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What year did Josiah find the Book of Deuteronomy and implement the Deuteronomistic Reforms?
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∙ 11y ago
Josiah began his reign in 649 BCE. In the eighteenth year, or about 631 BCE, he ordered renovations for the temple in Jerusalem, and it was shortly after that the Book of Deuteronomy, or perhaps an early version of it, was supposedly found in the temple. Scholars believe the priests placed it there, then found it, in order to prove its antiquity. A very similar example of this deception is reported in the Book of Jeremiah some years later.
King Josiah made a public show of emotion at finding laws that were not being followed, and began the reforms he is noted for.
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∙ 11y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoJosiah began his religious reforms after the Book of Deuteronomy was supposedly found, probably by arrangement, in the Temple in 622 BCE.
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What was the book of the law found in the Old Testament?
The Book of Law supposedly found in the Jerusalem Temple during renovations in the reign of King Josiah is believed to be the Book of Deuteronomy. Based on this name, Josiah's reforms are commonly known as the Deuteronomistic Reforms.
Why do scholars use the term Deuteronomic history for Joshua to Kings?
Biblical scholars have established that the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Kings were all written largely by the same author. The author has not been identified and, being anonymous is now known simply as the 'Deuteronomist' after the Book of Deuteronomy. The religious reforms that took place under King Josiah, who is believed to have employed the Deuteronomist, are consequently known as the 'Deuteronomic reforms or, more usually, the 'Deuteronomistic reforms'.
Who was king Josiah?
A:According to 2 Kings, King Hezekia, great grandfather of Josiah attempted to introduce monotheism and centralised worship in the Temple of Jerusalem, possibly as a means of achieving national unity after the fall of Israel and the influx of large numbers of refugees. That attempt failed, and Hezekia's successor, Manasseh, allowed polytheism to return. King Josiah again instituted monotheistic Judaism, based on the worship of the national God, Yahweh. According to 2 Kings, Judah was from that point forward an exclusively monotheistic state, although some scholars say that polytheistic worship continued right up until the time of the Babylonian Exile. A minority of scholars say that the introduction of monotheism did not take place during the reign of Josiah, but that it really happened during the Babylonian Exile and the story of Josiah's achievemnt was written back into 2 Kings. Certalinly there is documentary evidence in the prophetic books of polytheism surviving until at least the Exile.The Bible describes how a 'book of law', now believed to be the Book of Deuteronomy was found in the Temple during renovations. Scholars believe that Deuteronomy was actually written during Josiah's reign and placed in the Temple to be found and given the appearance of great antiquity. It was this book, given to Josiah by the priests, that led him to introducing wide ranging religious reforms in Judah. The author is anonymous, but is now known as the Deuteronomist. From this, the religious reforms of Josiah are now known as the 'Deuteronomistic reforms'.
What effect did finding the book of Deuteronomy have?
AnswerWhether the book of Deuteronomy was found in the Temple, or only supposedly found there in order to add an impression of antiquity (as many scholars believe), the Bible says that King Josiah publicly expressed concern that Judah had been following the wrong path. This led to sweeping religious reforms, including the introduction of monotheistic Judaism.
Was the tribe of Benjamin pagans?
The Benjamites were said to be a tribe of the Hebrew people, and the Hebrews were in fact polytheistic prior to the Deuteronomistic reforms of King Josiah. However, the designation 'pagan' is ambiguous: for some it refers only to the religion of the early Roman Empire, while for others it refers to all polytheistic beliefs. Although the Hebrews, and therefore the Benjaminites, were polytheistic it is not usual to refer to them as pagans.
Is there a book of Josiah?
Yes, there are references to King Josiah in the Bible, particularly in the Books of Kings and Chronicles. Josiah was a king of Judah who implemented religious reforms and sought to restore proper worship of God. His story can be found in the Old Testament.
Did Joshua contribute to the Book of the Law?
No. Deuteronomy is sometimes called to Book of Law, but this was written during the reign of King Josiah of Judah, many centuries afer the time attributed to Josiah.
What is the book that was found in the Temple during the time of Josiah?
The book that was allegedly found in the Temple during the time of Josiah is believed to have been the Book of Deuteronomy. Scholars believe that King Josiah commissioned the Deuteronomist to write the book, and that it was hidden in the Temple with the intention that it would be found and portrayed as of great antiquity.
What did Josiah have destroyed when he found the book of Deuteronomy?
After Hilkiah brought the "book of the law" to King Josiah, and the prophetess, Huldah, explained its significance, he destroyed all the articles in the temple that were made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry host. However, our texts do not say that the "book of the law" was Deuteronomy. That is an interpretation of the evidence postulated by scholars, who also approach the question from a number of different points of view, some conservative, and some not-so-conservative. Personally, I do not think the "book of the law" was Deuteronomy. It is more likely that the text found included part of a text that dealt with the correct celebration of the Passover (such as is now found in Numbers 28:16-25). Josiah already "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord," so he did not really need the "book of the law" to know that the temple should be purged; similar reforms had been done in Hezekiah's day. The specific and new reform he instituted was related to the Passover, which the writer of 2 Kings believed had never been correctly carried out before Josiah's time.
How was Josiah's reform similar to the law of Moses?
Scripturally, the questioner may read about King Josiah in 2 Kings 23. Josiah assembled the people to RENEW the covenant given to Moses. Like Moses and Joshua before him, King Josiah followed the ancient standards for godly leadership (Joshua 8:34, 35). He read from the 'Book of the Covenant' (Exodus 24:3-8) which Moses had written all of God's commands on this probable scroll. This was placed on the side of the Ark while the Commandment tablets were placed within the Ark. As writing was a rare talent which Moses acquired while a Prince of Egypt, the people generally could not read or write therefore they responded that they would follow all the Commands God spoke - hence the strong oral tradition. Reading 2 Chronicles 35:1-9, shows the king's own spiritual reaction and the reforms that he enacted. This suggest that the texts dealing with the covenant obligations and the sanctions (Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28) were part of the public reading.
Why was Deuteronomy written?
Tradition says that Moses not only wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, but the Book of Deuteronomy as well, which raises the question of why he would write another book containing much of the same historical narrative and laws and even use a different authorship style in doing so.It appears that Deuteronomy was the book of law that 2 Kings 22:8 describes as 'found' by Hilkiah, the high priest, in the Temple, presumably to give the book the appearance of great antiquity. In case we feel that we should never doubt the religious authorities on these matters, this was not the only time that a scroll was first hidden, then found, so as to disguise its authorship. Jeremiah chapter 36 even tells how just a few years later, the scribes hid another scroll in the Temple, to be found and read to the king. The Book of Jeremiah demonstrates that the religious authorities were well aware of the practice.There are good reasons for believing that Deuteronomy was written during the seventh century BCE and given to the people of Judah as part of the Deuteronomistic reforms being undertaken by King Josiah.
What is meant by the term Deuteronomic History?
The Hebrew Bible is almost always thought of as a record of a great monotheistic religion, sometimes beset by the rebelliousness of the Israelites, who kept introducing polytheistic gods. However, a close analysis of the Old Testament quickly shows that it is really a record of a polytheistic religion, superficially redacted to remove some of the polytheistic influences and provide a gloss of monotheism. The Bible itself provides the best clues as to how this transformation came about.After the fall of Israel, large numbers of refugees fled south into the much smaller kingdom of Judah, bringing with them different cultural and religious influences. King Hezekiah saw the need for national unity, including unity of religion. He centralised the religion and destroyed places and objects of worship that were outside of the control of the Jerusalem Temple and its priesthood. Subsequent kings of Judah, influenced by their Assyrian overlords, restored the places and objects of worship outside the temple. However, Hezekiah's great grandson Josiah instituted a new reform, now known as the Deuteronomistic reform.According to 2 Kings, in 622/621 BCE, Josiah's high priest Hilkiah found the "book of laws" in the Temple, a mainly spartan and empty building where it had supposedly lain unnoticed for centuries. Having read the text, King Josiah again centralised the religion and destroyed places and objects of worship which were neither the Jerusalem Temple nor specified to be housed in it. Scholars say that the "book of laws" was the Book of Deuteronomy, written by an anonymous source now known as the Deuteronomist ('D' source) at Josiah's instigation and "found" to justify his actions.The Deuteronomist went on the write the Deuteronomic History (Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Kings). Regardless of the king having instigated the Deuteronomistic reforms, the text show that the religious establishment put their own stamp on the contents, justifying the power of the priesthood. There is an underlying unity of content, style and language throughout the books of the History. They are all written in the same, relatively late Hebrew language and each book begins its story as the previous book closes, with no noticeable gap or overlap in the narrative.The term "Deuteronomistic History" was first used by Martin Noth in 1943. In modern usage, it is also called the Deuteronomic History.
