“the horses.” It is unclear whether these were real horses or statues, but the fact that they were placed at the entrance of the Temple lends credence that these were statues. Josiah “put an end” to them; he likely destroyed them.

“Nathan-melech.” The name Nathan-melech appears only here in the Bible. It was announced in March of 2019 that a clay bulla (the impression in clay made by a stamp-seal) was found in the City of David inside the remains of a public building that had been destroyed in the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. The clay bulla read, “[Belonging to] Nathan-melech, servant of the king,” and it was written in ancient Hebrew script. While it is impossible to conclude that the Nathan-melech of the seal was the same Nathan-melech in the Bible, the dating and location of the find, and the status of the person himself, establish at least a very good possibility.

“colonnade.” The Hebrew word only occurs here and the meaning is uncertain, so the English versions vary greatly.