2 Kings 23:2

Contextual Overview

¹ Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ¹ And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. ¹ And the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. ¹ Then the king gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem together. ¹ The king summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. ¹ And the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. ¹ The king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. ¹King Josiah sent word and they brought to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. ¹ Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. ¹ And thei telden to the kyng that, that sche seide; `which kyng sente, and alle the elde men of Juda, and of Jerusalem, weren gaderid to hym.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

both small and great: Heb. from small even unto great, Genesis 19:11, 1 Samuel 5:9, 1 Samuel 30:2, 2 Chronicles 15:13, Esther 1:5, Job 3:19, Psalms 115:13, Acts 26:22, Revelation 20:12

he read: Deuteronomy 31:10-13, 2 Chronicles 17:9, Nehemiah 8:1-8, Nehemiah 9:3, Nehemiah 13:1

the book: 2 Kings 22:8, Deuteronomy 31:26, 1 Kings 8:9

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 31:11 - shalt read 2 Chronicles 31:1 - all Israel 2 Chronicles 34:30 - the book Nehemiah 5:12 - I called Jeremiah 11:2 - General Jeremiah 34:8 - had

Cross-References

Genesis 13:18
So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord .

Genesis 13:18
And Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built there an altar to Yahweh.

Genesis 13:18
So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at the city of Hebron. There he built an altar to the Lord .

Genesis 13:18
So Abram moved his tents and went to live by the oaks of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.

Genesis 13:18
Then Abram removed [his] tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which [is] in Hebron, and built there an altar to the LORD.

Genesis 13:18
Abram moved his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to Yahweh.

Genesis 13:18
Then Abram broke camp and moved his tent, and came and settled by the [grove of the great] terebinths (oak trees) of Mamre [the Amorite], which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to [honor] the LORD.

Genesis 13:18
Therfor Abram, mouynge his tabernacle, cam and dwellide bisidis the valei of Mambre, which is in Ebron; and he bildide there an auter to the Lord.

Genesis 13:18
And Abram tenteth, and cometh, and dwelleth among the oaks of Mamre, which [are] in Hebron, and buildeth there an altar to Jehovah.

Genesis 13:18
So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the oaks of Mamre in Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the king went up into the house of the Lord,.... To the temple, from his palace:

and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him: they met him there:

and the priests, and the prophets; the prophets Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Uriah, who, though they might not be at Jerusalem when the book of the law was found, yet, upon this message of the king's, might come up thither from the countries where they were; the Targum interprets the word "scribes": and some take them to be the sons of the prophets, their disciples; in 2 Chronicles 34:30 they are called Levites:

and all the people, both small and great; a very numerous assembly:

and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord: that is, he caused it to be read by others, and perhaps by more than one, the congregation being so large.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The prophets - The suggestion to regard this word an error of the pen for “Levites,” which occurs in Chronicles (marginal reference), is unnecessary. For though Zephaniah, Urijah, and Jeremiah are all that we can name as belonging to the order at the time, there is no reason to doubt that Judaea contained others whom we cannot name. “Schools of the prophets” were as common in Judah as in Israel.

He read - The present passage is strong evidence that the Jewish kings could read. The solemn reading of the Law - a practice commanded in the Law itself once in seven years Deuteronomy 31:10-13 - had been intermitted, at least for the last 75 years, from the date of the accession of Manasseh.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 23:2. The king went up into the house of the Lord — Here is another very singular circumstance. The high priest, scribes, priest, and prophets, are gathered together, with all the elders of the people, and the king himself reads the book of the covenant which had been lately found! It is strange that either the high priest, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, or some other of the prophets, who were certainly there present, did not read the sacred book! It is likely that the king considered himself a mediator between God and them, and therefore read and made the covenant.