The king in his alarm sent to Huldah the pro pbetess,' for her counsel in this emergency [HuL DAH]: her answer assured him that, although the dread penalties threatened by the law had been incurred and would be inflicted, he should be gathered in peace to his fathers before the days of punishment and sorrow came.
It was perhaps not without some hope of avert ing this doom that the king immediately called the people together at Jerusalem, and engaged them in a solemn renewal of the ancient covenant with God. When this had been done, the Passover was celebrated with careful attention to the direc tions given in the law, and on a scale of unex ampled magnificence. But all was too late ; the hour of mercy had passed; for 'the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, where with his anger was kindled against Judah' (2 Kings xxii. 3-2o ; xxiii. 21-27 ; 2 Chron. xxxiv. 8-33 ; xxxv. r -19).
That removal from the world which had been promised to Josiah as a blessing was not long de layed, and was brought about in a way which he had probably not expected. His kingdom was tri butary to the Chalchean empire ; and when Pha raoh-necho, king of Egypt, sought a passage through his territories, on an expedition against the Chaldxans, Josiah, with a very high sense of the obligations which his vassalage imposed, refused to allow the march of the Egyptian army through his dominions, and prepared to resist the attempt by force of arms. Necho was very unwilling to en gage in hostilities with Josiah : the appearance of the Hebrew army at Megiddo, however, brought on a battle, in which the king of Judah was so desperately wounded by arrows that his attendants removed him from the war-chariot, and placed him in another, in which, apparently, he died whilst being taken to Jerusalem (comp. 2 Kings xxiii.
3o ; 2 Chron. xxxv. 24). No king that reigned in Israel was ever more deeply lamented by all his subjects than Josiah : and we are told that the prophet composed on the occasion an elegiac ode, which was long preserved among the people, but which is not now in existence (2 Kings xxiii.
29-37 ; 2 Chr011. XXXV. 20-27).-J. K.
2. The son of Zephaniah, to whose house the prophet Zechariah was commanded to conduct the delegates from the Israelites in Babylon, that they might assist at the crowning of Joshua the high priest (Zech. vi. to). Josiah was probably the treasurer of the temple ; and in his house the dele gates had apparently deposited their gifts, from which the materials of the crown were to be taken. In ver. 14 Josiah is called Hen, as Heldai is called Helem ; both having apparently double names. Some, indeed, would translate in-favour, and ex plain it of the hospitality shewn by Josiah to the delegates ; but this is forced and unnecessary. Josiah's father was probably the Zephaniah men tioned 2 Kings xxv. IS as a priest of the second rank, and as one of those carried captive to Babylon. —W. L. A.