Handy/Josiah, 6. Time for a Change

This chapter deals with the literary relation of the cult “reform” of Josiah. It notes a couple major modern theories promoted as reasons for taking the religious sea-change seriously, then proposes that the world at the time does not support such a religious upheaval. That the story of Josiah's religious activity reflects literary formulas throughout cannot be used either to argue for a historical base or to maintain it is all fiction. The political events surrounding Judah would mitigate against such a wild change of religious culture.