2 Kings 23 (JND) - Bible Truth Library

B.C. 610.Pharaoh-nechoh.Pharaoh-nechoh, called [Nekos,] Necos, the son of Psammiticus, by Herodotus, was now was now marching "to make war upon the Medes and Babylonians, who had dissolved the Assyrian empire," the king of the latter being the famous Nabopollasar, who had also become king of Assyria.

2 Kings 23:33‑35• ³³And Pharaoh-Nechoh had him bound at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and laid a tribute upon the land of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
³⁴And Pharaoh-Nechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king instead of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And he took Jehoahaz; and he came to Egypt, and died there.
³⁵And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he laid a proportional tax on the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his estimation, to give it to Pharaoh-Nechoh. (2 Kings 23:33‑35)

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2 Chron. 35:20‑24• ²⁰After all this, when Josiah had arranged the house, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Karkemish at the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him.
²¹And he sent messengers to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house with which I have war; and God has told me to make haste: keep aloof from God who is with me, that he destroy thee not.
²²But Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight against him; and he hearkened not to the words of Necho from the mouth of God; and he came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.
²³And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away, for I am sore wounded.
²⁴And his servants took him out from the chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had, and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died, and was buried in the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. (2 Chron. 35:20‑24)

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Jer. 46:2• ²Of Egypt: concerning the army of Pharaoh-Necho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah. (Jer. 46:2)

Euphrates.

2 Kings 24:7• ⁷And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt, from the torrent of Egypt to the river Euphrates. (2 Kings 24:7)

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2 Chron. 35:20• ²⁰After all this, when Josiah had arranged the house, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Karkemish at the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him. (2 Chron. 35:20)

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Josiah went.

2 Chron. 35:20‑23• ²⁰After all this, when Josiah had arranged the house, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Karkemish at the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him.
²¹And he sent messengers to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house with which I have war; and God has told me to make haste: keep aloof from God who is with me, that he destroy thee not.
²²But Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight against him; and he hearkened not to the words of Necho from the mouth of God; and he came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.
²³And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away, for I am sore wounded. (2 Chron. 35:20‑23)

slew him.

2 Kings 22:20• ²⁰Therefore, behold, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil that I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again. (2 Kings 22:20)

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Eccl. 8:14• ¹⁴There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there are righteous men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; and there are wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. (Eccl. 8:14)

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Eccl. 9:1‑2• ¹For all this I laid to my heart and indeed to investigate all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; man knoweth neither love nor hatred: all is before them.
²All things come alike to all: one event to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean, to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. (Eccl. 9:1‑2)

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Isa. 57:1‑2• ¹The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from before the evil.
²He entereth into peace: they rest in their beds, each one that hath walked in his uprightness. (Isa. 57:1‑2)

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Rom. 11:33• ³³O depth of riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable his judgments, and untraceable his ways! (Rom. 11:33)

Megiddo.Megiddo, called [Magdolon,] Magdolum, by Herodotus, was situated in the tribe of Manasseh, west of Jordan, in the valley of Jezreel, and not far fron Hadad-Rimmon, or Maximianopolis.

This shews that Josiah reigned over the country formerly possessed by the ten tribes; and it is also probable, that Nechoh had landed his troops at or near Cæsarea of Palestine.

2 Kings 9:27• ²⁷When Ahaziah king of Judah saw that, he fled by the way of the garden-house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in his chariot. It was on the ascent of Gur, which is by Jibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there. (2 Kings 9:27)

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Josh. 17:11• ¹¹And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher, Beth-shean and its dependent villages, and Ibleam and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of Dor and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of En-Dor and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its dependent villages, the three hilly regions. (Josh. 17:11)

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Judg. 1:27• ²⁷And Manasseh did not dispossess Beth-shean and its dependent villages, nor Taanach and its dependent villages, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its dependent villages, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its dependent villages, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its dependent villages; and the Canaanites would dwell in that land. (Judg. 1:27)

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Judg. 5:19• ¹⁹Kings came,--they fought; Then fought the kings of Canaan; At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; They took no spoil of silver. (Judg. 5:19)

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1 Kings 4:12• ¹²Baana the son of Ahilud had Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zaretan beneath Jizreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-Meholah, as far as beyond Jokneam. (1 Kings 4:12)

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Zech. 12:11• ¹¹In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddon. (Zech. 12:11)

Megiddon.

Rev. 16:16• ¹⁶And he gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armagedon. (Rev. 16:16)

Armageddon.

he had seen him.

2 Kings 14:8,11• ⁸Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face.
¹¹But Amaziah would not hear. And Jehoash king of Israel went up; and they looked one another in the face, he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Beth-shemesh, which is in Judah. (2 Kings 14:8,11)

• God had accorded external rest to him, so that his testimony might develop in peace. It was Josiah himself who now allowed himself to be drawn into war. (“Pharaoh-Nechoh: 2 Kings 23:28-30” by H.L. Rossier)

• Through prophecy he knew that the final ruin of the Assyrian was near. Was he commissioned by God to correct world happenings or to lend his support in them?... the world punishes us for our intervening in its affairs. (“Pharaoh-Nechoh: 2 Kings 23:28-30” by H.L. Rossier)

J. N. Darby Translation

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; but Nechoh slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.