In 640 BCE, the Neo-Assyrian Empire still dominated much of the Near East, but signs of decline were already becoming apparent. King Ashurbanipal had strained Assyria’s military resources fighting a civil war against his brother Šamaš-šuma-ukīn in Babylonia and launching several devastating campaigns into Elam. Meanwhile, nomadic invaders threatened the empire’s frontiers, Egypt was re-emerging as a major rival, and Assyria’s grip on the Levant was weakening.
It was against this unstable backdrop that eight-year-old Josiah ascended the throne of Judah. Since the reign of Ahaz in the 730s BCE, Judah’s kings had acknowledged Assyrian overlordship, paying tribute and pledging loyalty to the Assyrian king. As Assyrian power declined, however, Judah gained greater freedom of action. This presented Josiah with an opportunity to redefine not only his kingdom’s political position, but perhaps also its relationship with its God.
Continue reading “From imperial oath to divine covenant”