After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt marched up to fight at Carchemish by the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to confront him. But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, "What is the issue between you and me, O king of Judah? I have not come against you today, but I am fighting another dynasty. God told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or He will destroy you!" Josiah, however, did not turn away from him; instead, in order to engage him in battle, he disguised himself. He did not listen to Neco's words from the mouth of God, but went to fight him on the Plain of Megiddo. There the archers shot King Josiah, who said to his servants, "Take me away, for I am badly wounded!" So his servants took him out of his chariot, put him in his second chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. And Josiah was buried in the tomb of his fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him. Then Jeremiah lamented over Josiah, and to this day all the choirs of men and women sing laments over Josiah. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Book of Laments. As for the rest of the acts of Josiah, along with his deeds of loving devotion according to what is written in the Law of the LORD— his acts from beginning to end—they are indeed written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
As for the rest of the acts of Josiah, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? At the end of Josiah's reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went out to confront him, but Neco faced him and killed him at Megiddo. From Megiddo his servants carried his body in a chariot, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.
Significance
These are parallel accounts of Josiah's tragic death at Megiddo. Kings gives a terse three-verse account: Pharaoh Neco killed Josiah at Megiddo, his servants brought him dead to Jerusalem, and the people anointed Jehoahaz as his successor. The Chronicler dramatically expands with Neco's warning (claiming divine authority), Josiah's refusal to withdraw (disguising himself like Ahab at Ramoth-gilead), his fatal wounding by archers, and the national mourning led by Jeremiah. The Chronicler's note that "all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him" and that "Jeremiah lamented over Josiah" (2 Chr 35:24-25) connects this death to the book of Lamentations and marks it as a watershed in Judah's history.
Found via
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type
Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s)
Redemptive-Historical Progression — Kings' terse three-verse notice (Neco "killed him at Megiddo," the servants carried the body to Jerusalem, 2 Kgs 23:29-30) is expanded by the Chronicler into a theologically weighted narrative: the unheeded word "from the mouth of God," the Ahab-like disguise, the archers, and the laments of Jeremiah (2 Chr 35:21-25). The retelling advances redemptive history's storyline — the death of Judah's best reformer-king opens the slide to exile and deepens the canonical longing for the King who cannot fail.
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