2 Kings 23:29
In his days Pharaoh-nechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him. In his days Pharaoh-nechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.
Pharaoh-nechoh of Egypt went up toward the Euphrates against the king of Assyria, Josiah king of Judah went out to stop him, and Josiah was slain by an arrow at Megiddo, after which Necho continued on toward Carchemish on the Euphrates. Josiah was the last good king of Judah who kept the Lord's commandments, and under him the rediscovered law brought national reform and the keeping of the Passover in fulfillment of the prophecy in 1 Kings 13. His death, mourned by Jeremiah, removed Judah's last stay, left the nation under Egyptian power when Necho deposed Jehoahaz and set up Jehoiakim, and hastened its fall before Nebuchadnezzar. Megiddo where he fell lies in the Valley of Jezreel and is the hill of Megiddo, Har-Magedon, the great Old Testament battlefield whose history gives the background of Armageddon. Though Josiah was righteous, his fall in battle shows that God's people may suffer and die while the wicked are spared, yet such adversity can benefit and save them, for their true riches remain beyond the reach of enemies.
Battle and Historical Setting
Pharaoh-nechoh king of Egypt went up toward the river Euphrates to fight the king of Assyria, and Josiah king of Judah went out against him to stop him, and was slain at Megiddo by an arrow, after which Necho continued on to the Euphrates. The event belongs to about 610 B.C. by Bible chronology. The mention of Assyria is accurate rather than a mistake that should read Babylon, even though it seems to conflict with the secular date assigned to Assyria's fall.
After recovering from invasion by Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal, Egypt assisted Babylonia and Media in the utter destruction of the Assyrian kingdom. Necho advanced while Assyria still existed to join the campaign and the alliance that overthrew it. That alliance is associated with Cyaxares and Nabopolassar.
Necho also used Assyria's struggle with its enemies as an opportunity to extend Egypt's dominion. In the division of the empire that followed its destruction Egypt received as her share all the Assyrian possessions west of the Euphrates, and Necho went up to occupy that allotted share. His stronghold was at Carchemish on the Euphrates, to which he was going when Josiah opposed him. Josiah refused Necho's appeal to let him pass, and the resulting battle at Megiddo ended with Josiah's death.
Josiah's Reform and Aftermath
Josiah was a good king and a decisive, devoted and zealous reformer, the last good king of Jerusalem who obeyed the Lord's commandments and kept His statutes. The chapter is the record of the revival under him, when the rediscovered law led to national reform and the keeping of the Passover. His reformation fulfilled, after hundreds of years just as the Lord had declared, the prophecy spoken by the man of God to Jeroboam recorded in 1 Kings 13. Yet he could not turn the people from their worship of the sun and Baal.
The verse belongs to the final section of Kings, which covers the remaining kingdom of Judah after the ten tribes had been swept away and continues through the Babylonian Captivity. His reign ended in 607 B.C., and its end marks the end of the Jewish observance of release years and jubilees, which could no longer be kept afterward.
His death removed Judah's last good king and left the nation under Egyptian power. His loss was mourned by Jeremiah. His death in the plain of Jezreel marked a step in Judah's downfall, which followed the people's sins. Necho then deposed Josiah's son Jehoahaz after three months and installed Jehoiakim. After his death, Judah soon fell before Nebuchadnezzar.
Megiddo and Later Meaning
Josiah died at Megiddo during the Egyptian invasion when Pharaoh-Nechoh killed him there. Megiddo lay in the Valley of Jezreel, also called the plain of Jezreel. It is identified with Har-Magedon, meaning the hill of Megiddo.
Megiddo was a great Old Testament battlefield in Canaan. It is especially associated with the death of Josiah and the death of Saul, as well as with the victories of Barak and Gideon. This historical association is the background of Armageddon, whose name is connected with Megiddo.
Though Josiah was a good king, his fall in battle at Megiddo shows that God's people may suffer or die while the wicked are spared. Yet adversity can benefit and save the righteous. Their true spiritual and eternal riches remain beyond the reach of enemies.