2 Kings 22:3

3 Forsooth in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, [the] scribe, either doctor, of the temple of the Lord (to the Temple of the Lord), and said to him,

2 Kings 22:3 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 22:3

And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of King Josiah
Not of his age, but of his reign, as appears from ( 2 Chronicles 34:8 ) nor is what follows the first remarkable act he did in a religious way; for elsewhere we read of what he did in the eighth and twelfth years of his reign, ( 2 Chronicles 34:3-7 ) ,

that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam the
scribe, to the house of the Lord;
the king's secretary; the Septuagint version is, the scribe of the house of the Lord, and so the Vulgate Latin version; that kept the account of the expenses of the temple; with him two others were sent, ( 2 Chronicles 34:8 ) ,

saying:
as follows.

2 Kings 22:3 In-Context

1 Josiah was of eight years, when he began to reign, and he reigned one and thirty years in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.

2 And he did that, that was pleasant before the Lord, and he went by all the ways of David, his father; he bowed not, neither to the right side, nor of the left side. (And he did what was pleasing before the Lord, and he went in all the ways of his forefather David; he turned not, neither to the right, nor to the left.)

3 Forsooth in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, [the] scribe, either doctor, of the temple of the Lord (to the Temple of the Lord), and said to him,

4 Go thou to Hilkiah, the great priest, (and command) that the money, which is borne into the temple of the Lord, be molten together, which money the porters of the temple have gathered of the people; (Go thou to the High Priest Hilkiah, and command that the money, which is brought into the Temple of the Lord, be melted down, which money the guards, or the door-keepers, of the Temple have gathered from the people;)

5 and that it be given to craftsmen by the sovereigns of the house of the Lord; which also parted that money to them that work in the temple of the Lord, to repair the roofs of the temple of the Lord, (and that it be given to the craftsmen by the foremen of the House of the Lord; and they deal out that money to those who work in the Temple of the Lord, to make the needed repairs to the Temple of the Lord,)