The Meaning of 2 Chronicles 34:1 Explained

2 Chronicles 34:1

KJV: Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.

YLT: A son of eight years is Josiah in his reigning, and thirty and one years he hath reigned in Jerusalem,

Darby: Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.

ASV: Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Josiah  [was] eight  years  old  when he began to reign,  and he reigned  in Jerusalem  one  and thirty  years. 

What does 2 Chronicles 34:1 Mean?

Context Summary

2Chronicles 34:1-11 - A Toting King's Noble Leadership
Josiah was as much better than his father Amon, as Manasseh had been worse than Hezekiah. How strange to find such a pure young soul in the heart of Amon's court! What led the boy to such moral and religious attainments? Perhaps his grandfather, Manasseh, unable to change his son, focused his prayers and influence on his grandson. It is probable, also, that considerable influence for good resulted from the discovery that he had been the subject of prophecy. See 1 Kings 13:2. He felt encouraged to apprehend that for which he had been apprehended years before. Though no prophet's voice has predicted the program and attainments of our lives, they are well known in heaven, and we are summoned to realize God's great ideals for us.
The call of Jeremiah, also so nearly coincides with the commencement of Josiah's reforms that we can scarcely regard the two facts as unconnected. At any rate the king's earlier efforts seem to have been coincident with the first appearance of the prophet-statesman in the king's court at Jerusalem. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2Chronicles 34

1  Josiah's good reign
3  He destroys idolatry
8  He takes order for the repair of the temple
14  Hilkiah, having found a book of the law,
21  Josiah sends to Huldah to enquire of the Lord
23  Huldah prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem, but respite thereof in Josiah's time
29  Josiah, causing it to be read in a solemn assembly, renews the covenant with God

What do the individual words in 2 Chronicles 34:1 mean?

Old eight years old Josiah [was] when he became king and thirty and one years he reigned in Jerusalem
בֶּן־ שְׁמוֹנֶ֥ה שָׁנִ֖ים יֹאשִׁיָּ֣הוּ בְמָלְכ֑וֹ וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֤ים וְאַחַת֙ שָׁנָ֔ה מָלַ֖ךְ בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽם

בֶּן־  Old 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
שְׁמוֹנֶ֥ה  eight 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: שְׁמֹנֶה  
Sense: eight, eighth.
שָׁנִ֖ים  years  old 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
יֹאשִׁיָּ֣הוּ  Josiah  [was] 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄאשִׁיָּה 
Sense: son of Amon by Jedidah who succeeded his father to the throne of Judah and reigned for 3 years; his reign is noteworthy for the great revivals back to the worship of Jehovah which he led.
בְמָלְכ֑וֹ  when  he  became  king 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מָלַךְ 
Sense: to be or become king or queen, reign.
וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֤ים  and  thirty 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, common plural
Root: שְׁלֹשִׁים  
Sense: thirty, thirtieth.
וְאַחַת֙  and  one 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).
שָׁנָ֔ה  years 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
מָלַ֖ךְ  he  reigned 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָלַךְ 
Sense: to be or become king or queen, reign.
בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽם  in  Jerusalem 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.