Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Chronicles 34:14

"And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of Jehovah, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Jehovah [given] by Moses." — 2 Chronicles 34:14 (ASV)

And when they brought out. —This verse is not in Kings. It supplements the older account, by assigning the occasion of the discovery.

Josephus writes that Hilkiah found the book in the treasure-chamber of the Temple, which he had entered to get gold and silver for making some sacred vessels. According to Rabbinical tradition, it was found hidden under a heap of stones, where it had been placed to save it from being burnt by King Ahaz.

A book. — The book.

Given by Moses. —The Hebrew phrase, by the hand of Moses, does not belong to “the book,” but to “the Law (or teaching) of Jehovah”; and the meaning of the whole expression is, “the Law of Jehovah communicated through the medium or instrumentality of Moses” (Compare to 2 Chronicles 33:8).

To Shaphan. —Kings adds, and he read it. Those words need not mean that Shaphan read the book through, as Thenius suggests (See Note on 2 Kings 22:3).