Ezekiel 6 Footnotes

6:4 Josiah, the last good king of Judah (640–609 BC), led a revival of Israelite faith that was a valiant attempt to eradicate idolatry and restore true worship (2Kg 23:4-23; 2Ch 34:3-34). The revival began when Hilkiah, the high priest, found the book of the law in the temple where it had been forgotten and neglected. Because neither the priests nor people cooperated, Josiah’s reforms were largely superficial. Pharaoh Neco killed him in 609 BC on his way to confront the Babylonians. After Josiah died, the people openly returned to idolatry.