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2 Chronicles 34:1

in 2 Chronicles 34

Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem.

KJV

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.

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This verse in 2 Chronicles 34

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
Compare the parallel history of 2 Kings 22 notes; 23:1-30 notes; the writer here being more full on the celebration of the Passover. The only approach to a discrepancy between the two narratives is with respect to the time of the religions reformation, which the writer of Chronicles distinctly places before, the author of Kings after, the repair of the temple. The best explanation seems to be, that the author of Kings has departed from the chronological order, to which he makes no profession of adhering.

This site's exposition

Josiah was eight years old when he became king

on 2 Chronicles 34:1-2

Chronicles opens Josiah as Kings does: “Josiah was eight years old when he became king,” and he reigned thirty-one years. The refrain that “he did not turn aside to the right or to the left” is the book's verdict on a reign across two chapters.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Pseudo-Tertullian

FIVE BOOKS IN REPLY TO MARCION 3.184-191

proposed

With zeal immense, Josiah, Himself a prince, acted in such a way As no one before or after him had ever done!—Idols he Dethroned; destroyed unhallowed temples; burned With fire priests on their altars; all the bones Of false prophets were dug up; the altars …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign,.... Of these two verses; see Gill on 2Ki 22:1; see Gill on 2Ki 22:2.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

I fear, however, that in the beginning of his reign things went much as they had done in his father's time, because, being a child, he must have left the management of them to others; so that it was not till his twelfth year, which goes far in the number of his years, that the reformation began,

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Josiah was eight years old--(See on 2Ki 22:1). The testimony borne to the undeviating steadfastness of his adherence to the cause of true religion places his character and reign in honorable contrast with those of many of his royal predecessors.

The words behind it

10 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • בֶּן־[was] a son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • שְׁמוֹנֶ֥הeight

    shemonehH8083 →109 times

  • שָׁנִ֖יםyears

    shanimH8141 →877 times

  • יֹאשִׁיָּ֣הוּJosiah

    yoshiyahuH2977 →53 times

  • בְמָלְכ֑וֹwhen became king he

    vemalekhoH4427 →348 times

  • וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֤יםand thirty

    usheloshimH7970 →172 times

  • וְאַחַת֙and one

    veachatH259 →971 times

  • שָׁנָ֔הyear[s]

    shanahH8141 →877 times

  • מָלַ֖ךְhe reigned

    malakhH4427 →348 times

  • בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽם׃in Jerusalem

    birushalimH3389 →643 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

16 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Zephaniah 1:1This is the word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:3 worksJeremiah 1:2The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah,3 works1 Chronicles 3:14Amon his son, and Josiah his son.3 works2 Chronicles 33:25But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.2 works2 Chronicles 33:1Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years.2 works2 Chronicles 24:1Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba.2 works
The other 10 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Kings 22:1–20Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.2 works1 Kings 3:7–9And now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. But I am only a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in.2 worksEcclesiastes 4:13Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.2 worksMatthew 1:10–11Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah,2 works1 Samuel 2:26And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with man.2 works2 Chronicles 26:1All the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.2 works1 Samuel 2:18Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod.2 works1 Kings 13:2And he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, “O altar, O altar, this is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David, and upon you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and human bones will be burned upon you.’”2 works2 Chronicles 34:7He tore down the altars and Asherah poles, crushed the idols to powder, and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.2 worksIsaiah 3:4“I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will rule over them.”1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 1:2

    The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah,

    it leads to

    • Hosea 1:1

      This is the word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Jeremiah 1:11

      And the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” “I see a branch of an almond tree,” I replied.

    • 1 Kings 13:20

      While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back,

  • Through

    Zephaniah 1:1

    This is the word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon…

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 1:2

      The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah,

    • 2 Chronicles 34:1–33

      Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years.

    • 2 Peter 1:19

      We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day…

  • Through

    2 Chronicles 33:1

    Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years.

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 21:1–18

      Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.

    • 1 Chronicles 3:13

      Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son,

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Chronicles

Saphan Reading the Book of the Law to Josiah, Philip Galle, engraving after Maarten van Heemskerck, 1569, Royal Library of Belgium. Public domain.
Saphan Reading the Book of the Law to Josiah, Philip Galle, engraving after Maarten van Heemskerck, 1569, Royal Library of Belgium. Public domain.
2 Chronicles: the study guide →Read 2 Chronicles 34 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Pseudo-Tertullian, FIVE BOOKS IN REPLY TO MARCION 3.184-191.

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