DEUTERONOMIC REFORM

great religious reformation instituted in the reign of King Josiah of Judah (c. 640609 BC). It was so called because the book of the Law found in the Temple of Jerusalem (c. 622 BC), which was the basis of the reform, is considered by scholars to be the same as the law code in the book of Deuteronomy (chapters 1226). The reform consisted of removing pagan altars and idols from the Temple, destroying rural sanctuaries and fertility cults, and centralizing worship at the Temple of Jerusalem.