2 Kings 23:29
in 2 Kings 23At the end of Josiah’s reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went out to confront him, but Neco faced him and killed him at Megiddo.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In his days Pharaoh-necoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and Pharaoh-necoh slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.
KJV
In his days Pharaoh–nechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.
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This verse in 2 Kings 23
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Ambrose of MilanCONSOLATION ON THE DEATH OF EMPEROR VALENTINIAN 57 · Written before 397.
Nobody must think that anything was detracted to the celerity of death because of one's merits. Enoch was kidnapped, lest malice might spoil his heart, and Josiah, who celebrated the Passover of the Lord in the eighteenth year of his reign in such a manner that he overcame in piousness all the previous kings, did not survive longer through the merits of his faith. No, rather, because grievous destruction threatened the Jewish people, the just king was taken away beforehand.
This site's exposition
book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah
on 2 Kings 23:28-30
The closing formula points to a fuller record, and the narrative turns at once to Pharaoh Necho's march toward the Euphrates to aid the failing Assyrian empire against Babylon. Josiah goes out to meet him and is slain at Megiddo, a death the text gives one clause, though 2 Chron 35:22-25 adds that Josiah went disguised into the battle and that Jeremiah lamented him. His servants carry his body home in a chariot, and the people crown Jehoahaz in his place, the reform's champion buried while his kingdom's fortunes turn.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The king, &c. - The king of Babylon, who having formerly rebelled against the Assyrian had now conquered him; as appears by the course of the sacred, and the concurrence of the prophane history; and therefore is here and elsewhere called the Assyrian, and the king of Assyria, because now he was the head of that empire.
Some understand the promise made to him that he should come to his grave in peace in a sense in which it was not performed because, by his miscarriage in this matter, he forfeited the benefit of it. God has promised to keep us in all our ways; but, if we go out of our way, we throw ourselves out of his protection.
In his days Pharaohnechoh king of Egypt,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Pharaoh-Nechoh - This king is well known to us both from profane historians, and from the Egyptian monuments. He succeeded his father Psammetichus (Psamatik) in the year 610 B.C., and was king of Egypt for 16 years. He was an enlightened and enterprising monarch. The great expedition here mentioned was an attempt to detach from the newly-formed Babylonian empire the important tract of country extending from Egypt to the Euphrates at Carchemish.
In his days Pharaoh-nechoh - See the note on the death of Josiah, 2Ki 22:20 (note). Nechoh is supposed to have been the son of Psammitichus, king of Egypt; and the Assyrian king, whom he was now going to attack, was the famous Nabopolassar. What the cause of this quarrel was, is not known. Some say it was on account of Carchemish, a city on the Euphrates, belonging to the Egyptians, which Nabopolassar had seized. See Isa 10:9.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּיָמָ֡יו | beyamav | in days his | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| עָלָה֩ | ʾalah | he went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| פַרְעֹ֨ה | faroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| נְכֹ֧ה | nekhoh | Necho | H5224 → | 8 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִצְרַ֛יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַשּׁ֖וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| נְהַר־ | nehar- | [the] river of | H5104 → | 119 times |
| פְּרָ֑ת | perat | Euphrates | H6578 → | |
| וַיֵּ֨לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יֹאשִׁיָּ֙הוּ֙ | yoshiyahu | Josiah | H2977 → | 53 times |
| לִקְרָאת֔וֹ | likrato | to meet him | H7122 → | 139 times |
| וַיְמִיתֵ֙הוּ֙ | vaymitehu | and he killed him | H4191 → | 839 times |
| בִּמְגִדּ֔וֹ | bimgido | at Megiddo | H4023 → | 12 times |
| כִּרְאֹת֖וֹ | kiroto | when saw he | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֹתֽוֹ׃ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
בְּיָמָ֡יוin days his
beyamavH3117 →2304 times
עָלָה֩he went up
ʾalahH5927 →890 times
פַרְעֹ֨הPharaoh
farohH6547 →274 times
נְכֹ֧הNecho
nekhohH5224 →8 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
מִצְרַ֛יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
אַשּׁ֖וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
נְהַר־[the] river of
nehar-H5104 →119 times
פְּרָ֑תEuphrates
peratH6578 →
וַיֵּ֨לֶךְand he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
הַמֶּ֤לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
יֹאשִׁיָּ֙הוּ֙Josiah
yoshiyahuH2977 →53 times
לִקְרָאת֔וֹto meet him
likratoH7122 →139 times
וַיְמִיתֵ֙הוּ֙and he killed him
vaymitehuH4191 →839 times
בִּמְגִדּ֔וֹat Megiddo
bimgidoH4023 →12 times
כִּרְאֹת֖וֹwhen saw he
kirotoH7200 →1300 times
אֹתֽוֹ׃<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
2 Kings 24:7Now the king of Egypt did not march out of his land again, because the king of Babylon had taken all his territory, from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 37:5–7
Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 46:2
concerning Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of…
- Genesis 15:18
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- Jeremiah 37:5–7
Through
Judges 5:19Kings came and fought; then the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, but they took no plunder of silver.
it leads to
- Judges 1:27
At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and their villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.
- Judges 5:30
‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil—a girl or two for each warrior, a plunder of dyed garments for Sisera, the spoil of embroidered garments for the neck of the looter?’
- Judges 1:27
Through
Zechariah 12:11On that day the wailing in Jerusalem will be as great as the wailing of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 35:24
So his servants took him out of his chariot, put him in his second chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. And Josiah was buried in the tomb of his fathers, and…
- 2 Chronicles 35:24
Through
Jeremiah 46:2concerning Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 46:14
“Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and prepare yourself, for the sword devours those around you.’
- Jeremiah 25:1
This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king…
- Jeremiah 46:14
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonLate monarchyJosiahThe boy-king who found the book of the law in the temple, tore his clothes, and led Judah's last great reformation and Passover be…
- PlaceThe NileEgyptThe land where Joseph rose, where Israel grew into a nation in bondage, where the Passover lamb was slain and the sea opened, and…
- PlaceUpper MesopotamiaAssyriaMesopotamian empire whose capital Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching and fell to Nahum's burden in 612 BC; the rod of God's ang…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, CONSOLATION ON THE DEATH OF EMPEROR VALENTINIAN 57; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.