The reign of Josiah is important for the biblical account of the great religious reforms which began in his eighteenth year, when he manifested interest in the repair of the Temple at Jerusalem. In the course of this work the high priest Hilkiah discovered a "law-book" which gave rise to the liveliest concern. The reasons for believing that this roll was substantially identical with the book of Deuteronomy were already appreciated by Jerome, Chrysostom, Theodoret and others,[2] and a careful examination shows that the character of the reformation which followed agrees in all its essential features with the prescriptions and exhortations of that book. (See DEUTERONOMY.) But the detailed records in 2 Kings xxii. seq. are evidently written under the influence of the reforms themselves, and are not contemporary (see KINGS, BOOK OF). They are further expanded, to agree with still later ideals, in 2 Chron. xxxiv. seq. The original roll was short enough to be read at least twice in a day (xxii. 8, 10), and hence only some portions of Deuteronomy (or of an allied production) may be intended. Although the character of the reforms throws remarkable light upon the condition of religion in Judah in the time of Josiah, it is to be observed that the writings of the contemporary prophets (Jeremiah, Ezekiel) make it very questionable whether the narratives are thoroughly trustworthy for the history of the king's measures. (See further JEWS, § 16.) (S. A. C.) FOOTNOTES: [1] Or "Magdolos" (Herod, ii. 159), i.e. some "Migdal" (tower) of Judaea, not the Migdol of Exod. xiv. 2; Jer. xliv. 1. [2] See _Zeit. f. Alttest. Wissenschaft_ (1902), pp. 170 seq., 312 seq.; _Journ Bib. Lit._ (1903), p. 50.