Josiah
King of Judah
Reign	641/640 to 610/609 BC
Born	c. 648 BC
Birthplace	probably Jerusalem
Died	Tammuz (June/July) 609 BC
Place of death	Jerusalem
Royal House	House of David
Father	Amon
Mother	Jedidah

Josiah or Yoshiyahu ( /dʒoʊˈsaɪ.ə/ or /dʒəˈzaɪ.ə/;^[1][2] Hebrew: יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ, Modern Yoshiyyáhu Tiberian Yôšiyyāhû, literally meaning "healed by Yahweh" or "supported of Yahweh"; Greek: Ιωσιας; Latin: Josias; c. 649–609 BC) was a king of Judah (641–609 BC) who instituted major reforms. Josiah is credited by most historians with having established or compiled important Jewish scriptures during the Deuteronomic reform that occurred during his rule.

Josiah became king of Judah at the age of eight, after the assassination of his father, King Amon, and reigned for thirty-one years,^[3] from 641/640 to 610/609 BC.^[4]

He is also one of the kings mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew.

Family[link]

Josiah was the son of King Amon and Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. His grandfather Manasseh was one of the kings blamed for turning away from the worship of Yahweh. Manasseh adapted the Temple for idolatrous worship. Josiah's great-grandfather was King Hezekiah who was a noted reformer.

Josiah had four sons: Johanan, Eliakim (born c. 634 BC) by Zebudah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah, Mattanyahu (c. 618 BC) and Shallum (633/632 BC) both by Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.^[5]

Shallum succeeded Josiah as king of Judah, under the name Jehoahaz.^[6] Shallum was succeeded by Eliakim, under the name Jehoiakim,^[7] who was succeeded by his own son Jeconiah;^[8] then Jeconiah was succeeded to the throne by Mattanyahu, under the name Zedekiah.^[9] Zedekiah was the last king of Judah before the kingdom was conquered by Babylon and the people exiled.

Religious reforms[link]

Closer view of the inner court and House of the Temple of Solomon (house of the Lord) as depicted in a 3-D computer model.

A sketch of the Temple of Solomon (house of the Lord) based on descriptions in the Tanakh.

View of the Temple of Solomon (house of the Lord) with ceiling removed as depicted in a 3-D computer model.

In the eighteenth year of his rule, Josiah ordered the High Priest Hilkiah to use the tax money which had been collected over the years to renovate the temple. It was during this time that Hilkiah discovered the Book of the Law. While Hilkiah was clearing the treasure room of the Temple ^[10] he found a scroll described as "the book of the Law" ^[11] or as "the book of the law of Yahweh by the hand of Moses".^[10] The phrase "the book of the Torah" (ספר התורה) in 2 Kings 22:8 is identical to the phrase used in Joshua 1:8 and 8:34 to describe the sacred writings that Joshua had received from Moses. The book is not identified in the text as the Torah and many scholars believe this was either a copy of the Book of Deuteronomy or a text that became a part of Deuteronomy as we have it per De Wette's suggestion in 1805.

Hilkiah brought this scroll to Josiah's attention, and the king ordered it read to a crowd in Jerusalem. He is praised for this piety by the prophetess Huldah, who made the prophecy that all involved would die without having to see God's judgment on Judah for the sins they had committed in prior generations.^[12][13]

Josiah encouraged the exclusive worship of Yahweh and outlawed all other forms of worship.2 Kings 23 According to the biblical account, Josiah destroyed the living quarters for male cult prostitutes which were in the Temple,^[14] and also destroyed pagan objects related to the worship of Baal or Asherah, "and all the hosts of the heavens". Josiah had living pagan priests executed and even had the bones of the dead priests of Bethel exhumed from their graves and burned on their altars, which was viewed as an extreme act of desecration. Josiah also reinstituted the Passover celebrations, such magnitude of which the Biblical account states had not been observed since before the days of the judges. (2 Kings 23:21-23)

According to 1 Kings 13:1-3 an unnamed "man of God" Iddo had prophesied to King Jeroboam of Israel, approximately three hundred years earlier, that "a son named Josiah will be born to the house of David" and that he would destroy the altar at Bethel. And the only exception to this destruction was for the grave of an unnamed prophet he found in Bethel (2 Kings 23:15-19), who had foretold that these religious sites Jeroboam erected would one day be destroyed (see 1 Kings 13). Josiah ordered the double grave of the "man of God" and of the Bethel prophet to be let alone as these prophecies had come true.

According to the later account in 2 Chronicles, Josiah even destroyed altars and images of pagan deities in cities of the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim, "and Simeon, as far as Naphtali" (2 Chronicles 34:6-7), which were outside of his kingdom, Judah, and returned the Ark of the Covenant to the Temple.^[15] (see List of Artifacts Significant to the Bible).

Foreign relations[link]

Pharaoh Necho II

When Josiah became king of Judah in about 641/640 BC, the international situation was in flux. To the east, the Assyrian Empire was beginning to disintegrate, the Babylonian Empire had not yet risen to replace it, and Egypt to the west was still recovering from Assyrian rule. In this power vacuum, Jerusalem was able to govern itself for the time being without foreign intervention.

In the spring of 609 BC, Pharaoh Necho II personally led a sizable army up to the Euphrates River to aid the Assyrians.[1][2] Taking the coast route Via Maris into Syria at the head of a large army, consisting mainly of his mercenaries, and supported by his Mediterranean fleet along the shore, Necho passed the low tracts of Philistia and Sharon. However, the passage over the ridge of hills which shuts in on the south of the great Jezreel Valley was blocked by the Judean army led by Josiah, who may have considered that the Assyrians and Egyptians were weakened by the death of the pharaoh Psamtik I only a year earlier (610 BC), who had been appointed and confirmed by Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal.[3] Josiah attempted to block the advance at Megiddo, where the fierce battle was fought and where Josiah was killed. (2 Kings 23:29, 2 Chronicles 35:20-24) Necho then joined forces with the Assyrian Ashur-uballit II and together they crossed the Euphrates and lay siege to Harran. The combined forces failed to capture the city, and Necho retreated back to northern Syria.

Succession[link]

There are two accounts of Josiah's death in the Bible. The Books of Kings merely state that Necho II met Josiah at Megiddo and killed him. (2 Kings 23:29) The Book of 2 Chronicles 35:20-27 gives a lengthier account and states that Josiah was fatally wounded by Egyptian archers and was brought back to Jerusalem to die. His death was a result of "not listen[ing] to what Necho had said at God's command..." when Necho stated:

"What quarrel is there between you and me, O king of Judah? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you." (NIV)

Josiah did not heed this warning and by both accounts his death was caused by meeting Necho at Megiddo. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. According to 2 Chronicles 35:25, Jeremiah wrote a lament for Josiah's passing (Not in The Book of Lamentations).

After the setback in Harran, Necho left a sizable force behind, and returned to Egypt. On his return march, Necho found that Jehoahaz had been selected to succeed his father, Josiah. (2 Kings 23:31) Necho deposed Jehoahaz, who had been king for only three months, and replaced him with his older brother, Jehoiakim. Necho imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver (about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons) and a talent of gold (about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms). Necho then took Jehoahaz back to Egypt as his prisoner, (2 Chronicles 36:1-4) never to return.

Necho had left Egypt in 609 BC for two reasons: one was to relieve the Babylonian siege of Harran, and the other was to help the king of Assyria, who was defeated by the Babylonians at Carchemish. Josiah's actions suggest that he was aiding the Babylonians by engaging the Egyptian army.^{[citation needed]}

Book of the Law[link]

The Biblical text states that the priest Hilkiah found a "Book of the Law" in the temple during the early stages of Josiah's temple renovation. For much of the 19th and 20th centuries it was agreed among scholars that this was an early version of the Book of Deuteronomy, but recent biblical scholarship sees it as largely legendary narrative about one of the earliest stages of creation of Deuteronomistic work.^[16] According to the Bible Hilkiah gave the scroll to his secretary Shaphan who took it to king Josiah. Historical-critical biblical scholarship generally accepts that this scroll — an early predecessor of the Torah — was written by the priests driven by ideological interest to centralize power under Josiah in the Temple in Jerusalem, and that the core narrative from Joshua to 2 Kings up to Josiah's reign comprises a "Deuteronomistic History" (DtrH) written during Josiah's reign.^[17] On the other hand, recent European theologians posit that most of the Torah and Deuteronomistic History was composed and its form finalized during Persian period, several centuries later.^[18]

Sources[link]

The chief textual sources of information for Josiah's reign are 2 Kings 22-23 and 2 Chronicles 34-35. Considerable archaeological evidence exists, including a number of "scroll-style" stamps which date to his reign.^{[citation needed]}

The date of Josiah's death can fairly well be established. The Babylonian Chronicle dates the battle at Harran between the Assyrians and their Egyptian allies against the Babylonians from Tammuz (July–August) to Elul (August–September) 609 BC. On that basis, Josiah was killed in the month of Tammuz (July–August) 609 BC, when the Egyptians were on their way to Harran.^[19]

Rabbinic Literature[link]

According to Rabbinic interpretation, Huldah said to the messengers of King Josiah, "Tell the man that sent you to me," etc. (2 Kings 22:15), indicating by her unceremonious language that for her Josiah was like any other man. The king addressed her, and not Jeremiah, because he thought that women are more easily stirred to pity than men, and that therefore the prophetess would be more likely than Jeremiah to intercede with God in his behalf (Meg. 14a, b; comp. Seder 'Olam R. xxi.). Huldah was a relative of Jeremiah, both being descendants of Rahab by her marriage with Joshua (Sifre, Num. 78; Meg. 14a, b). While Jeremiah admonished and preached repentance to the men, she did the same to the women (Pesiḳ. R. 26 [ed. Friedmann, p. 129]). Huldah was not only a prophetess, but taught publicly in the school (Targ. to 2 Kings 22:14), according to some teaching especially the oral doctrine. It is doubtful whether "the Gate of Huldah" in the Second Temple (Mid. i. 3) has any connection with the prophetess Huldah; it may have meant "Cat's Gate"; some scholars, however, associate the gate with Huldah's schoolhouse (Rashi to Kings l.c.).E. C. L. G.

The prophetic activity of Jeremiah began in the reign of Josiah; he was a contemporary of his relative the prophetess Hulda and of his teacher Zephaniah (comp. Maimonides in the introduction to "Yad"; in Lam. R. i. 18 Isaiah is mentioned as Jeremiah's teacher). These three prophets divided their activity in such wise that Hulda spoke to the women and Jeremiah to the men in the street, while Zephaniah preached in the synagogue (Pesiḳ. R. l.c.). When Josiah restored the true worship, Jeremiah went to the exiled ten tribes, whom he brought to Palestine under the rule of the pious king ('Ar. 33a). Although Josiah went towar with Egypt against the prophet's advice, yet the latter knew that the pious king did so only in error (Lam. R. l.c.); and in his dirges he bitterly laments the king's death, the fourth chapter of the Lamentations beginning with a dirge on Josiah (Lam. R. iv. 1; Targ. II Chron. xxxv. 25).

See also[link]

• The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts for the possible role of Josiah in creation of the Bible.
• Hertz J.H. (1936) The Pentateuch and Haftoras. Deuteronomy. Oxford University Press, London.
• Friedman, R. (1987) Who wrote the Bible? New York: Summit Books

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jewish Encyclopedia: Josiah
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Josias
• Jewish Virtual Library Josiah

Josiah Leming (born March 26, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for appearing in Season 7 of American Idol, where he was cut during the Hollywood round of the auditions, just before the semifinals. His cut followed a subpar performance, but was considered somewhat controversial nonetheless.^[1] Leming's debut album, Come On Kid, from Warner Bros. came out September 13, 2010.

Biography[link]

Josiah Leming was born in Morristown, Tennessee. He was raised by his mother and stepfather alongside four brothers and four sisters, six of whom are adopted. Leming first learned the piano when he was eight years old after his mother purchased a Casio keyboard for Christmas. He also played his grandmother's piano during visits to her house, and participated in school musicals and choirs.^[2] Described as "self-taught", he also credits an "elderly piano instructor" for his early musical education.

By 13, Leming was writing his own music. A friend introduced him to musicians DC Talk, Coldplay and Travis, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams, and The Smiths at 15. They had some influence on Leming’s musical style.^[3] When he was 16, Leming began to perform locally. He dropped out of high school and left Morristown at 17, in an attempt to both make it as a musician and find a way to support his large and struggling family. Leming played in clubs and coffeehouses throughout the Southeast while working at restaurants and temp agencies to pay for food and gas.^[4][5][6] He traveled to Atlanta, Georgia in late 2007 when he heard American Idol would hold auditions there.^[7]

He currently lives in Morristown, Tennessee.

Musical career[link]

In 2007 Leming self-released The Paperplain EP and Her EP on his MySpace page for digital download--neither EP is available now.

After leaving American Idol, Leming signed a record deal with Warner Bros. in 2008 and began work on his debut album Come on Kid.^[8] To promote the album, Warner Bros. released Angels Undercover EP in 2008 and Punk Ass Rain EP in 2009. Meanwhile, Leming recorded Come on Kid in London and Los Angeles, with the help of producers Jesse Owen Astin, Martin Terefe, Warren Huart and David Kosten. Two songs from Angels Undercover EP are featured on the album--"To Run" and "Arctic Outcry Wind".

Come on Kid was released on September 13, 2010, after some delays. "It was emotional, and it took a long time," Leming tells Billboard.com. "In order to make an album that everybody was happy with, and also that I felt good about, it took the good part of two years to kind of wrangle that in."^[9] While these delays were rumored to have been caused by contract disputes with 19 Entertainment,^[10] both Leming and 19 now say that the "disputes" were simply a misunderstanding.^[11]

Come on Kid failed commercially, which prompted Warner Bros. to drop Leming from the label in late 2010.^[12]

Leming recorded music independently in Burbank, California for three years before returning to Tennessee in early Fall 2011.^{[13] [14]} He released a new single "What You've Taken" on February 6, 2011 in conjunction with the launch of his official website.^[15] The single was available on his website for free download until March 6, 2011.

Leming plays in different venues across the country to promote his music. In addition, he does a live 30-minute broadcast on Stickam usually every Sunday at 6:30 PDT, performing his songs and updating viewers on the progress of his musical career. He also regularly updates his Facebook and Twitter page.

During a live Stickam broadcast on July 24, 2011, Leming announced he will self-release his sophomore album September 2011.^[16]; however, he later pushed the release date to October or November 2011.^[17]

Leming released three singles from his sophomore album in anticipation of its release. On September 24, 2011, he released a studio recorded version of his well-known song, "One Last Song". "Too Young" was released on October 24, 2011, followed by "Another Life" on November 10, 2011.

His self-released sophomore album, titled "Another Life" was released on November 29, 2011.

[edit] On American Idol

Leming was a contestant on Season 7 of American Idol; the producers were interested in his life as a traveling musician living out of his car. In an interview with MTV News, Leming said he was disappointed with how they portrayed his life as a "sob story". "I wanted to stand on my voice, and my own two feet," he explained, "but they wanted to know about the story and they wanted to use it. I definitely wasn't going for the sympathy vote."^[18]

He became a popular contestant after singing his rendition of "Grace Kelly" by English singer Mika. However, Leming did not make it to the top 24 for his performance of "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King; Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul refused to side with Simon Cowell in his wish to see Leming advance to the semifinals.

Leming later admitted the performance was poor. "I didn't know that song, so I was trying to make it my own, and I focused more on the words than the melody. And that's why it was kind of all messed up." He wanted to sing "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand, but was not allowed to--Leming did not know why.^[19]

Cowell is on record saying that he feels it was a mistake not to put Leming through to the next round, having stated: "We should have put him through. I was all for it. I wanted him in the competition."^[20] Leming's controversial ouster is widely believed to be one factor behind the return of wild cards to the selection process in Season 8.

Leming's popularity grew after returning to Tennessee. He gained more followers on MySpace. In addition, many label representatives called him, and producers of The Ellen Degeneres Show invited Leming to make a guest appearance, which he accepted.^[21]. Leming signed a record deal with Warner Bros.

Discography[link]

The Paperplain, self-released EP, (2007)

Her, self-released EP (2007)

Angels Undercover, EP (2008)

• 26 on Top Heatseekers^[22]

Punk Ass Rain, EP (2009)

Come On Kid, studio album (2010)

Another Life, second studio album (Fall 2011)

References[link]

Josiah Turner, Jr. (1821–1901) was an American lawyer, politician and newspaper editor from North Carolina.

Turner, one-time president of the North Carolina Railroad Company, was elected to represent Orange County in the North Carolina House of Representatives (1852, 1854 and 1879–1880) and in the North Carolina Senate (1858, 1860 and 1868).^[1]

Turner was a Whig before the collapse of that party in the late 1850s and was opposed to secession in the run-up to the American Civil War. After the war began, however, he served in the Confederate States Army, ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Confederate House of Representatives in 1861 (losing to Archibald H. Arrington), and was elected to that body in 1863, serving in the Second Confederate Congress. There, he opposed the policies of President Jefferson Davis.

Turner was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1865 as a "Conservative" but was not seated.^[2] Elected again to the state legislature after the war, he opposed Republican Gov. William W. Holden, who had Turner arrested in Hillsborough for allegedly assisting the Ku Klux Klan. Turner also used his newspaper, the Raleigh Sentinel, to attack Holden and his party. "Turner's crusade is considered to have been largely responsible for the recapture of the state legislature by the Democrats (then called Conservatives) and for the overthrow of Governor William W. Holden in 1870 and his impeachment in 1871," wrote William S. Powell. But, said Powell, Turner was "no financial wizard" and the paper ended up in the hands of the publishers of the Raleigh Observer. Eventually, they folded the paper into The News & Observer.^[3]

Turner was elected to the legislature in August 1878 and at the same time commenced another campaign for Congress, this time as an Independent Democrat with the support of some Republicans. But other Republicans could not stomach Turner due to his past reputation as, in the words of the New York Times, "the most violent opponent the Republicans ever had in this state." The resulting split in the opposition seemed to ensure a November victory for Democrat Joseph J. Davis.^[4]

In 1880, "Turner's behavior [as a state legislator] became 'very erratic,' according to an account in A Biographical History of North Carolina from Colonial Times to the Present, published in 1906. 'He manifested a special antipathy to the speaker, Hon. John M. Moring, whom he denominated as a 'gander head,' and his conduct was so obstreperous that at length the body, worn out by his unruly and unseemly proceedings, was driven to expel him as a member,' reads the account." No other member of the North Carolina General Assembly was so removed from office again until Thomas E. Wright was expelled in 2008.^[5][6]

Turner's last major campaign was another run for Congress in 1884 as a Republican. He was defeated by William R. Cox.

References[link]

• Inventory of the Josiah Turner Papers
• Under the Dome

1. ^ NC Manual of 1913
2. ^ Our Campaigns - NC - District 04 Race - Nov 09, 1865
3. ^ Josiah Turner and the N&O | newsobserver.com projects
4. ^ [1]
5. ^ News & Observer
6. ^ newsobserver.com | House votes to expel Rep. Thomas Wright

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012)

"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.

The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.^[1]