Josiah (Hebrew origin: God healed)
(2 Kings 13:2). 7th century b.c.e.
Josiah, the fifteenth king of Judah after the partition of the United Monarchy, was the son
of King Amon and his wife Jedidah. Josiah was eight years old when his father was murdered in a palace revolt. The conspirators were then killed by the people, who proclaimed Josiah king. His reign was marked by a great national and religious revival. Pagan practices were extirpated, the idolatrous priests were killed, the necromancers and the mediums were liquidated, the cult was reformed, worship was centralized in Jerusalem, and the rediscovered Book of the Law—which scholars believe to be Deuteronomy—became the main vehicle of the Jewish religion. The abolition of local worship and the fact that the people of other cities lived too far away to frequently attend the single sanctuary in Jerusalem—except for the festival pilgrimages—created a vacuum in daily religious life, which was filled with prayer and the reading of the Law. The celebration of the Passover sacrifice was renewed. There had not been such a Passover in Israel since the days of Samuel. During Josiah's reign, the kingdom of Judah was completely independent. The frontiers of the country expanded and the city of Jerusalem also grew, acquiring a new outer wall and new quarters. He died of wounds sustained in battle against the forces of Pharaoh Neco at the age of thirty-nine. His son Jehoahaz succeeded him.
Read more biographies from Who's Who in the Jewish Bible.
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