No such passover had been kept since …: These words may be understood in two different ways:

• (1) The festival of Passover had not been properly celebrated since the days of the judges since it was to be celebrated only at the Temple in Jerusalem. The books of 1–2 Kings do not indicate that any other kings prior to Josiah celebrated the Passover. However, according to 2 Chr 30, King Hezekiah had earlier celebrated the Passover in his religious reforms. If the account in 2 Chronicles is accepted as historically accurate, then these words in verse 22 must mean that no comparable Passover had been held since the days of the judges. But the reference to Hezekiah’s reforms in 2 Kgs 18.4 does not mention the Passover. The sense, therefore, seems to be that prior to this time, families had had local celebrations of the festival, but now the Passover was celebrated only at a central shrine as it was at the time just after Israel entered the Promised Land (see Josh 5.10-11). Note that verse 23 emphasizes that the Passover was celebrated in Jerusalem (see the comments on the preceding verse). If this is the intended sense, it still does not agree with the account in 2 Chr 30, which states that Hezekiah celebrated the Passover in Jerusalem.

• (2) The festival of Passover had not been celebrated anywhere since the days of the judges. If the text in 2 Chronicles is not accepted as historically accurate, then the sense may be that there was no celebration of the Passover at all during these years since the judges ruled.

The Hebrew wording seems to support the first of these two interpretations, and translators may wish to convey the idea by saying something like “For the Passover Feast had not been celebrated in this way since….” If, however, the second interpretation is followed, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente may provide a helpful model for the whole verse:

• For all the time of the kings of Israel and Judah, the Passover had no longer been celebrated: the last time it had been celebrated was in the time when Israel was ruled by the judges.

The days of the judges who judged Israel: The noun judges and the verb judged present special problems because of the rather limited meaning of the terms in ordinary English. The Hebrew words rendered here refer to the period in Israel’s history before there was a king. While the rulers at that time certainly decided legal matters, their function was much broader. It may therefore be misleading in many languages to translate judges and judged literally with technical, judicial terms. The same Hebrew verb that is found here is translated “govern” in 1 Kgs 3.9 and 2 Kgs 15.5. Contemporary English Version avoids both the noun and the verb by translating the last half of the verse as “since kings ruled Israel and Judah.” This model has much to recommend it in other languages.

During all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah: This is merely a way of reinforcing what has already been said. The absence of any such Passover celebration covered the entire period from the time that the monarchy had been established down to the time of Josiah more than three hundred years later.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .