2 Kings 23:30

30 His officers put his dead body in a chariot and brought it from Megiddo to Jerusalem. They buried Josiah in his tomb. Then the people of the land took Josiah's son Jehoahaz, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.

2 Kings 23:30 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 23:30

And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo,
&c.] They took him out of the chariot in which he was wounded, and put him into another, where he died of his wounds by the way; being mortally wounded, he is said to be dead, or a dead man, see ( 2 Chronicles 35:24 )

and brought him to Jerusalem;
which, according to Bunting ^F2, was forty four miles from Megiddo:

and buried him in his own sepulchre;
which either he had provided for himself in his lifetime, or which in common belonged to the kings of Judah, see ( 2 Chronicles 35:24 )

and the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and
anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead;
though he was not the eldest son, Jehoiakim, who was afterwards placed in his room, being two years older, as appears from ( 2 Kings 23:31 2 Kings 23:36 ) and this is the reason, as the Jewish commentators in general agree, that he was anointed; which they say was never done to the son of a king, unless there was a competitor, or some objection to, or dispute about, the succession, as in the case of Solomon and others.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F2 Travels p. 188.

2 Kings 23:30 In-Context

28 Isn't everything else about Josiah--everything he did--written in the official records of the kings of Judah?

29 In Josiah's days Pharaoh Necoh (the king of Egypt) came to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went to attack Necoh. When Pharaoh saw him at Megiddo, Pharaoh killed him.

30 His officers put his dead body in a chariot and brought it from Megiddo to Jerusalem. They buried Josiah in his tomb. Then the people of the land took Josiah's son Jehoahaz, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.

31 Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king, and he was king for 3 months in Jerusalem. His mother was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.

32 He did what the LORD considered evil, as his ancestors had done.