Jeremiah, Josiah, Barker, and Me (3)

3. Did Jeremiah support Josiah’s Reform?

If we try to examine what Josiah is said to have reformed, we find two parallel texts, the first listing the sins of Manasseh (2 Kings 21:2-7; 2 Chr. 33:2-7), and the second listing what Josiah suppressed in his reforms (2 Kings 23:4-20; 2 Chr. 34:2-7).  The majors sins of Manasseh are all  overturned by Josiah.  I have condensed these into eight major practices which Josiah suppressed in the following list.  Jeremiah consistently and expressly condemned all of these practices.  In other words, he supports each of the major reforms of Josiah.  The following chart shows each of the eight major sins of Manasseh, the reforms of Josiah, and the condemnation of those practices by Jeremiah.

• 1- worship at “high places”
• Practiced by Manasseh (2 Kgs. 21:3a; 2 Chr. 33:3a)
• Ended by Josiah (2 Kgs. 23:5, 8, 13, 15, 19-20; 2 Chr. 34:2)
• Condemned by Jeremiah (Jer. 7:31, 17:3, 19:5, 32:35, 48:35)

• 2- worship of Baal (2 Kgs. 21:3a; 2 Chr. 33:3a)
• Practiced by Manasseh (2 Kgs. 21:3a; 2 Chr. 33:3a)
• Ended by Josiah (2 Kgs. 23:5; 2 Chr. 34:4)
• Condemned by Jeremiah (Jer. 2:8, 23, 7:9, 9:14, 11:13, 17, 12:16, 19:5, 23:13, 23:27, 32:29, 35)

• 3- “he carved an idol of Asherah [and put it] in the house/temple of YHWH”
• Practiced by Manasseh (2 Kgs. 21:7, 3b; 2 Chr. 33:7, 3b)
• Ended by Josiah (2 Kgs. 23:5-7, 14-15; 2 Chr. 34:3-4, 7)
• Condemned by Jeremiah (Jer. 17:1)

• 4- worshiped “all the host of heaven”
• Practiced by Manasseh (2 Kgs. 21:3b; 2 Chr. 33:3b)
• Ended by Josiah (2 Kgs. 23:5; 2 Chr. –)
• Condemned by Jeremiah (Jer. 8:2, 19:13)

• 5- build altars [to other gods] in the house/temple [and courts] of YHWH”
• Practiced by Manasseh (2 Kgs. 21:4-5; 2 Chr. 33:4-5)
• Ended by Josiah (2 Kgs. 23:5, 12, 15-16; 2 Chr. 34:4-5, 7)
• Condemned by Jeremiah (Jer. 7:10, 30, 8:2, 11:13, 17:2, 32:34)

• 6- “made his son pass through the fire in the valley of Ben Hinnom”
• Practiced by Manasseh (2 Kgs. 21:6a; 2 Chr. 33:6a)
• Ended by Josiah (2 Kgs. 23:10; 2 Chr. 34 –)
• Condemned by Jeremiah (Jer. 7:31-32, 19:5-6, 32:35)

• 7- making and worship of idols
• Practiced by Manasseh (2 Kgs. 21:7, 11, 21; 2 Chr. 33:7, 22)
• Ended by Josiah (2 Kgs. 23:5; 2 Chr. 34:3-4, 7)
• Condemned by Jeremiah (Jer. 7:30, 32:34)

• 8- sorcery (of various kinds): “engaged in soothsaying (fortune-telling), divination (omens), and sorcery, and he practiced necromancy (mediums) and wizardry (necromancers)”
• Practiced by Manasseh (2 Kgs. 21:6b; 2 Chr. 33:6b)
• Ended by Josiah (2 Kgs. 23:24; 2 Chr. 34 –)
• Condemned by Jeremiah (Jer. 14:14, 27:9)

If, in fact, Jeremiah opposed the reforms of Josiah, as Barker claims, why are each of the cultic reforms of Josiah expressly supported by Jeremiah, point by point?  The most straightforward answer is that Jeremiah was a supporter of Josiah’s reforms.  When Josiah is killed in battle with the Egyptian king Necho (2 Kgs. 23:29-30; 2 Chr. 35:20-25), Josiah’s sons and successors reversed his reforms, returning to the cultic policies of Manasseh, as reflected in the stock phrase used to describe these last kings: “they did what was evil in the eyes of YHWH” (2 Kgs. 23:32, 37, 24:9, 19; 2 Chr. 36:5, 9, 12).  This is the exact same phrase used to describe Manasseh’s cultic apostasy (2 Kgs. 21:2; 2 Chr. 33:2).  Manasseh’s apostasy is also described as following “the abominations of the nations” (2 Kgs. 21:2; 2 Chr. 33:2).  Josiah’s successors and their followers are said to have reversed Josiah’s policies: “all the leaders of the priests and the people increasing acted unfaithfully according to all the abominations of the nations; and they polluted the house of YHWH” (2 Chr. 36:14).  Thus, Jeremiah is clearly condemning the abandonment of Josiah’s reforms by Josiah’s successors, and their return to Manasseh’s cultic abominations (Jer. 7:10, 16:18, 32:34-35, 34:15, 44:4-5, 15-23).  This evidence means it is a very difficult case to make that Jeremiah is opposing Josiah’s reforms.