2 Chronicles 35:20-2

(1Es 1:25-31; cp. 2 Kings 23:29-30). The Death of Josiah

The account of Josiah's death is very much fuller in Chron. than in Kings. The features which are peculiar to the Chronicler are, (1) Neco's message to dissuade Josiah from war, (2) Josiah's disguising himself and coming to fight in the valley of Megiddo, (3) the wounding of Josiah by archers, (4) the transfer of the wounded king from a war chariot to another chariot. In other words all the details which represent the meeting at Megiddo as a battle are peculiar to Chron.

The account given in Kings is simply: "King Josiah went to meethim (Necho), and he put him to death at Megiddowhen he saw him. And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem." The Hebrew expression for "went to meet" in this passage is the same as in 1 Kings 18:16; 2 Kings 16:10; it does not suggest a hostilemeeting, though it can be used in a suitable context to describe one. The phrase "when he saw him" suggests an interview rather than a battle. Thus we have two traditions of Josiah's death: according to Chron. he was mortally wounded in battle, according to Kings he sought an interview with Neco and was assassinated by him at the town of Megiddo.