Matthew Henry on 2 Chronicles 34:1-7
Concerning Josiah we are here told, 1. That he came to the crown when he was very young, only eight years old (yet his infancy did not debar him from his right), and he reigned thirty-one years (Ch2 34:1), a considerable time. I fear, however, that in the beginning of his reign things went much as they had done in his father's time, because, being a child, he must have left the management of them to others; so that it was not till his twelfth year, which goes far in the number of his years, that the reformation began, Ch2 34:3. He could not, as Hezekiah did, fall about it immediately. 2. That he reigned very well (Ch2 34:2), approved himself to God, trod in the steps of David, and did not de…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Chronicles 34:6
with their mattocks--or, "in their deserts"--so that the verse will stand thus: "And so did [namely, break the altars and burn the bones of priests] he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, in their deserted suburbs." The reader is apt to be surprised on finding that Josiah, whose hereditary possessions were confined to the kingdom of Judah, exercised as much authority among the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, Simeon, and others as far as Naphtali, as he did within his own dominion. Therefore, it is necessary to observe that, after the destruction of Samaria by Shalmaneser, the remnant that continued on the mountains of Israel maintained a close intercourse wit…
Read the whole note in the consoleAdam Clarke on 2 Chronicles 34:6
The cities of Manasseh - Even those who were under the government of the Israelitish king permitted their idols and places of idolatry to be hewn down and destroyed: after the truth was declared and acknowledged, the spade and the axe were employed to complete the reformation.
John Gill on 2 Chronicles 34:6
And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali,.... Which though they belonged to the ten tribes, yet these being carried captive by the king of Assyria, they that were left became subject to the kings of Judah; see Gill on 2 Kings 23:19,
with their mattocks round about; or hammers or mauls, as Kimchi, or pick axes, such sort of instruments as were used in demolishing altars and images: the Targum is,"in the house of their desolation;''
and so other versions, "in their desolate places" (x), which were become such, the inhabitants being carried captive, and few left behind.
(x) "in desolatis locis suis, vel eorum", Montanus, Tigurine version, Rambachiu…
