(22) And they that the king had appointed.--The Hebrew text is defective. We may restore it from the LXX., "and they whom the king had commanded"; or better, perhaps, from the Syriac and Vulg., "and all they whom the king sent," Three MSS. read, "and the king's princes," a plausible correction. 2 Kings 22:14 adds the names (2 Chronicles 34:20supra).
Son of Tikvath.--Heb., T-kahath. Kings, "Tikvah." The LXX., ?????, the Syriac, Tekwa, and the Vulg., Thecuath, show that Tikvah or Tikvath is right. (The final h and th of Chronicles arise from blending these two equivalent spellings.)
Son of Hasrah.--Kings, son of Harhas. So the LXX., Apay; but the Syriac (Hasda) and Vulg. support Hasrah.
In the college.--In the second quarter y i.e., the lower city.
To that effect.--2 Chronicles 32:15 ("on this manner"). Added by the chronicler. The differences in the text of the oracle which follows are mostly due to alteration of the original, which is more exactly given in Kings.
Verse 22. - The question may suggest itself, Why was not Jeremiah (2 Chronicles 35:25; 2 Chronicles 36:21) at once consulted? Probably he was at Anathoth, and not immediately accessible. Tikvath. In Hebrew, Tokhath; and in parallel, Tikvah. Hasrah. In parallel, Harhas. In the college; Revised Version, following Hebrew, in the (Mishneh) second quarter (see Zephaniah 1:10; Conder's 'Handbook to the Bible,' p. 342). Nothing is known of Huldah, nor of Shallum her husband, except what lies in this and the parallel place.
34:1-33 Josiah's good reign in Judah. - As the years of infancy cannot be useful to our fellow-creatures, our earliest youth should be dedicated to God, that we may not waste any of the remaining short space of life. Happy and wise are those who seek the Lord and prepare for usefulness at an early age, when others are pursuing sinful pleasures, contracting bad habits, and forming ruinous connexions. Who can express the anguish prevented by early piety, and its blessed effects? Diligent self-examination and watchfulness will convince us of the deceitfulness and wickedness of our own hearts, and the sinfulness of our lives. We are here encouraged to humble ourselves before God, and to seek unto him, as Josiah did. And believers are here taught, not to fear death, but to welcome it, when it takes them away from the evil to come. Nothing hastens the ruin of a people, nor ripens them for it, more than their disregard of the attempts made for their reformation. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. The current and tide of affections only turns at the command of Him who raises up those that are dead in trespasses and sins. We behold peculiar loveliness, in the grace the Lord bestows on those, who in tender years seek to know and to love the Saviour. Hath Jesus, the Day-spring from on high, visited you? Can you trace your knowledge of this light and life of man, like Josiah, from your youth? Oh the unspeakable happiness of becoming acquainted with Jesus from our earliest years!
And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord,.... The Levites, who brought it out of the country into the temple, and from thence brought it to the high priest, who delivering it to the king's ministers, and they to the overseers, the repairs were begun:
and then Hilkiah the high priest found a book of the law of the Lord given by Moses house of the Lord,.... The Levites, who brought it out of the country into the temple, and from thence brought it to the high priest, who delivering it to the king's ministers, and they to the overseers, the repairs were begun: See Gill on 2 Kings 22:8. From hence, to the end of 2 Chronicles 34:28, is the same as 2 Kings 22:8.
Son of Tikvath.--Heb., T-kahath. Kings, "Tikvah." The LXX., ?????, the Syriac, Tekwa, and the Vulg., Thecuath, show that Tikvah or Tikvath is right. (The final h and th of Chronicles arise from blending these two equivalent spellings.)
Son of Hasrah.--Kings, son of Harhas. So the LXX., Apay; but the Syriac (Hasda) and Vulg. support Hasrah.
In the college.--In the second quarter y i.e., the lower city.
To that effect.--2 Chronicles 32:15 ("on this manner"). Added by the chronicler. The differences in the text of the oracle which follows are mostly due to alteration of the original, which is more exactly given in Kings.
and then Hilkiah the high priest found a book of the law of the Lord given by Moses house of the Lord,.... The Levites, who brought it out of the country into the temple, and from thence brought it to the high priest, who delivering it to the king's ministers, and they to the overseers, the repairs were begun: See Gill on 2 Kings 22:8. From hence, to the end of 2 Chronicles 34:28, is the same as 2 Kings 22:8.