Specific attention is paid to the phrase of the Kings of in this verse. “none Israel” Josiah is being compared to the kings of Israel, not to the kings of Judah, and both David and Solomon are omitted from a proper celebration of Passover. Thus, Mitchell understands the phrase as being unflattering to Josiah, with a view that holds with her reasoning that Josiah’s death is ordained by God due to his preceding foolish action in Passover. Although Mitchell refreshes our view of the death of Josiah, her argument makes some critical mistakes. First of all, reading of the phrase, all (2 Chr Mitchell’s “after this” 35:20), as drawing a contrast with the temple reforms (2 Chr 34), excluding the Passover (2 Chr 35:1–19), is unacceptable. The expression often contrasts or challenges the directly preceding scene, which has usually been viewed favourably in the narrative. For instance, after their successful religious reformation, Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah are challenged by the invasion of a foreign army 2 Chr 20:1; these 2 “after this”, “after things”, Chr 32:1). It is interesting to note that this phrase often occurs in depicting following failure or crisis after a success, rather than the consequent punishment of a disobedient king. king’s That is, death might rather be understood in relation to the cases of faithful kings, Josiah’s while Mitchell seems to relate this to the accounts of evil kings. In any case, the focus of the phrase is made on the relationship with the directly preceding scene. Mitchell also claims that 2 Chr 35:18 is not superlative praise of Passover. Josiah’s However, there are no other textual clues to support the idea that the atmosphere of the passage is negatively presented. Also, to the command of King (2 Chr “according Josiah” 35:16) is not likely to mean that the ritual details in the Passover were observed according to his guidance, but that the observation of the Passover itself was done as Josiah commanded. For expanding the Levitical role, this actually happens during the temple restoration (2 Chr 34), not the Passover. Moreover, with regards to command to the Levites not to carry Josiah’s
Specific attention is paid to the phrase “none of the Kings of Israel” in this verse. Josiah is being compared to the kings of Israel, not to the kings of Judah, and both David and Solomon are omitted from a proper celebration of Passover. Thus, Mitchell understands the phrase as being unflattering to Josiah, with a view that holds with her reasoning that Josiah’s death is ordained by God due to his preceding foolish action in Passover. Although Mitchell refreshes our view of the death of Josiah, her argument makes some critical mistakes. First of all, Mitchell’s reading of the phrase, “after all this” (2 Chr 35:20), as drawing a contrast with the temple reforms (2 Chr 34), excluding the Passover (2 Chr 35:1–19), is unacceptable. The expression often contrasts or challenges the directly preceding scene, which has usually been viewed favourably in the narrative. For instance, after their successful religious reformation, Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah are challenged by the invasion of a foreign army “after this”, 2 Chr 20:1; “after these things”, 2 Chr 32:1). It is interesting to note that this phrase often occurs in depicting following failure or crisis after a king’s success, rather than the consequent punishment of a disobedient king. That is, Josiah’s death might rather be understood in relation to the cases of faithful kings, while Mitchell seems to relate this to the accounts of evil kings. In any case, the focus of the phrase is made on the relationship with the directly preceding scene. Mitchell also claims that 2 Chr 35:18 is not superlative praise of Josiah’s Passover. However, there are no other textual clues to support the idea that the atmosphere of the passage is negatively presented. Also, “according to the command of King Josiah” (2 Chr 35:16) is not likely to mean that the ritual details in the Passover were observed according to his guidance, but that the observation of the Passover itself was done as Josiah commanded. For expanding the Levitical role, this actually happens during the temple restoration (2 Chr 34), not the Passover. Moreover, with regards to Josiah’s command to the Levites not to carry