person · P0071
Yoshiyahu יאשיהו
Yoshiyahu is the last king of Judah to receive unqualified praise in Kings. During Temple repairs, a Torah scroll is found, prompting covenant renewal, sweeping cultic reform, and a national Passover. His death confronting Pharaoh Neco at Megiddo begins Judah's rapid final decline before the Babylonian destruction.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- יאשיהו
- Also known as
- Josiah, King Josiah
- Era
- bible
- Parents
- Amon
- Children
- Yehoachaz of Yehudah, Yehoyakim, Tzidkiyahu
II. When
- Traditional
- 3285–3316 AM, thirty-one years as king of Judah
- Academic
- c. 640–609 BCE.
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈31 years
- Precision
- approximate
III. Where
- Places
- Jerusalem
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yoshiyahu became king at age eight, reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem, and is praised for following the way of David without turning aside.
Directly stated in the cited source. |
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| In his eighteenth year, the high priest Hilkiah reported finding a book of Torah in the Temple; when it was read, Yoshiyahu tore his clothes and ordered an inquiry of God.
Directly stated in the cited source. |
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| Yoshiyahu read the covenant book publicly, renewed the covenant, removed idolatrous installations, defiled illicit shrines, and held a Passover described as unparalleled since the judges.
Directly stated in the cited source. |
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| Yoshiyahu confronted Pharaoh Neco at Megiddo, was killed, and was brought to Jerusalem for burial.
Directly stated in the cited source. |
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| Yoshiyahu's mother was Yedidah daughter of Adayah of Botzkat.
The mother's name and hometown accompany the accession notice.
|
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| Divrei HaYamim names four sons of Yoshiyahu: Yochanan, Yehoyakim, Tzidkiyahu, and Shallum.
The verse gives their order within its genealogy. |
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| The two biblical death accounts differ in detail: Kings says Neco killed him at Megiddo and his servants carried his body to Jerusalem, while Divrei HaYamim says archers wounded him and he died after being transported to Jerusalem.
The divergence concerns the precise place and mechanics of death.
|
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| He was buried in Jerusalem in the tombs of his ancestors, and Divrei HaYamim reports that Yirmiyahu composed a lament for him.
The lament mentioned is not securely identifiable with the canonical Eichah.
|
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| The traditional placement 3285–3316 AM, thirty-one years as king of Judah, is a schematic Mesorah Atlas reconstruction from Kings' statement that he reigned thirty-one years and the eighteenth-year scroll episode; the cited sources do not state an absolute AM range.
The cited sources establish relative chronology or regnal duration; they do not state the absolute AM range.
|
tradition reconstruction | ★★☆☆☆ |