narrated above. 23. And she answered them: Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Say to the man who sent you to me: 24. Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will bring evils upon this place and upon its inhabitants, and all the curses that are written in this Book, which they read before the king of Judah. 25. Because they have forsaken Me and have sacrificed to foreign gods, to provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands, therefore My fury will distill upon this place and will not be extinguished. 26. But to the king of Judah, who sent you to entreat the Lord, speak thus: Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Because you have heard the words of the volume, 27. and your heart was softened, and you humbled yourself in the sight of God concerning the things that were spoken against this place and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and reverencing My face, you tore your garments and wept before Me — I also have heard you, says the Lord. 28. For I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be brought to your tomb in peace; nor shall your eyes see all the evil that I am about to bring upon this place and upon its inhabitants. And they reported to the king all that she had said. 29. And he, having called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem, 30. went up to the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites, and all the people from the least to the greatest. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Lord in the house of the Lord. 31. And standing in his place, he struck a covenant before the Lord, to walk after Him, and to keep His commandments, and testimonies, and justifications, with all his heart and with all his soul, and to do the things that were written in that Book which he had read. 32. And he caused all who were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin to swear to this; and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers. 33. Josiah therefore took away all the abominations from all the lands of the children of Israel, and made all who remained in Israel to serve the Lord their God. All the days of his life they did not depart from the Lord, the God of their fathers.
Verse 3: In the Twelfth Year
3. IN THE TWELFTH YEAR, etc., HE CLEANSED JUDAH — that is, he began to cleanse; for he completed this cleansing after six years, in the eighteenth year of his reign, as is stated in verse 8.
Verse 5: He Burned the Bones of the Priests
5. MOREOVER HE BURNED THE BONES OF THE PRIESTS (of idols, e.g., of the golden calves) ON THE ALTARS OF THE IDOLS — namely, so that by the contact and burning of the corpses of such impious men, the altars themselves would be defiled, disgraced, and become objects of horror, lest anyone should hereafter sacrifice victims to idols on them.
Verse 15: The Book of the Law Found
15. I FOUND THE BOOK OF THE LAW IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. — Genebrardus in his Chronology thinks this was the copy that had been written by Moses or by another during his lifetime, and placed in the sanctuary 800 years before, so that it was received with greater devotion and read with greater fruit. Moreover, there is no doubt that elsewhere in Judea and in other provinces among pious and learned Jews there existed many copies of the books of the law. It therefore seems incredible what some say, that all the books of Sacred Scripture were burned together with the temple by the Chaldeans, and were restored by Ezra from memory.
Verse 28: You Shall Be Brought to Your Tomb in Peace
28. YOU SHALL BE BROUGHT TO YOUR TOMB IN PEACE. — You will object: Josiah was killed in battle by Pharaoh Neco; therefore he did not die peacefully, but by a violent death. I reply that the peace understood here is not the private peace of Josiah, but the public peace of the commonwealth. For while Josiah was living and dying, Judea enjoyed peace and an abundance of goods; but after his death it was invaded by various nations, especially the Babylonians, who utterly destroyed it under Zedekiah the son of Josiah. That this is the meaning is clear from what follows, where Scripture explains itself thus.