מלכים ב, פרק כ״ב, פסוק כ׳

God offers King Josiah a profound measure of personal comfort woven into a broader, devastating prophecy about the future. The king receives a divine assurance that he will finish his life with dignity before the impending disaster falls upon Jerusalem.

The message speaks of the king joining his ancestors, which serves as a description of his passing [מצודת ציון] and his reunion with the generations that came before him [רד״ק]. This transition carries a deeper spiritual weight as well. His soul is destined to ascend to an elevated spiritual realm, reaching a level even higher than that of his righteous forefathers [מלבי״ם]. Furthermore, he is assured that he will be brought homeward [מצודת ציון] to rest in his ancestral graves [רד״ק, רלב״ג]. This guarantees that he will not suffer the shame of being buried in a foreign land surrounded by idol worshippers [מצודת דוד].

A significant difficulty arises regarding the promise that the king will go to his grave in peace. It is well known that Josiah did not experience a quiet, natural passing; he was struck down in battle by the archers of Pharaoh Necho. The primary approach among commentators is that this peace does not refer to the physical circumstances of his death. Rather, the true peace lies in the fact that he will be spared from witnessing the horrific destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Alternatively, the promise of peace applies specifically to the nature of his burial. Despite falling in combat, his body will be respectfully carried from the battlefield and buried with full honors, completely undisturbed [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Following this revelation, the king's messengers, Hilkiah and his companions, make their way back to the royal court to deliver the complete prophetic message [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].