Josiah: Judgment has been announced. It is now simply a matter of timing. At this juncture in Judean history, strangely enough, Judah finds herself with yet another righteous king—a second Moses to match her second David (Hezekiah). Josiah is a king long-awaited (1 Kgs. 13:2). He is the best of all kings, but he is a king come too late.

23:1–3  Since Josiah is a pious king, Huldah’s oracle about the future does not deflect Josiah from the path of reform. Reformation in the light of the law-book is still the right thing to do, and Josiah is one who above all others does what is right (22:2). His first move, therefore, is to gather all the people together and to read to them all the words of the book (v. 2; cf. Deut. 31:9–13). It is now referred to as the book of the covenant, for the purpose…