2 Kings 23:29 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

Pharaoh-nechoh, called Necos by Herodotus, who makes mention of this fight; wherein, as he saith, Necos conquered the Syrians in Magdalo. The king of Assyria, i.e. the king of Babylon, who having formerly rebelled against the Assyrian his lord, had now conquered him; as appears by the course of the sacred, and the concurrence of profane history; and therefore is here and elsewhere called the Assyrian, and the king of Assyria, because now he was the head of that empire. To the river Euphrates, i.e. against Carchemish by Euphrates, as it is expressed, 2 Chronicles 35:20, which the Assyrian had taken from the Syrians, Isaiah 10:9, Pharaoh's confederates, who therefore sendeth forces against the Assyrian, that he might both help them, and secure himself. Josiah went against him; either to defend his own country from Pharaoh's incursions; or to assist the king of Babylon, with whom he seems to have been in league, as was noted before. He slew him, i.e. gave him his death's wound there, though he died not till he came to Jerusalem, 2 Chronicles 35:23,24. When he had seen him, i.e. when he fought with him, or in the first onset. Thus fighting is called a looking in the face, 2 Kings 14:8.