2Ch 35 | TNotes

35:3 ^a The holy Ark might have been removed from the Temple during the apostasy of Manasseh or Amon.
Summary for 2Chr 35:4-6: 35:4-6 ^b The assignments of the priests and Levites mirrored the directions of David and Solomon (8:14-15 ^c; 1 Chr 24–26 ^d). The Passover animal was typically slaughtered by the offerer (Deut 16:5-6 ^e). However, because the offerers did not have time to purify themselves, Josiah continued the practice Hezekiah had begun of having the Levites slaughter the Passover animals (see 2 Chr 30:13-20 ^f). In Josiah’s time, the large number of participants also might have caused logistical problems.
Summary for 2Chr 35:7-9: 35:7-9 ^g The Passover sacrifice required lambs and young goats (Exod 12:21 ^h). The cattle were an additional offering. The totals Josiah provided along with the contributions of others were nearly double the offerings in Hezekiah’s time (see 2 Chr 30:24 ⁱ), yet less than the offerings at the dedication of the Temple (see 7:5 ^j).
35:13 ^k The Levites brought the food out quickly, observing the element of haste required in the Passover (Exod 12:11 ^l).
35:18 ^m This Passover included a greater number of participants than the one Hezekiah had observed. In this Passover, the priests and Levites took a prominent and proper role, as Josiah had specifically required (35:15-16 ⁿ; cp. 30:3 ^o, 15 ^p).
Summary for 2Chr 35:20-24: 35:20-24 ^q The narrative jumps from Josiah’s eighteenth year (622 BC) to the year of his death (609 BC). The decline of the Assyrian Empire brought Egypt and Babylon, two great powers that had long been subject to Assyria, into conflict with each other. King Neco of Egypt, who had allied with Assyria to resist Babylonian expansion, asked Josiah to allow free passage of his army. Josiah’s interception might have been the result of a coalition with Babylon, or it might have been his own attempt to establish independence from Egypt. Josiah’s death was caused by his disobedience to a divine oracle delivered by a Gentile king.
35:25 ^r Jeremiah held Josiah in high esteem (see Jer 22:15-16 ^s; cp. Jer 22:10 ^t). The Book of Laments was lost; it is not related to the Book of Lamentations.