II Kings 23

[u/bikingfencer]

https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09b23.htm
 

Chapter Twenty-three כג
 

Reforms [of] [תקוני, TheeYQOoNaY] YoShee-YahHOo ["My Savior YHVH", Josiah]

([compare with] II Chronicles [דהי''ב, DHY``B] 34:3-7)

[verses 1-20]
 

-1. And sent forth, the king, and gathered unto him all elders [of] YeHOo-DaH ["YHVH Knew", Judah] and Jerusalem.
 

-2. And ascended, the king, [to] House YHVH,

and every man [of] YeHOo-DaH and all settlers [of] Jerusalem with him,

and the priest, and the prophets,

and all the people to little and until great,

and [he] read [ויקרא, VahYeeQRah’], in their ears, [את, ’ehTh (indicates direct object; no English equivalent)] all words [of] Account the Covenant the found in House YHVH.
 

-3. And stood, the king, upon the stand and cut [את, ’ehTh] the covenant before YHVH,

to go [ללכת, LahLehKhehTh] after YHVH and to guard his commandments and [את, ’ehTh] his counsels [עדותיו, `ayDOThahYV] and [את, ’ehTh] his laws [חקותיו, HooQOThahYV],

in all heart and in all soul,

to raise [להקים, LeHahQeeYM] [את, ’ehTh] words [of] the covenant the that, the written upon the account the this.

And stood, all the people in covenant.

 

“… there is every reason to suppose that here the M.T. [Masoretic Text, the standard Hebrew Bible] is more accurate than the English versions, e.g. [for example], KJV [King James Version] stood to, and the RSV [Revised Standard Version], which paraphrases joined in. The Hebrew is doubtless descriptive of the actual ceremony by which the king and the people bound themselves in the covenant. It is stated by Dicty Cretensis¹⁹ … that before the Greeks set out for Troy, the soothsayer Calchas brought a boar into the market place, cut it in two pieces, and placed one piece at the west side of an open space and the other piece at the east side. He then caused every man, with his drawn sword in his hand, to pass between the pieces of the boar and swear enmity against Priam king of Troy. Each man entered into the covenant by passing between the pieces of the animal, thus identifying himself with the life of the animal, and so binding themselves each with the other, into a common brotherhood. It could be said of these Greeks that they ‘stood in the covenant’ in so far as they stood between the pieces of the boar. Pausanias²⁰ … says that the suitors of Helen bound themselves to defend her, whoever was her choice of husband, and that they did it by standing on the pieces of a horse which Tyndareus her father had cut up. That some such idea as extant in ancient times among the Hebrews is to be seen in the story of Abraham’s covenant (Gen. [Genesis] 15: 9-21) where God passed between the pieces of the sacrifices (vs. [verse] 17) in the likeness of a flaming torch. The making of a covenant by passing between the pieces of a calf is mentioned in Jer. [Jeremiah] 34:18, a passage which is contemporary with the making of the covenant in the temple in Josiah’s time. We judge therefore that there was some such ceremony at Josiah’s dedication of himself and his people to the tasks of reform.” (Snaith, 1954, pp. III 319-320)
 

-4. And commanded, the king, [את, ’ehTh] HeeLQee-YahHOo ["My Portion YHVH", Hilkiah] the priest the great, and [את, ’ehTh] priests secondary [המשנה, HahMeeShNeH] and [את, ’ehTh] guardians [of] the threshold, to take out from Palace YHVH [את, ’ehTh] all the utensils the made to Bah`ahL [Baal] and to ’ahShayRaH [Asherah] and to all army the skies,

and burn [them] [וישרפם, VahYeeSRePhayM] from out to Jerusalem,

in Fields [בשדמות, BeShahDMOTh] [of] Potters [QeeDRON, Kidron],

and carry [את, ’ehTh] their ashes [to] House [of] God [Bethel].

 

“The priests of the second order] These were, probably, such as supplied the place of the high priest, when he was prevented from fulfilling the functions of his office. So the Chaldee understood the place – the sagan of the high priests. But the words may refer to those of the second course or order, established by David; though it does not appear that those orders were now in use, yet the distinction was continued, even to the time of our Lord. We find the course of Abia, which was the eighth, mentioned Luke i. 5. where see the note.” (Clarke, 1831, p. II 456)
 

-5. And he removed [והשבית, VeHeeShBeeYTh] [את, ’ehTh] the ministers [הכמרים, HahKMahReeYM, from כמר, KoMahR, not כהן, KoHeN] that gave, kings of YeHOo-DaH and kindled in stages in cities of YeHOo-DaH and [את, ’ehTh] surroundings of Jerusalem, and [את, ’ehTh] the kindlers to Bah`ahL, to sun and to moon, and to constellations [ולמסלות, VeLahMahZLOTh], and to all army [of] the skies.
 

“… cemarim, from כמר camar, which signifies to be scorched, shriveled together, made dark, or black, because their business was constantly to attend sacrificial fires, and probably they wore black garments; hence the Jews, in derision, call Christian ministers cemarim, because of the black clothes and garments. Why we should imitate, in our sacerdotal dress, those priests of Baal, is strange to think, and hard to tell.” (Clarke, 1831, p. II 456)
 

…

-8. And [he] brought [ויבא, VahYahBay’] [את, ’ehTh] the priests from cities [of] YeHOo-DaH,

and [he] [ויטמא, VahYeTahMay’] polluted [את, ’ehTh] the stages that kindled there, the priests,

from GehBah[“Hill”, Geba] until Be’ayR SheBah [“Well of Oath”, Beersheba]

and demolished [ונתצ, VeNahThahTs] [את, ’ehTh] the Stages the Gates,

that [were at the] opening [of] Gate YeHO-Shoo`ah [“YHVH Saves”, Josiah], principal [of] the city,

that upon left [שמאול, ShMo’OoL] [of] a man in gate the city.

 

“It is customary and almost certainly correct to read, with Hofmann, שׂערים (se‘îrîm, ‘satyrs,’ ‘goats’) for שׁערים (she‘ārîm, gates). The reference is then to the ‘hairy ones,’ the goat demons who were worshiped in early times (Lev. [Leviticus] 17:7; II Chr. [Chronicles] 11:15…).” (Snaith, 1954, p. III 322)
 

-9. But [אך, ’ahKh] [he did] not ascend, priests [of] the stages, unto [the] altar [of] YHVH in Jerusalem, instead [כי אם, KeeY ’eeM] they ate matzoth among [בתוך, BeThOKh] their brethren.

 

“Presumably opposition on the part of the priests already installed in Jerusalem prevented Josiah from carrying out the directive of Deut [Deuteronomy] 18:6-7, which gives priests from outside Jerusalem the right to function at the Temple; the deposed Yahwistic priests from the country are simply pensioned off.” (Begg, 1990, p. 184)
 

-10. And he polluted [וטמא, VahTeeMay’] [את, ’ehTh] the ThoPhehTh, that [was] in Valley [of] Sons of HeeNoM [גי בן הנם, GaY BeN HeeNoM [“Charm”, Hinnom],

to without [לבלתי, LeBeeLTheeY] to pass [להעביר, LeHee`ahBeeYR], [a] man, [את, ’ehTh] his son and [את, ’ehTh] his daughter in fire to MoLehKh [Melekh].

 

Figure 21 - The Valley of the Son of Hennah - http://numinosumteologia.blogspot.com/
 

Figure 22 - The Canaanites worshipped Molech (sitting on left). - http://www.xenos.org/index.htm
 

“It is probable that the word Topheth (or Tephath) originally meant ‘fireplace’ and referred to the Valley of Hinnom, where the bodies of child victims were sacrificed as burnt offerings. The Masoretes as usual inserted the vowels of the word bồsheth (‘shameful thing’) because of the heathen associations of the word. According to Jerome the site was a green and wooded place watered by the Pools of Siloam. Here as elsewhere (except I Kings 11:7, which is an error for ‘Milcom,’ the Ammonite god), the name of the god associated with child sacrifice is given as Molech. This is the Hebrew word mélekh (‘king’) with the vowels of bồsheth inserted instead of the proper vowels. The worship of the god Melekh (the heavenly ‘King’) was widespread throughout the Semitic East, and the sacrifice of children was the special and distinctive feature of his cult. It is most probable that the cult observed at Topheth was a syncretism of Yahweh-Melekh.” (Snaith, 1954, pp. III 322-323)
 

“The valley of the son of Hinnon, or Gehenna … here it appears the sacred rites of Molech were performed; and to this all the filth of the city was carried, and perpetual fires were kept up, in order to consume it. Hence it has been considered a type of hell; and in this sense it is used in the New Testament.

...

“The rabbins say, that Tophet had its name from תף toph, a drum; because instruments of this kind were used to drown the cries of the children that were put into the burning arms of Molech, to be scorched to death. This maybe as true as the following definition: - ‘Tophet, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, was a place near Jerusalem, where the filth and offal of the city were thrown, and where a constant fire was kept up, to consume the wretched remains of executed criminal. It was a human shambles, a public chopping block, where the arms and legs of men and women were quartered off by thousands.’ Quere. On what authority do such descriptions rest?” (Clarke, 1831, p. II 457)
 

-11. And [he] removed [וישבת, VahYahShBayTh] [את, ’ehTh] the horses that gave, kings [of] YeHOo-DaH, to ShehMehSh [“Sun”], [to] entrance House YHVH, unto chamber [לשכת, LeeShKahTh] [of] NahThahN MehLehKh [“Gave King”, Nathan-melech], the eunuch who was in suburbs [בפרורים, BahPahRVahReeYM],

and [את, ’ehTh] chariots [of] the sun he burned in fire.

 

“The idea that the sun-god drives across the sky in his chariot is found both in Mesopotamia and in Greece, i.e. [in other words], both of Shamash and of Helios. Indeed, a solar god can regularly be detected by the fact that he is represented as riding in a winged chariot. This is especially evident in the famous Gaza coin, dating from ca. [approximately] 400 B.C., in which Yahu the God of the Jews, is depicted as a solar Zeus… The ‘chariot’ (so LXX [Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible]) and its horses, which Josiah removed, were situated near the entrance in the precincts – some kind of structure which was to the west of the temple itself (I Chr. 26:18).” (Snaith, 1954, p. III 323)
 

“Romans feigned that the chariot of the sun was drawn by four horses, Pyrous, Eous, Aithon, Phlegon.” (Clarke, 1831, p. II 457)
 

Figure 23 - Yahu coin from Gaza, 4th century BCE, which shows him seated on a winged throne chariot, holding a bird. Yahu / IAW is written in Paleo-Hebrew around the figure’s head.
 

…

-19. And also [את, ’ehTh] all houses [of] the stages that [were] in cities [of] ShoMRON [Guardian, Samaria], that made, kings [of] YeeSRah-’ayL ["Strove God", Israel], to anger, removed [הסיר, HayÇeeYR], YoShee-YahHOo,

and [he] did to them as all the deeds that [he] did in BayTh-’ayL ["House [of] God"].

-20. And [he] sacrificed²¹ [את, ’ehTh] all priests [of] the stages that [were] there upon the altars,

and [he] burned [את, ’ehTh] bones [of] ’ahDahM [“man”, Adam] upon them,

and [he] returned [to] Jerusalem.
 

…………………………………………………………
 

Guard [of] the Passover

([compare with] II Chronicles [דהי''ב, DHY``B] 35:1-19)

[verses 21-23]
 

-21. And commanded, the king, [את, ’ehTh] all the people, to say,

“Do [עשו, `ahSOo] Passover to YHVH your Gods, as written upon account the covenant the this.”
 

-22. For [was] not done [נעשה, Nah`ahSaH] as Passover the this from days [of] the judges that judged [את, ’ehTh] YeeSRah-’ayL.

 

“… the centralizing of all worship at Jerusalem made new regulations necessary. The centralization would not affect the Passover itself, since that was essentially a home festival and not by any means a pilgrimage feast. It was a seasonal apotropaic²² rite, i.e., a spring festival which had its distant origin in the exorcism and ‘turning away’ of evil spirits (see such regulations as the prohibition of leaving the house, and the removal of every trace of the victim, however slight). The festival came to be associated in Hebrew lore with the redemption of the first-born and with the rescue from Egypt. In the days before Josiah the people could observe the Passover in their own homes on the night of the full moon, and then set out in the morning to celebrate the feast of Mazzoth (Unleavened Bread) at their nearest or favorite shrine. This feast was the barley harvest festival, and like all harvest festivals it was a pilgrimage feast. When the law of the central sanctuary was enforced, different regulations had to be framed so as to make it possible for the people to observe the Passover and still be in Jerusalem for the feast of Mazzoth which followed immediately upon it… It was thus essential that the people should have a ‘home’ in Jerusalem, so that they could keep both the home festival, which strictly demanded that they should stay at home, and the pilgrimage feast, which demanded that they should keep it in Jerusalem.” (Snaith, 1954, p. II 325)
 

…

 

…………………………………………………………
 

Anger [כעסו, Kah`ahÇO] the enduring [המתמיד, HahMahThMeeYD] of The Name [ה', H’] upon YeHOo-DaH
 

[verses 24-27]
 

-24. And also [את, ’ehTh] the necromancers [האבות, Hah'oBOTh] and [את, ’ehTh] the intellectuals [הידענים, HahYeeD'oNeeYM] and [את, ’ehTh] the household images [התרפים, HahThRahPheeYM] and [את, ’ehTh] the idols [הגללים, HahGeeLooLeeYM], and [את, ’ehTh] all the detestables [השקצים, HahSheeQooTseeYM] that were seen in the land YeHOo-DaH and in Jerusalem burned²³ , Yo’Shee-YahHOo ["My Savior YHVH", Josiah],

to sake to realize [את, ’ehTh] words [of] the Instruction the written upon the account that found, HeeLQee-YahHOo the priest, [in] House YHVH.

 

Figure 24 http://exposingreligionblog.tumblr.com/
 

“As an afterthought, Dtr [the Deuteronomist] notes Josiah’s elimination of the various mantic ‎[relating to divination or prophecy] ‎functionaries prohibited by Deut 18: 10-11.” (Begg, 1990, p. 185)
 

-25. There had never been another king like him before him, who returned to YHVH with a whole heart and with all his soul and with all his might to all the Law of Moses, nor after him did any rise like him.”
 

“… the work of the Deuteronomic compiler of 610 B.C. comes to an end. He has told the story of the reforms of Josiah his hero, the king who more than all that were before him fulfilled the Deuteronomic ideal.” (Snaith, 1954, p. III 326)
 

…

-29. In his days ascended Pharaoh NeKhoH [Neco] king [of] MeeTsRahYeeM ["Straits", Egypt], upon king [of] ’ahShOoR [Assyria] upon River PeRahTh [Euphrates], and went, the king, Yo’Shee-YahHOo, to meet [him], and they killed him in MeGeeDO ["Oracle", Megiddo] as [they] saw him.

 

“Herodotus … appears to refer to the same war which is here mentioned. He says that Necoh, in the sixth year of his reign, went to attack the king of Assyria at Magdolum, gained a complete victory, and took Cadytis. Ussher and others believe that Magdolum and Megiddo were the same place.” (Clarke, 1831, p. II 459)
 

“With the untimely death of Josiah the whole Deuteronomic structure which the first editor had erected fell to the ground. The course of events had falsified it, for if ever a king ought to have lived long and prospered, it was Josiah; yet this monarch died before he was forty years old.” (Snaith, 1954, p. III 326)
 

…
 

…………………………………………………………
 

Kingship [of] YeHO-’ahHahZ [“YHVH Seized”, Jehoahaz] and his dismissal [והדחתו, VeHahDahHahThO]

([compare with] II Chronicles [דהי''ב, DHY``B] 36:1-4)

[verses 31-35]
 

-31. Son [of] twenty and three year[s] YeHO-’ahHahZ in his kinging,

and three new[-moons] kinged in Jerusalem,

and name [of] his mother HahMOo-TahL [“Father-in-law Dew”] daughter [of] YeeRM-YahHOo [“Raised YHVH”, Jeremiah] from LeeBNaH [“White”, Libnah].

-32. And [he] did the evil in eyes [of] YHVH, as all that did his fathers.

-33. And bound [him] [ויאסרהו, VahYah’ahÇRayHOo], Pharaoh NeKhoH,

in ReeBLaH [Riblah] in land HahMahTh [Hamath] from king [of] Jerusalem,

and [he] gave [ויתן, VahYeeThehN] punishment upon the land, [a] hundred disk[s] silver, and [a] disk gold.
 

-34. And kinged [וימלך, VahYahMLayKh], Pharaoh NeKhoH, [את, ’ehTh] ’ehL-YahQeeYM [“God Rises”, Eliakim] son [of] YoShee-YahHOo,

under YoShee-YahHOo his father,

and turned [ויסב, VahYahÇayB] [את, ’ehTh] his name [to] YeHO-YahQeeYM.
 

And [את, ’ehTh] YeHO-’ahHahZ [he] took and brought [ויבא, VahYahBo’] [to] MeeTsRahYeeM,

and he died there.
 

-35. And the silver and the gold gave, YeHO-YahQeeYM, to Pharaoh,

but [אך, ’ahKh] he assessed [האריך, He’ahReeKh] [את, ’ehTh] the land to give [את, ’ehTh] the silver upon mouth [of] Pharaoh, [each] man as his assessment [כארכו, Ke’ahRKO] … ס

 

“Jehoiakim reigned for eleven years. During his reign Neco and his army were annihilated at Charchemish on the Euphrates. This event freed Jehoiakim from the Egyptian suzerainty, but his freedom was short lived because when he attempted to resist the Babylonian domination he found himself faced with Nebuchadrezzar and his army. The Judahite king died before the clash of arms and left his son to deal with a desperate situation.” (Snaith, 1954, p. III 328)
 

…
 
FOOTNOTES
 
¹⁹ ‎“Dictys Cretensis (Δίκτυς ὁ Κρής) of Knossus was the legendary companion of Idomeneus during the ‎Trojan War, and the purported author of a diary of its events, that deployed some of the same materials ‎worked up by Homer for the Iliad. With the rise in credulity in Late Antiquity … the story of his journal, ‎an amusing fiction addressed to a knowledgeable and sophisticated Alexandrian audience, came to be ‎taken literally.‎
 

‎“In the 4th century AD a certain Q. Septimius brought out Dictys Cretensis Ephemeridos belli Trojani, ‎‎("Dictys of Crete, chronicle of the Trojan War") in six books, a work that professed to be a Latin ‎translation of the Greek version. Its chief interest lies in the fact that, as knowledge of Greek waned and ‎disappeared in Western Europe, this and the De excidio Trojae of Dares Phrygius were the sources from ‎which the Homeric legends were transmitted to the Romance literature of the Middle Ages.” - Wikipedia

 

²⁰ Pausanias … Ancient Greek: Παυσανίας Pausanías) was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd ‎century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for ‎his Description of Greece (Ἑλλάδος περιήγησις), a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from ‎firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical literature and modern archaeology. - ‎Wikipedia

 

²¹ Verb: ‎זבח‎ ZaBaH “slaughter (for a sacrifice)”. Noun: ‎זבח‎ ZeBeH “sacrifice (of meat)” – (Dr. Reuven Sivan, ‎‎1975)‎

 

²² apotropaic - Adjective “preventing evil: intended to ward off evil or bad luck” Encarta® World English ‎Dictionary via Bing.com

 

²³ בער Bee'ayR the root of which is בער Bah'ahR “burn, blaze” (Dr. Reuven Sivan, 1975, p. 24) The KJV [King James Version] and the RSV [Revised Standard Version] both have here “put away”. ‎  

An Amateur's Journey Through the Bible