2 Chronicles 35:18

2Ch 35:18 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.

Ver. 18. And there was no passover like to that.] See 2Ki 23:22.

Neither did all the kings of Israel.] No, not Hezekiah; for at his passover the congregation was not so great, nor so well prepared; nor were the Levites and singers so well marshalled, nor the sacrifices so many, &c.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ch 35:18. There was no passover like to that — The whole solemnity was performed exactly according to the law, whereas in Hezekiah’s passover there were several irregularities: likewise Josiah furnished the whole congregation with beasts for sacrifice at his own charge, which no king ever did before him.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

35:18 This Passover included a greater number of participants than the one Hezekiah had observed. In this Passover, the priests and Levites took a prominent and proper role, as Josiah had specifically required (35:15-16; cp. 30:3, 15).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Hebrew, found.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel--One feature by which this passover was distinguished was the liberality of Josiah. But what distinguished it above all preceding solemnities was, not the imposing grandeur of the ceremonies, nor the immensity of the assembled concourse of worshippers; for these, with the exception of a few from the kingdom of Israel, were confined to two tribes; but it was the ardent devotion of the king and people, the disregard of purely traditional customs, and the unusually strict adherence, even in the smallest minutiæ, to the forms of observance prescribed in the book of the law, the discovery of an original copy of which had produced so great a sensation. Instead of "from the days of Samuel," the author of the Book of Kings says, "from the days of the judges who judged Israel" [Kg2 23:22]. The meaning is the same in both passages, for Samuel concluded the era of the judges.

all Judah and Israel that were present--The great majority of the people of the northern kingdom were in exile, but some of the remaining inhabitants performed the journey to Jerusalem on this occasion. 37,600 paschal lambs and kids were used, which [Ch2 35:7], at ten to a company, would make 376,000 persons attending the feast.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 18. There was no passover like to that] "That which distinguished this passover from all the former was," says Calmet, "the great liberality of Josiah, who distributed to his people a greater number of victims than either David or Solomon had done."

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(18) And there was no Passover like to that.—2Ki_23:22.

From the days of Samuel the prophet—Kings, “from the days of the judges that judged Israel,” of whom Samuel was the last and greatest (1Sa_7:15).

Neither did all the kings of Israel.—Kings, “and (from) all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah.” (Comp. 2chron xxx 26).

And the priests . . . Jerusalem.—Not in Kings. A characteristic addition.

Israel that were present.—Rather, Israel that was present, i.e., the remnant who had come from the ruined kingdom of the ten tribes. (Comp. 2Ch_34:33).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. there was no passover] Cp. what is said of Hezekiah’s Passover, 2Ch_30:26.

from the days of Samuel] Perhaps in allusion to 1Sa_9:12-13, though there is no word there to identify the feast mentioned with the Passover. In 2Ki_23:22 “from the days of the judges.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel,.... So exactly according to the law, so universally by Israel and Judah, and with such liberality shown by the king, and the chief of the priests and Levites; of this, and the following verse; see Gill on Kg2 23:22; see Gill on Kg2 23:23

2 Chronicles 35:20

ch2 35:20

ch2 35:20

ch2 35:20After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple,.... Purified it, and cleansed it from the filth in it, and from all idolatry, and had repaired it, and put the service of it in good order, and on a good footing, after which great prosperity in church and state might have been expected:

Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates; now called Querquisia, supposed by some to be the same with the Cadytis of Herodotus, which that historian calls a great city of Syria, whither he says Necho went after the battle with the Syrians (x); of which See Gill on Isa 10:9 and of this king of Egypt; see Gill on Kg2 23:29, Jer 46:2.

and Josiah went out against him; or to meet him, and stop him from going through his land, which lay between Egypt and Syria; Egypt being on the south of Israel, and Euphrates on the north of it, as Jarchi observes.

(x) Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 159. & Galei not. in ib.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

As Josias kept. He displayed greater liberality (Estius. See 4 K. xxiii. 20.) and devotion; and the festival had also been neglected for some time. W.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

18. No passover like to that — Many passovers had been held in Israel since the days of Samuel, but none so memorable as this one. There was such a solemnity attending it, and such a careful adherence to the directions of the law, and so many representatives of the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel… and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and withal, it was so preceded and followed by a dark record of national apostasy and sin, that it was remembered in Israelitish history as a most bright and blessed ray of light that had streamed through the thick darkness of the deepening night of Judah’s decline and fall.

The account of Josiah’s death (2Ch_35:20-27) is somewhat more fully given here than in Kings, but the principal differences have been sufficiently noted at 2Ki_23:26-30.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Upon this verse Professor Murphy says, "The Passover in Hezekiah"s time was great, (2Ch_30:26) but this was greater. For it was kept on the proper day in the first month, and was not a mere supplementary Passover; it was observed with due regularity, and not by worshippers some of whom were unclean; and if we allow thirteen persons for each lamb or kid, there were upwards of half a million communicants; while, so far as we know, there were only seventeen thousand sheep presented by Hezekiah and his princes, (2Ch_30:24) which would not supply more than half the number of partakers.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Like to that - The whole solemnity was performed exactly according to the law, whereas in Hezekiah's passover there were several irregularities: likewise Josiah furnished the whole congregation with beasts for sacrifice at his own charge, which no king ever did before him.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Such a Passover celebration had never been held in Israel

This can be stated in active form. AT: "There had never been such a Passover celebration in Israel" (See: Active or Passive)

held in Israel

This refers specifically to the nation of Israel as a whole, as it was before the northern kingdom and southern king split.

from the days

"from the time"

the other kings of Israel

Here "Israel" refers specifically to the northern kingdom of Israel.

This Passover was kept

This can be stated in active form. AT: "They observed this Passover" (See: Active or Passive)

was kept

This is an idiom. AT: "was observed" or "was celebrated" (See: Idiom)

the eighteenth year

"year 18" (See: Ordinal Numbers)

translationWords

prophet

Samuel

Israel

kingdom of Judah

kingdom of Israel

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And such a Passover sacrifice had not been made In II Kings (23:22) it is written: “For such a Passover sacrifice had not been performed since the time of the judges,” since the day that Israel was divided into two kingdoms, when the ten tribes separated from the kings of Judah and crowned a king over themselves. For all the time that they were two nations, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin made a Passover sacrifice for the sake of the Lord in Jerusalem, and these [made one] for the sake of pagan deities in Beth-El and in Dan. And this did not occur all the days of the judges, until Israel was divided into two families, and every generation had only one judge, and that judge would compel them to walk in the way of the Lord, as is explained in Judges (2:18): “and the Lord was with the judge and saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge.” And all the ten tribes would go to Shiloh and make a Passover sacrifice for the sake of the Lord. But such a Passover sacrifice had not been made all the days of the kings of Israel and Judah, that they should make a Passover sacrifice together. But in the days of Josiah, when the kingdom of the ten tribes had already ceased to exist, for since Jeremiah had returned the ten tribes, they did not crown another king, but Josiah reigned over them, and they all made a Passover sacrifice together in Jerusalem. This is the meaning of: “such a Passover sacrifice had not been performed...to the Lord in Jerusalem.” This interpretation, however, misleads me very much, and does not appear correct to me, for although Jeremiah had returned the ten tribes and Josiah reigned over them in Jerusalem, how is it possible that they did not make such a Passover sacrifice all the days of the judges and in the days of Samuel the Seer and in the days of David and Solomon, when Israel was dwelling in its land in peace and tranquility, and they had only one king, and their hearts were directed toward Heaven? Rather, this is the explanation, and this is the way Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Meshullam interpreted it to me: “And such a Passover sacrifice had not been made” ever, [it had never happened] that the king and the officers should supply enough animals for the Passover sacrifices and cattle for the festive peace offerings, and that he commanded the Levites to prepare for them and send each person according to how much he could eat.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.