This study reexamines the relevant biblical literature and the archeology evidence concerning the reign of King Josiah of Judah and its impact on ancient Judean thought. [44], According to Louis Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews (1909), remarks on Josiah's piety and the death of his father Amon:"For repentance he was given no time, for death cut him off in the fullness of his sinful ways. It argues that early forms of the book of Deuteronomy, the so‐called Deuteronomistic History (Joshua; Judges; 1–2 Samuel; and 1–2 Kings), and much of the prophetic literature (Isaiah; Hosea; Amos; Micah; Jeremiah; Zephaniah; Nahum; cf. [33] When Josiah restored the true worship, Jeremiah went to the exiled ten tribes, whom he brought to Israel under the rule of the pious king. Josiah (/dʒoʊˈsaɪ.ə/ or /dʒəˈzaɪ.ə/)[1][2] or Yoshiyahu[a] was the sixteenth king of Judah (c. 640–609 BCE) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms. Many scholars see the whole core narrative, from Joshua to 2 Kings, as comprising a Deuteronomistic History (DtrH) written during Josiah's reign. This scroll, commonly identified as a form of Deuteronomy, became the basis of an ambitious program of religious reform and national restoration in which Josiah closed down all pagan worship sites throughout the land of Israel, centralized worship at the Jerusalem Temple, and attempted to reunite Israel and Judah a ... More. King Josiah changed the religion of Israel in the mid-seventh century BCE in several significant ways. All Rights Reserved. And the only exception to this destruction was for the grave of an unnamed prophet he found in Bethel (2 Kings 23:15–19), who had foretold that these religious sites Jeroboam erected would one day be destroyed (see 1 Kings 13). PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (oxford.universitypressscholarship.com). He wiped out all of the pagan cults that had formed within his land. [29] While Jeremiah admonished and preached repentance to the men, she did the same to the women. [39] Josiah attempted to block the advance at Megiddo, where a fierce battle was fought and Josiah was killed. [6] An assembly of the elders of Judah and Jerusalem and of all the people was called, and Josiah then encouraged the exclusive worship of Yahweh, forbidding all other forms of worship. Habakkuk) were written or edited to support King Josiah's reform and to present him as the righteous Davidic monarch, who would realize the divine promise of security for the land and people of Israel. =���f^um����gO�!��-� اn�ھk���HٚGd��c�� �^��1����! 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, who may have considered that the Assyrians and Egyptians were weakened by the death of the pharaoh Psamtik I only a year earlier (610 BCE), who had been appointed and confirmed by Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal.