2 Chronicles 35:20–25 and 2 Kings 23:29–30
How Josiah died
Kings: Necho killed Josiah at Megiddo "when he had seen him." Chronicles: Necho warned Josiah in God's name; Josiah disguised himself, fought, was shot by archers and died in Jerusalem. 1 Esdras 1 says Necho's words came "from the mouth of the Lord" through Jeremiah. The library's Greek of Chronicles also adds material after 35:19.
Read 2 Chronicles 35:20–25 and 2 Kings 23:29–30 in every edition
Manuscript variant: witnesses differ in wording
The family tree
Each row is a language or text tradition. Witnesses in the same row may share ancestry, revise one another, or have an uncertain relationship; the line under each box says which. A solid arrow appears only where direct copying or a documented revised edition is established. Order by date never implies copying. Scroll sideways on a phone.
✓ contains it · ✕ does not · ❝ quotes part of it · ⓘ reports on manuscripts · ▢ pages lost · – no copy survives
- Same line, through lost copies
- Translation
- Related (shared ancestry)
Every witness, in order
Kings
2 Kings 23:29–30 (parallel account, Masoretic Text)
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex, quoted here in English.
he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him. And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo
No battle described.
Composed c. 4th century BC (debated)
Original Chronicles
No original survives.
Greek, c. 2nd century BC (debated)
1 Esdras 1:25–31
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text.
not regarding the words of the prophet Jeremy spoken by the mouth of the Lord
1 Esdras 1:28, KJV Apocrypha. Giguet's French of 1 Esdras reads only "the prophet," without a name. Not checked against Hanhart's edition.
Translated c. 2nd century BC
Septuagint, 2 Paraleipomena (library text: Giguet's French)
How the site knows this: Known here only through a translation.
il se fortifia pour le combattre
he strengthened himself to fight him
"Strengthened himself" where the Hebrew has "disguised himself." After 35:19 the library's Greek adds a passage parallel to 2 Kings 23:24–27. One Greek text (Vaticanus type) via Giguet's French; not checked against a critical Greek edition.
c. AD 400
Jerome's Vulgate
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Clementine Vulgate (1592 edition).
sed præparavit se contra eum ad pugnandum
"Prepared himself."
AD 1008
Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex.
כִּי לְהִלָּחֶם־בּוֹ הִתְחַפֵּשׂ
for he disguised himself to fight him
The same verb as Ahab's disguise (18:29).
1611
King James Bible
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: King James Version (1769 text).
but disguised himself, that he might fight with him
What changed, and why
Chronicles' account shapes Josiah's death like Ahab's (disguise, archers, chariot) and explains it as disobedience to God's word through Necho. Kings gives no reason, leaving the tension with Huldah's "in peace." The historical situation (Egypt aiding Assyria in 609 BC) is documented in the Babylonian Chronicle.
What the evidence shows
- Kings and Chronicles describe Josiah's death differently.
- The Greek and Vulgate read "strengthened/prepared himself" where the Hebrew reads "disguised himself."
Sources
Related lessons
- Josiah's Passover and Death at Megiddo →Josiah keeps a great Passover on the fourteenth of the first month: the ark is returned to the temple, Levites slaughter and serve, singers stand in their places; "there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel." Later Necho of Egypt marches to Carchemish and warns Josiah not to oppose him, "for God commanded me to make haste." Josiah disguises himself, fights at Megiddo, is shot by archers, and dies in Jerusalem; Jeremiah laments him.
- Who Tells History? Comparing Chronicles and Kings →Kings follows both kingdoms and explains the exile; Chronicles follows Judah and explains how to seek God after the exile. Chronicles omits the north, adds speeches, prophets and reforms, and repeatedly shows repentance leading to restoration. Its differences from Kings are of several kinds, which the site keeps distinct.
- How 2 Chronicles Came to Us →2 Chronicles is the second half of one Hebrew book. It closes the Hebrew Bible in most Jewish orders, with Cyrus' "let him go up." It cites many prophetic and royal records that do not survive. At Qumran only the disputed fragment 4Q118 relates to it. The Greek Paraleipomena translates it; 1 Esdras independently retells its last chapters with Ezra.