On my first Isaiah post (is that series dead? I don’t think so), I included a “footnote” at the end of the first paragraph which read:
5 minutes ago I finished reading through 1-2 Chronicles in two sittings. This cleared up a problem I’ve long had: was Josiah’s death at the hands of Neco the result of his sin? The answer, if you read all of Chronicles, is clearly yes. What is not necessarily clear from the immediate text is clear from the larger context. The details are for another day, but I think this a relevant supporting point.
Recently I was reading in the Apocrypha and found an interesting statement. The book of 1 Esdras is a history book that is somewhat parallel to the end of Kings/Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah. It was written hundreds of years later, and thus serves as something of a commentary on Scripture. Note what it says about Josiah’s death:
1 Esdras 1:28-31 (NRSV) “28 Josiah, however, did not turn back to his chariot, but tried to fight with him, and did not heed the words of the prophet Jeremiah from the mouth of the Lord. 29 He joined battle with him in the plain of Megiddo, and the commanders came down against King Josiah. 30 The king said to his servants, “Take me away from the battle, for I am very weak.” And immediately his servants took him out of the line of battle. 31 He got into his second chariot; and after he was brought back to Jerusalem he died, and was buried in the tomb of his ancestors.”
This is interesting not only because the author of this book interprets Chronicles the same way I do. It is also interesting because of how Jeremiah shows up. Here is what Chronicles says:
2 Chronicles 35:22-25 (NRSV) “22 But Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but joined battle in the plain of Megiddo. 23 The archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded.” 24 So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. There he died, and was buried in the tombs of his ancestors. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25 Jeremiah also uttered a lament for Josiah, and all the singing men and singing women have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this day. They made these a custom in Israel; they are recorded in the Laments.”
1 Esdras takes out any possibility for misunderstanding, by replacing the word of the Lord through Neco with the word of the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah. Why did the writer make this change? Possibly he had some extra knowledge that Jeremiah directly warned Josiah. Possibly he inferred from the phrase “from the mouth of God” that it must have been a prophet who spoke this (and not a voice out of the sky), and Jeremiah was the most well-known prophet of the day. I am not sure, but I think it worth noting that a very ancient source shares my interpretation that Josiah’s death was not a random accident, but was the result of his disobedience.