Need Help Reconciling Two Passages
Friday, November 2nd, 2007
his is a serious question being posed in this post, and is not meant to imply any attempt to stir anything up. I’m asking sincerely because I honestly have no clue what the answer is. I hope somebody can shed light on this.
First some background. As I’ve mentioned many times in the past, we have been reading through the Bible as a family. We’re not on any particular schedule or “reading plan”, but just reading a few chapters at a time. We’re just going in printed order (i.e., Genesis to Revelation, cover-to-cover).
Tonight, we finished 2 Chronicles. And as I read the last few chapters aloud, something jumped out at me that has me very baffled.
In 2 Chronicles 30, Hezekiah invites all Israel to the Passover. 2 Chronicles 30:21-26 tell us that the celebration of the Passover was so exciting that after the seven days of the feast, they decided to celebrate seven more days. Verse 26 sums up the amazing feast by saying that there was great joy because nothing like this had been done in Jerusalem since the time of Solomon.
Moving on, after Hezekiah’s death, his son Manasseh becomes king. And then Manasseh’s son Amon becomes king 55 years later. After just a two-year reign, Amon is assassinated, and his son Josiah is made king.
Josiah is Hezekiah’s great-grandson, according to the text. Just 57 years after the death of Hezekiah.
Now here’s where it gets confusing for me.
2 Chronicles 35 details a celebration of the Passover under Josiah’s reign. And 2 Chronicles 35:18 has this to say about it:
There had not been celebrated a Passover like it in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet; nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did with the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
I have added some bold to show what confuses me. If just three generations earlier (and a mere five chapters in our text) we see a grand celebration of the Passover with Hezekiah, why are we now told that none of the kings of Israel ever celebrated the Passover like this? Hezekiah’s is said to be the grandest since the time of Solomon, but the mention of Josiah’s Passover takes it back even before Saul!
Am I missing something very obvious here? Can anyone shed any light on this for me? If you can, please comment below. I’m honestly very puzzled about this oddity.
Until next time,
steve 
