The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 432

Hezokinh, a former King of Judah, celebrated a Passover in Jerusalem which was not merely a Passover of his own arran~ing, but the Passover (eh. xxx. 1, 2) preAcribed by tho Lo.w of Moses (vers. 16, 18), l'hnt this Pnssover, however, should have adhered more closely to the prescriptions of the lawgiver the.n e.ny former, demands no addi- tional explnnntion beyond the fa.et the.t it we.s celebre.ted in Josiah's eighteenth year (ver. 19), and after the discovery of the book of the Law (eh. xxxiv. 14, 15). The stricter ndherenoe to Mosaic regulation appeared in three thinge. 1. The exactness o/ tlie date. The solemnity boge.n "on the fourteenth day of the first month" (ver. 1), as the hook of the Law commanded (Exod. xii.). Hezekiah's festival commenced" in the second month," because of the difficulty of getting ready for the stipulated time (eh. xxx. 2, 3). The Passover proper also ended on one day, i.e. e.11 were able to eat the sacrificia.l lamb at the appointed time (ver. 16), without any requiring to defer their participation thereof for e.ny reason whatever (Numb. ix. 6-12). 2. The unity of the place. The feast we.s held in Jerusalem (ver. 1) by all its celebrants. The sa.me wa.~ true of Hezekiah's Passover (eh. xxx. 1), though it is doubtful if as much could be said of earlier observance11 from the days of the judges or of Samuel. 3. The completenesr, of the ritual. Everyl!hing was done "in accordance with the Word of the Lord by the hand of Mosee" (ver. 6): i.e. the instructions as to the. duties of the priests, Levites, and people ; as to the killing, burning, eating of the victims; and as to the presentation of mazzoth gifts for the ensuing feast, were faithfully carried out. II. GREAT IN RESPECT OF THE PREPARATIONS FOR ITB OBSERVANCE, Not greater as to amount of la.hour than were those made in connection with Hezekiah's festival; but still great. 1. Concerning the priests. These were set in their charges and encouraged to the service of the house of the Lord (ver. 2). Following the example of Jchoiada (eh. xxiii. 18), Josiah distributed among the divisions of the priesthood as arranged by David (1 Chron. xxiv.) the different parts of work required by the Law of Moses in the celebration of the Passover, i.e. he set them "according to their daily courses, being arrayed in long garments, in the temple of the Lord" (1 Esdr. i. 2); after which he strengthened them for their labours by detailed instructions as to their duties, and by encouraging exhorto.tions to its faithful performance. 2. Concerning the Levites. These were: (1) Defined as to their official work and character; in respect of the former being called " teachers of all Israel" ( cf. eh. xvii. 8, 9 ; N eh. viii. 7, 9), and with reference to the latter bein.~ designated "holy unto the Lord" (Numb. iii. 12, 13)-an epithet applied also to the priests (eh. xxiii. 6; Lev. xxi. 6), and even to the people (Deut. vii. 6); an epithet expressive of outward consecration, which, however, ought in every instance to reflect an inward consecration as its ground and justification. (2) Directed about the ark, which they were told to "put," or leave (Keil), " in the house which Solomon the son of David King of Israel did build" (ver. 3). The ark, it is supposed, had been removed from the holy of holies duriog the idolatrous reigns of Manasseh and Amon by these kings themselves (Estius, Piscator), or by the priests who wished to preserve it (A. Clarke), and now was ordered by Josiah to be replaced; but against this stands the fact that the work of placing the ark in the holy of holies belonged not to the Levites, but to the priests (ver. 7). It has also been conjectured that the Levites had been accustomed to carry the ark about the temple courts during the Passover celebration "under the impression that they were required so to do by the Law, and that Josiah pointed out to them the alteration which. had taken place in this respect since the erection or the temple by Solomon" (Bertheau); but for this conjecture there is no positive historical foundation. A third explanation is that, as the Levites were no longer required to carry the ark about from place to place since it now had a resting-place in the temple, they should leave it there and give themselves to such other duties as wert1 now demanded of them (Keil). (3) Com- manded relative to themselves-to arrange themselves according to their fathers' houses and after their courses according to the writings of David and Solomon (ver. 4); to take up their stations in the holy place according to the divisions or the fathers' houses of their lay brethren, so that one of their divisions should fall to each father's house of the laymen (ver. 5); to kill the Passover and sanctify themselves, probably by washing themselves before handing the blood to the priests to sprinkle on the altar (Keil), or after they bad done so and before they performed any further duties (Bertheau) ; and, finally, to prepare, sc. the Passover for their brethren the laymen, that they might do  4'l6 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES, [011, xu.v. 1-27.