2 Kings 22:2

And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(2) And walked . . .—See Note on 2Chronicles 34:2.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

22:1-10 The different event of Josiah's early succession from that of Manasseh, must be ascribed to the distinguishing grace of God; yet probably the persons that trained him up were instruments in producing this difference. His character was most excellent. Had the people joined in the reformation as heartily as he persevered in it, blessed effects would have followed. But they were wicked, and had become fools in idolatry. We do not obtain full knowledge of the state of Judah from the historical records, unless we refer to the writings of the prophets who lived at the time. In repairing the temple, the book of the law was found, and brought to the king. It seems, this book of the law was lost and missing; carelessly mislaid and neglected, as some throw their Bibles into corners, or maliciously concealed by some of the idolaters. God's care of the Bible plainly shows his interest in it. Whether this was the only copy in being or not, the things contained in it were new, both to the king and to the high priest. No summaries, extracts, or collections out of the Bible, can convey and preserve the knowledge of God and his will, like the Bible itself. It was no marvel that the people were so corrupt, when the book of the law was so scarce; they that corrupted them, no doubt, used arts to get that book out of their hands. The abundance of Bibles we possess aggravates our national sins; for what greater contempt of God can we show, than to refuse to read his word when put into our hands, or, reading it, not to believe and obey it? By the holy law is the knowledge of sin, and by the blessed gospel is the knowledge of salvation. When the former is understood in its strictness and excellence, the sinner begins to inquire, What must I do to be saved? And the ministers of the gospel point out to him Jesus Christ, as the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The intention of the conspirators had perhaps been to declare a forfeiture of the crown by the existing line, and to place a new dynasty on the throne. This the people would not suffer. They arrested them and put them to death; and insisted on investing with the royal authority the true heir of David, the eldest son of Amon, though he was a boy only 8 years old.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 22

2Ki 22:1, 2. Josiah's Good Reign.

1, 2. Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign—Happier than his grandfather Manasseh, he seems to have fallen during his minority under the care of better guardians, who trained him in the principles and practice of piety; and so strongly had his young affections been enlisted on the side of true and undefiled religion, that he continued to adhere all his life, with undeviating perseverance, to the cause of God and righteousness.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord,.... In the affair of religious worship especially, as well as in other things:

and walked in all the ways of David his father; in his religious ways, in which he never departed from his God:

and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; but kept an even, constant, path of worship and duty, according to the law of God.

Geneva Study Bible

And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and {a} walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.

(a) His zeal was prophesied of, and his name mentioned by Iddo the prophet, more than 300 years before, 1Ki 13:2 and being but eight years old, he sought the God of his father David, 2Ch 34:3.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 2. - And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in an the way of David his father. This is a stronger expression than any which has been used of any previous king of Judah except Hezekiah, and indicates a very high degree of approval. The son of Sirach says of Josiah, "The remembrance of Josias is like the composition of the perfume that is made by the art of the apothecary: it is sweet as honey in all mouths, and as music at a banquet of wine. He behaved himself uprightly in the conversion of the people, and took away the abominations of iniquity. He directed his heart unto the Lord, and in the time of the ungodly he established the worship of God. All, except David and Ezekias and Josias, were defective: for they forsook the Law of the Most High, even the kings of Judah failed" (see Ecclus. 49:1-4). And turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; i.e. he never deviated from the right path (comp. Deuteronomy 5:32; Deuteronomy 17:11, 20; Deuteronomy 28:14; Joshua 1:7; Joshua 23:6). 2 Kings 22:2

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Length and spirit of Josiah's reign. - Josiah (for the name, see at 1 Kings 13:2), like Hezekiah, trode once more in the footsteps of his pious forefather David, adhering with the greatest constancy to the law of the Lord. He reigned thirty-one years. As a child he had probably received a pious training from his mother; and when he had ascended the throne, after the early death of his godless father, he was under the guidance of pious men who were faithfully devoted to the law of the Lord, and who turned his heart to the God of their fathers, as was the case with Joash in 2 Kings 12:3, although there is no allusion to guardianship. His mother Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah, was of Boscath, a city in the plain of Judah, of which nothing further is known (see at Joshua 15:39). The description of his character, "he turned not aside to the right hand and to the left," sc. from that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, is based upon Deuteronomy 5:29; Deuteronomy 17:11, Deuteronomy 17:20, and Deuteronomy 28:14, and expresses an unwavering adherence to the law of the Lord.