2 Chronicles 35:1-19

2 Chronicles 35:1-19

[1] Moreover Josiah  kept  a passover  unto the LORD  in Jerusalem:  and they killed  the passover  on the fourteenth  day of the first  month.  [2] And he set  the priests  in their charges,  and encouraged  them to the service  of the house  of the LORD,  [3] And said  unto the Levites  that taught  all Israel,  which were holy  unto the LORD,  Put  the holy  ark  in the house  which Solomon  the son  of David  king  of Israel  did build;  it shall not be a burden  upon your shoulders:  serve  now the LORD  your God,  and his people  Israel,  [4] yourselves by the houses  of your fathers,  after your courses,  according to the writing  of David  king  of Israel,  and according to the writing  of Solomon  his son.  [5] And stand in  the holy  place according to the divisions  of the families  of the fathers  of your brethren  the people,  and after the division  of the families  of the Levites.  [6] So kill  the passover,  and sanctify  yourselves, and prepare  your brethren,  that they may do  according to the word  of the LORD  by the hand  of Moses.  [7] And Josiah  gave  to the people,  of the flock,  lambs  and kids,  all for the passover offerings,  for all that were present,  to the number  of thirty  thousand,  and three  thousand  bullocks:  these were of the king's  substance.  [8] And his princes  gave  willingly  unto the people,  to the priests,  and to the Levites:  Hilkiah  and Zechariah  and Jehiel,  rulers  of the house  of God,  gave  unto the priests  for the passover offerings  two thousand  and six  hundred  small cattle, and three  hundred  oxen.  [9] Conaniah  also, and Shemaiah  and Nethaneel,  his brethren,  and Hashabiah  and Jeiel  and Jozabad,  chief  of the Levites,  gave  unto the Levites  for passover offerings  five  thousand  small cattle, and five  hundred  oxen.  [10] So the service  was prepared,  and the priests  stood  and the Levites  in their courses,  according to the king's  commandment.  [11] And they killed  the passover,  and the priests  sprinkled  the blood from their hands,  and the Levites  flayed  [12] And they removed  the burnt offerings,  that they might give  according to the divisions  of the families  of the people,  to offer  unto the LORD,  as it is written  in the book  of Moses.  And so did they with the oxen.  [13] And they roasted  the passover  with fire  according to the ordinance:  but the other holy  offerings sod  they in pots,  and in caldrons,  and in pans,  and divided them speedily  among all the people.  [14] And afterward  they made ready  for themselves, and for the priests:  the sons  of Aaron  were busied in offering  of burnt offerings  and the fat  until night;  therefore the Levites  prepared  for themselves, and for the priests  the sons  of Aaron.  [15] And the singers  the sons  of Asaph  were in their place,  according to the commandment  of David,  and Asaph,  and Heman,  and Jeduthun  the king's  seer;  and the porters  waited at every gate;  they might not depart  from their service;  for their brethren  the Levites  prepared  for them. [16] So all the service  of the LORD  was prepared  the same day,  to keep  the passover,  and to offer  burnt offerings  upon the altar  of the LORD,  according to the commandment  of king  Josiah.  [17] And the children  of Israel  that were present  kept  the passover  at that time,  and the feast  of unleavened bread  seven  days.  [18] And there was no passover  like  to that kept  in Israel  from the days  of Samuel  the prophet;  neither did  all the kings  of Israel  keep  such a passover  as Josiah  kept,  and the priests,  and the Levites,  and all Judah  and Israel  that were present,  and the inhabitants  of Jerusalem.  [19] In the eighteenth  year  of the reign  of Josiah  was this passover  kept. 

What does 2 Chronicles 35:1-19 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

As Hezekiah had done, Josiah led his people in observing the Passover, that greatest feast of Israel that commemorated her redemption from Egyptian slavery. Josiah"s Passover was even greater than Hezekiah"s, which Hezekiah had put together quickly ( 2 Chronicles 35:18; cf. 2 Chronicles 29:36). Josiah offered almost twice as many sacrifices as Hezekiah did ( 2 Chronicles 30:24), but far fewer than Solomon did at the temple dedication ( 2 Chronicles 7:5). The writer"s attention to detail reflects his intense interest in Josiah"s concern that the people worship Yahweh properly. [1] All that the writer recorded between 2 Chronicles 34:8 and 2 Chronicles 35:19 happened when Josiah was26 years old. The phrase "in the eighteenth year of his reign" forms an inclusio for the section.