Josiah Firth

Josiah Clifton Firth (27 October 1826 – 11 December 1897) was a New Zealand farmer, businessman and politician who had a brief brush with fame as the messenger between Te Kooti and the New Zealand Government during Te Kooti's War.

Biography

Born in Clifton, West Yorkshire, England, Firth Came from a family background interested in farmimg and industrial development. He had a well rounded Education. He moved to New Zealand in the early 1850s and settled in Auckland where he began making bricks and also took a one third interest in a steam powered flour mill in 1856. In 1859 he made his first visit to Matamata where he met and became friendly with Wiremu Tamihana, the King Maker.

In Auckland he was one of a small group of highly influential business men such as John Logan Campbell, Frederick Whitaker and Thomas Morrin. They had significant influence on The Bank of New Zealand and the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company. Firth was always able to borrow finance to capitalize his many innovative schemes.

Josiah

Josiah or Yoshiyahu (/dʒoʊˈsaɪ.ə/ or /dʒəˈzaɪ.ə/;Hebrew: יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ, Modern Yoshiyyáhu, Tiberian Yôšiyyāhû, literally meaning "healed by Yah" or "supported of Yah"; Latin: Iosias; c. 649–609 BCE) was a king of Judah (641–609 BCE), according to the Hebrew Bible, who instituted major reforms. Josiah is credited by most historians with having established or compiled important Hebrew Scriptures during the Deuteronomic reform that occurred during his rule.

Josiah became king of Judah at the age of eight, after the assassination of his father, King Amon, and reigned for thirty-one years, from 641/640 to 610/609 BCE.

He is also one of the kings mentioned in one of the two divergent genealogies of Jesus in the New Testament.

Family

Josiah is only known through biblical texts. No reference to him exists in surviving texts of the period from Egypt or Babylon, and no clear archaeological evidence, such as inscriptions bearing his name, has been found.

According to the Bible, Josiah was the son of King Amon and Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. His grandfather Manasseh was one of the kings blamed for turning away from the worship of Yahweh. Manasseh adapted the Temple for idolatrous worship. Josiah's great-grandfather was King Hezekiah who was a noted reformer.

Jehoshaphat ben Saul

Jehoshaphat ben Saul (Hebrew: יהושפט בן שאול) was the son of Saul ben Anan and the grandson of Anan ben David. He lived in Iraq during the early ninth century. Jehoshaphat was nasi and resh galuta of the nascent Karaite movement of Judaism. He was the father of Boaz ben Jehoshaphat.

Josiah (given name)

Josiah (/dʒoʊˈzaɪə/) is a given name derived from the Hebrew Yoshi-yahu (Hebrew: יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ, Modern Yošiyyáhu, Tiberian Yôšiyyāhû, "supported of Yahu (YHWH)".

The Latin form Josias was used in some early English translations of the Bible.

People with this name