Josiah Falls Before Neco

Now Neco, king of Egypt, raised an army and marched to the river Euphrates to fight the Medes and Babylonians, who had overthrown the dominion of the Assyrians, for he wanted to rule over Asia. When he had come to the city of Mendes, which belonged to the kingdom of Josiah, Josiah brought an army to stop him from passing through his country on his expedition against the Medes. Neco sent a herald to Josiah and told him that he was not making this expedition against him but was hurrying to the Euphrates, and he asked him not to provoke him into fighting him by blocking his march to the place where he had resolved to go. But Josiah would not accept this advice of Neco’s, and was set on not letting him pass through his country. I suppose it was fate that pushed him to this course, so that it might find an occasion against him. For as he was drawing up his army in battle order and riding in his chariot from one wing of his army to the other, one of the Egyptians shot an arrow at him and put an end to his eagerness for fighting. Being badly wounded, he ordered a retreat sounded for his army, returned to Jerusalem, and died of that wound. He was buried magnificently in the tomb of his fathers, when he had lived thirty-nine years and reigned thirty-one of them. All the people mourned greatly for him, lamenting and grieving over him for many days; and Jeremiah the prophet composed a lament for him, which survives to this day. This prophet also announced beforehand the terrible calamities that were coming on the city. He also left behind him in writing a description of the capture of the city that has happened lately, in our own days, and of the taking of Babylon. Nor was he the only prophet who gave such predictions to the people beforehand; so did Ezekiel, who was the first to write, and left behind him two books about these events. These two prophets were priests by birth; and of them Jeremiah lived in Jerusalem from the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah until the city and the temple were utterly destroyed. But what happened to this prophet we will relate in its proper place. [a]

On the death of Josiah, which we have just described, his son, Jehoahaz by name, took the kingdom, being about twenty-three years old. He reigned in Jerusalem, and his mother was Hamutal, of the city of Libnah. He was an impious man, impure in his way of life. As the king of Egypt was returning from the battle, he sent for Jehoahaz to come to him at the city called Hamath, which belongs to Syria. When he came, Neco put him in chains and handed the kingdom to his elder brother on his father’s side, whose name was Eliakim, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He laid a tribute on the land of about 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold, and Jehoiakim paid this sum as tribute. But Neco carried Jehoahaz away into Egypt, where he died, after reigning three months and ten days. Jehoiakim’s mother was called Zebidah, of the city of Rumah. He was of a wicked disposition and ready to do harm, neither religious toward God nor kind toward men. [g]