Study notes

2 Chronicles 34

Introducing 2 ChroniclesWho wrote it, when, why, and what to look for as you read

33:1–36:4 Section

2 Chronicles records a story about Manasseh that wasn’t included in 2 Kings. He made himself humble before God and prayed for God to help him. He did this after God brought judgement against him for his evil deeds. God allowed the Assyrian army to make Manasseh a prisoner in Babylon.

Manasseh turned away from his evil ways after God punished and corrected him. Because Manasseh repented, God allowed him to return to Jerusalem. When he once again ruled as king, he led the people to worship only God. He no longer did the evil things he had done before. Yet his son Amon followed the evil example Manasseh had set for many years. He didn’t follow Manasseh’s example of repenting and being humble.

Josiah was a king like David, Solomon and Hezekiah. He got rid of everything that was used to worship false gods. He did this in the southern kingdom. He also did it in the land that where the northern kingdom had been. Assyria controlled that land. But any Israelites who still lived there were allowed to worship the true God. So were the outsiders who lived there.

Josiah had the temple repaired. He made sure that the Book of the Law was read to the people. This was a copy of the Law of Moses. He learnt about the covenant curses while reading about the Mount Sinai covenant. He hoped to stop the covenant curses from coming. So while he was king, all 12 tribes of Israel obeyed God. Those in the southern kingdom and those left in the northern kingdom followed God faithfully.

When he was older, Josiah made a foolish decision to fight against Egypt’s army. This led to his death. It also led to Egypt taking control of the government of the southern kingdom. The king of Egypt chose their next king.

34:1

Josiah ruled for thirty-one years, from 640 to 609 BC.

34:3

When Josiah was sixteen, he started to seek the God of his ancestor David. At twenty, he began his own reforms.

34:6

By Josiah’s twelfth year as king, in 628 BC, the Assyrian Empire had mostly fallen apart. During this time, northern Israel was almost empty. This allowed Josiah to expand his influence and control into Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, reaching even as far as Naphtali.

34:12–13

The fact that musicians supervised the construction shows the importance of Levites leading this work. Other ancient texts mention that music was often part of construction projects.

34:14–18

Finding the Book of the Law of the LORD was a reward for being faithful.
The book, likely written by Moses, was probably Deuteronomy. It may have been forgotten and lost during the unfaithful times of Manasseh or Amon.

34:24

the curses written in the book: See Deuteronomy 27:14–26; 28:15–68. Curses in a covenant explain what happens to those who break the covenant, as Israel and Judah did with the Lord. These curses included exile.

34:27–28

King Josiah did not die peacefully; Pharaoh Neco II of Egypt killed him (2 Chronicles 35:20–25). However, Josiah was buried peacefully, meaning Jerusalem was at peace, and exile did not occur during his reign. His repentant spirit prevented immediate disaster.

34:29–32

Renewing the covenant was the most important event in Josiah's reform.

Verse notes: Adapted by Mission Mutual (Aquifer Open Study Notes) from Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. CC BY-SA 4.0. Section notes: Biblica Study Notes © 2023 Biblica, Inc. CC BY-SA 4.0, via BibleAquifer. About the sources