The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring out of Yahweh’s temple all the vessels that were made for Baal, for the Asherah, and for all the army of the sky, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. He got rid of the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the army of the sky. He brought out the Asherah from Yahweh’s house, outside of Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast its dust on the graves of the common people. He broke down the houses of the male shrine prostitutes that were in Yahweh’s house, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.
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The king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. The king went up to Yahweh’s house, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, with the priests, the prophets, and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in Yahweh’s house. The king stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh, and to keep his commandments, his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and all his soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book; and all the people agreed to the covenant. The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring out of Yahweh’s temple all the vessels that were made for Baal, for the Asherah, and for all the army of the sky, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. He got rid of the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the army of the sky. He brought out the Asherah from Yahweh’s house, outside of Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast its dust on the graves of the common people. He broke down the houses of the male shrine prostitutes that were in Yahweh’s house, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. He brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man’s left hand at the gate of the city. Nevertheless the priests of the high places didn’t come up to Yahweh’s altar in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. He took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of Yahweh’s house, by the room of Nathan Melech the officer, who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. The king broke down the altars that were on the roof of the upper room of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of Yahweh’s house, and beat them down from there, and cast their dust into the brook Kidron. The king defiled the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mountain of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon. He broke in pieces the pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and filled their places with men’s bones. Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and beat it to dust, and burned the Asherah. As Josiah turned himself, he spied the tombs that were there in the mountain; and he sent, and took the bones out of the tombs, and burned them on the altar, and defiled it, according to Yahweh’s word which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. Then he said, “What monument is that which I see?” The men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God, who came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that you have done against the altar of Bethel.”
Parallel Translations
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The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring out of Yahweh’s temple all the vessels that were made for Baal, for the Asherah, and for all the army of the sky, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel.
He got rid of the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the army of the sky.
He brought out the Asherah from Yahweh’s house, outside of Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast its dust on the graves of the common people.
He broke down the houses of the male shrine prostitutes that were in Yahweh’s house, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.
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And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el.
And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.
And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove.
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And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el.
And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to offer in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that offered unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.
And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the common people.
And he broke down the houses of the sodomites, that were in the house of the LORD, where the women wove coverings for the Asherah.
Cross-references (52)
- 1 Kings 15:12 (v7) He put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
- Ezekiel 16:16 (v7) You took some of your garments, and made for yourselves high places decked with various colors, and played the prostitute on them. This…
- 1 Kings 14:24 (v7) There were also sodomites in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which Yahweh drove out before the children…
- 2 Kings 21:7 (vv4, 6) He set the engraved image of Asherah that he had made in the house of which Yahweh said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house,…
- 2 Kings 23:15 (vv4, 6) Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that…
Show all 50 cross-references
- 2 Kings 21:3 (v4) For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he raised up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as Ahab…
- 2 Chronicles 34:4 (v6) They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence; and he cut down the incense altars that were on high above them. He broke the…
- Jeremiah 44:17-19 (v5) But we will certainly perform every word that has gone out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink…
- Exodus 35:25-26 (v7) All the women who were wise-hearted spun with their hands, and brought that which they had spun: the blue, the purple, the scarlet, and the…
- 2 Kings 21:3-4 (v5) For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he raised up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as Ahab…
- 2 Kings 25:18 (v4) The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold;
- 2 Chronicles 33:3 (v4) For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he raised up altars for the Baals, made Asheroth, and…
- Genesis 19:4-5 (v7) But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every…
- Exodus 32:20 (v6) He took the calf which they had made, and burned it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of…
- Deuteronomy 7:25 (v6) You shall burn the engraved images of their gods with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for…
- Deuteronomy 9:21 (v6) I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire, and crushed it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as…
- Judges 2:13 (v4) They abandoned Yahweh, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.
- Judges 3:7 (v6) The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and forgot Yahweh their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
- 2 Samuel 15:23 (v4) All the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over. The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the…
- 1 Kings 12:29 (v4) He set the one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
- 1 Kings 14:23 (v6) For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.
- 1 Kings 16:31 (v4) As if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal…
- 1 Kings 16:33 (v6) Ahab made the Asherah; and Ahab did more yet to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before…
- 1 Kings 18:19 (v4) Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and four hundred fifty of the prophets of Baal, and four hundred of the…
- 1 Kings 18:26 (v4) They took the bull which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, “Baal,…
- 1 Kings 18:40 (v4) Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let one of them escape!” They seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the…
- 1 Kings 19:18 (v4) Yet I reserved seven thousand in Israel, all the knees of which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.”
- 1 Kings 22:46 (v7) The remnant of the sodomites, that remained in the days of his father Asa, he put away out of the land.
- 2 Kings 10:27 (v6) They broke down the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and made it a latrine, to this day.
- 2 Kings 17:16 (v4) They abandoned all the commandments of Yahweh their God, and made molten images for themselves, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and…
- 2 Kings 22:4 (v4) “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money which is brought into Yahweh’s house, which the keepers of the threshold…
- 1 Chronicles 24:4-19 (v4) There were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and they were divided like this: of the sons of Eleazar…
- 1 Chronicles 26:1-19 (v4) For the divisions of the doorkeepers: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph. Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah…
- 2 Chronicles 33:7 (v4) He set the engraved image of the idol, which he had made, in God’s house, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this…
- 2 Chronicles 34:3-4 (v4) For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he…
- 2 Chronicles 34:33 (v7) Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were found in…
- Isaiah 27:9 (v4) Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be forgiven, and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: that he makes all the stones of…
- Jeremiah 7:9 (v4) Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known,
- Jeremiah 8:1-2 (v5) “At that time,” says Yahweh, “they will bring the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of his princes, the bones of the priests, the…
- Jeremiah 17:2 (v6) Even their children remember their altars and their Asherah poles by the green trees on the high hills.
- Jeremiah 52:24 (v4) The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:
- Ezekiel 8:14 (v7) Then he brought me to the door of the gate of Yahweh’s house which was toward the north; and I saw the women sit there weeping for Tammuz.
- Hosea 2:13 (v7) I will visit on her the days of the Baals, to which she burned incense, when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went…
- Hosea 4:15 (v4) “Though you, Israel, play the prostitute, yet don’t let Judah offend; and don’t come to Gilgal, neither go up to Beth Aven, nor swear, ‘As…
- Hosea 10:5 (v5) The inhabitants of Samaria will be in terror for the calves of Beth Aven; for its people will mourn over it, Along with its priests who…
- Amos 4:4 (v4) “Go to Bethel, and sin; to Gilgal, and sin more. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days,
- Matthew 26:3 (v4) Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, who was called…
- Matthew 27:1 (v4) Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
- John 18:1 (v4) When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, into which he and his…
- Romans 1:26-27 (v7) For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions. For their women changed the natural function into that which is against nature.…
50 distinct cross-references across this passage (52 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Meaning, them which were next in dignity to the…
Meaning, them which were next in dignity to the high Priest.
In contempt of that altar, which Jeroboam had there built to sacrifice to his calves.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv4–7 2Ki 23:4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high…
2Ki 23:4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.
Ver. 4. And the priests of the second order.] Ithamar’s race.
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And carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.] Called also Bethaven, because there had stood one of Jeroboam’s golden calves: hither therefore this good king sent the ashes of those burnt idols and their trinkets to disgrace it, and that such wicked dust might not remain in Judah, that holy land, saith Cajetan.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv4–7 The priests of the second order; either those two…
The priests of the second order; either those two who were next in degree to the high priest, and in case of his sickness were to manage his work; of whom see 2Sa 8:17; or the heads of the twentyfour courses which David had appointed, 1Ch 24.
The keepers of the door: See Poole "2Ki 22:4".
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To bring forth, i.e. to take care that they should be brought forth.
For the grove, i.e. the image of the grove; of which See Poole "2Ki 21:7"; it being most frequent to call images by the names of the persons or things which they represent.
In the fields of Kidron, i.e. adjoining to the brook of Kidron.
Carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el; partly to show his abhorrency of them, and that he would not give the ashes of them a place in his kingdom; and partly to pollute and disgrace that place which had been the chief seat and throne of idolatry.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v4 We have here an account of such a reformation…
We have here an account of such a reformation as we have not met with in all the history of the kings of Judah, such thorough riddance made of all the abominable things and such foundations laid of a glorious good work; and here I cannot but wonder at two things: - 1. That so many wicked things should have got in, and kept standing so long, as we find here removed. 2. That notwithstanding the removal of these wicked things, and the hopeful prospects here given of a happy settlement, yet within a few years Jerusalem was utterly destroyed, and even this did not save it; for the generality of the people, after all, hated to be reformed. The founder melteth in vain, and therefore reprobate silver shall men call them, Jer 6:29, Jer 6:30. Let us here observe,
I. What abundance of wickedness there was, and had been, in Judah and Jerusalem. One would not have believed it possible that in Judah, where God was known - in Israel, where his name was great - in Salem, in Sion, where his dwelling place was, such abominations should be found as here we have an account of. Josiah had now reigned eighteen years, and had himself set the people a good example, and kept up religion according to law; and yet, when he came to make inquisition for idolatry, the depth and extent of the dunghill he had to carry away appeared almost incredible. 1. Even in the house of the Lord, that sacred temple which Solomon built, and dedicated to the honour and for the worship of the God of Israel, there were found vessels, all manner of utensils, for the worship of Baal, and of the grove (or Ashtaroth), and of all the host of heaven, Kg2 23:4. Though Josiah had suppressed the worship of idols, yet the utensils made for that worship were all carefully preserved, even in the temple itself, to be used again whenever the present restraint should be taken off; nay, even the grove itself, the image of it, was yet standing in the temple (Kg2 23:6); some make it the image of Venus, the same with Ashtaroth. 2. Just at the entering in of the house of the Lord was a stable for horses kept (would you think it?) for a religious use; they were holy horses, given to the sun (Kg2 23:11), as if he needed them who rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race (Psa 19:5), or rather they would thus represent to themselves the swiftness of his motion, which they much admired, making their religion to conform to the poetical fictions of the chariot of the sun, the follies of which even a little philosophy, without any divinity, would have exposed and made them ashamed of. Some say that those horses were to be led forth in pomp every morning to meet the rising sun, others that the worshippers of the sun rode out upon them to adore the rising sun; it should seem that they drew the chariots of the sun, which the people worshipped. Strange that ever men who had the written word of God among them should be thus vain in their imaginations! 3. Hard by the house of the Lord there were houses of the Sodomites, where all manner of lewdness and filthiness, even that which was most unnatural, was practised, and under pretence of religion too, in honour of their impure deities. Corporal and spiritual whoredom went together, and the vile affections to which the people were given up were the punishment of their vain imaginations. Those that dishonoured their God were justly left thus to dishonour themselves, Rom 1:24, etc. There were women that wove hangings for the grove (Kg2 23:7), tents which encompassed the image of Venus, where the worshippers committed all manner of lewdness, and this in the house of the Lord. Those did ill that made our Father's house a house of merchandise; those did worse that made it a den of thieves; but those did worst of all that made it (Horrendum dictu! - Horrible to relate!) a brothel, in an impudent defiance of the holiness of God and of his temple. Well might the apostle call them abominable idolatries. 4. There were many idolatrous altars found (Kg2 23:12), some in the palace, on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz. The roofs of their houses being flat, they made them their high places, and set up altars upon them (Jer 19:13; Zep 1:5), domestic altars. The kings of Judah did so: and, though Josiah never used them, yet to this time they remained there. Manasseh had built altars for his idols in the house of the Lord. When he repented he removed them, and cast them out of the city (Ch2 33:15), but, not destroying them, his son Amon, it seems, had brought them again into the courts of the temple; there Josiah found them, and thence he broke them down, Kg2 23:12. 5. There was Tophet, in the valley of the son of Hinnom, very near Jerusalem, where the image of Moloch (that god of unnatural cruelty, as others were of unnatural uncleanness) was kept, to which some sacrificed their children, burning them in the fire, others dedicated them, making them to pass through the fire (Kg2 23:10), labouring in the very fire, Hab 2:13. It is supposed to have been called Tophet from toph, a drum, because they beat drums at the burning of the children, that their shrieks might not be heard. 6. There were high places before Jerusalem, which Solomon had built, Kg2 23:13. The altars and images on those high places, we may suppose, had been taken away by some of the preceding godly kings, or perhaps Solomon himself had removed them when he became a penitent; but the buildings, or some parts of them, remained, with other high places, till Josiah's time. Those that introduce corruptions into religion know not how far they will reach nor how long they will last. Antiquity is no certain proof of verity. There were also high places all the kingdom over, from Geba to Beer-sheba (Kg2 23:8), and high places of the gates, in the entering in of the gate of the governor. In these high places (bishop Patrick thinks) they burnt incense to those tutelar gods to whom their idolatrous kings had committed the protection of their city; and probably the governor of the city had a private altar for his penates - his household-gods. 7. There were idolatrous priests, that officiated at all those idolatrous altars (Kg2 23:5), chemarim, black men, or that wore black. See Zep 1:4. Those that sacrificed to Osiris, or that wept for Tammuz (Eze 8:14), or that worshipped the infernal deities, put on black garments as mourners. These idolatrous priests the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places; they were, it should seem, priests of the house of Aaron, who thus profaned their dignity, and there were others also who had no right at all to the priesthood, who burnt incense to Baal. 8. There were conjurers and wizards, and such as dealt with familiar spirits, Kg2 23:24. When they worshipped the devil as their god no marvel that they consulted him as their oracle.
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II. What a full destruction good Josiah made of all those relics of idolatry. Such is his zeal for the Lord of hosts, and his holy indignation against all that is displeasing to him, that nothing shall stand before him. The law was that the monuments of the Canaanites' idolatry must be all destroyed (Deu 7:5), much more those of the idolatry of the Israelites, in whom it was much more impious, profane, and perfidious. 1. He ordered Hilkiah, and the other priests, to clear the temple. This was their province, Kg2 23:4. Away with all the vessels that were made for Baal. They must never be employed in the service of God, no, nor reserved for any common use; they must all be burnt, and the ashes of them carried to Bethel. That place had been the common source of idolatry, for there was set up one of the calves, and, that lying next to Judah, the infection had thence spread into that kingdom, and therefore Josiah made it the lay-stall of idolatry, the dunghill to which he carried the filth and offscouring of all things, that, if possible, it might be made loathsome to those that had been fond of it. 2. The idolatrous priests were all put down. Those of them that were not of the house of Aaron, or had sacrificed to Baal or other false gods, he put to death, according to the law, Kg2 23:20. He slew them upon their own altars, the most acceptable sacrifice that ever had been offered upon them, a sacrifice to the justice of God. Those that were descendants from Aaron, and yet had burnt incense in the high places, but to the true God only, he forbade ever to approach the altar of the Lord; they had forfeited that honour (Kg2 23:9): He brought them out of the cities of Judah (Kg2 23:8), that they might not do mischief in the country by secretly keeping up their old idolatrous usages; but he allowed them to eat of the unleavened bread (the bread of the meat-offering, Lev 2:4, Lev 2:5) among their brethren, with whom they were to reside, that being under their eye they might be kept from doing hurt and taught to do well; that bread, that unleavened bread (heavy and unpleasant as it was), was better than they deserved, and that would serve to keep them alive. But whether they were permitted to eat of all the sacrifices, as blemished priests were (Lev 21:22), which is called, in general, the bread of their God, may be justly questioned. 3. All the images were broken to pieces and burnt. The image of the grove (Kg2 23:6), some goddess or other, was reduced to ashes, and the ashes cast upon the graves of the common people (Kg2 23:6), the common burying-place of the city. By the law a ceremonial uncleanness was contracted by the touch of a grave, so that in casting them here he declared them most impure, and none could touch them without thereby making themselves unclean. He cast it into the graves (so the Chaldee), intimating that he would have all idolatry buried out of his sight, as a loathsome thing, and forgotten, as dead men are out of mind, Kg2 23:14. He filled the places of the groves with the bones of men; as he carried the ashes of the images to the graves, to mingle them with dead men's bones, so he carried dead men's bones to the places where the images had been, and put them in the room of them, that, both ways, idolatry might be rendered loathsome, and the people kept both from the dust of the images and from the ruins of the places where they had been worshipped. Dead men and dead gods were much alike and fittest to go together. 4. All the wicked houses were suppressed, those nests of impiety that harboured idolaters, the houses of the Sodomites, Kg2 23:7. "Down with them, down with them, rase them to the foundations." The high places were in like manner broken down and levelled with the ground (Kg2 23:8), even that which belonged to the governor of the city; for no man's greatness or power may protect him in idolatry or profaneness. Let governors be obliged, in the first place, to reform, and then the governed will be the sooner influenced. He defiled the high places (Kg2 23:8 and again Kg2 23:13), did all he could to render them abominable, and put the people out of conceit with them, as Jehu did when he made the house of Baal a draught-house, Kg2 10:27. Tophet, which, contrary to other places of idolatry, was in a valley, whereas they were on hills or high places, was likewise defiled (Kg2 23:10), was made the burying-place of the city. Concerning this we have a whole sermon, Jer 19:1, Jer 19:2, etc., where it is said, They shall bury in Tophet, and the whole city is threatened to be made like Tophet. 5. The horses that had been given to the sun were taken away and put to common use, and so were delivered from the vanity to which they were made subject; and the chariots of the sun (what a pity was it that those horses and chariots should be kept as the chariots and horsemen of Israel!) he burnt with fire; and, if the sun be a flame, they never resembled him so much as they did when they were chariots of fire. 6. The workers with familiar spirits and the wizards were put away, Kg2 23:24. Those of them that were convicted of witchcraft, it is likely, he put to death, and so deterred others from those diabolical practices. In all this he had a sincere regard to the words of the law which were written in the book lately found, Kg2 23:24. He made that law his rule and kept that in his eye throughout this reformation.
III. How his zeal extended itself to the cities of Israel that were within his reach. The ten tribes were carried captive and the Assyrian colonies did not fully people the country, so that, it is likely, many cities had put themselves under the protection of the kings of Judah, Ch2 30:1; Ch2 34:6. These he here visits, to carry on his reformation. As far as our influence goes our endeavours should go to do good and bring the wickedness of the wicked to an end.
1. He defiled and demolished Jeroboam's altar at Bethel, with the high place and the grove that belonged to it, Kg2 23:15, Kg2 23:16. The golden calf, it should seem, was gone (thy calf, O Samaria! has cast thee off), but the altar was there, which those that were wedded to their old idolatries made use of still. This was, (1.) Defiled, Kg2 23:16. Josiah, in his pious zeal, was ransacking the old seats of idolatry, and spied the sepulchres in the mount, in which probably the idolatrous priests were buried, not far from the altar at which they had officiated, and which they were so fond of that they were desirous to lay their bones by it; these he opened, took out the bones, and burnt them upon the altar, to show that thus he would have done by the priests themselves if they had been alive, as he did by those whom he found alive, Kg2 23:20. Thus he polluted the altar, desecrated it, and made it odious. It is threatened against idolaters (Jer 8:1, Jer 8:2) that their bones shall be spread before the sun; that which is there threatened and this which is here executed (bespeaking their iniquity to be upon their bones, Eze 32:27) are an intimation of a punishment after death, reserved for those that live and die impenitent in that or any other sin; the burning of the bones, if that were all, is a small matter, but, if it signify the torment of the soul in a worse flame (Luk 16:24), it is very dreadful. This, as it was Josiah's act, seems to have been the result of a very sudden resolve; he would not have done it but that he happened to turn himself, and spy the sepulchres; and yet it was foretold above 350 years before, when this altar was first built by Jeroboam, Kg1 13:2. God always foresees, and has sometimes foretold as certain, that which yet to us seems most contingent. The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; king Josiah's was so, and he turned it (or ever he himself was aware, Sol 6:12) to do this. No work of God shall fall to the ground. (2.) It was demolished. He broke down the altar and all its appurtenances (Kg2 23:15), burnt what was combustible, and, since an idol is nothing in the world, he went as far towards the annihilating of it as he could; for he stamped it small to powder and made it as dust before the wind.
2. He destroyed all the houses of the high places, all those synagogues of Satan that were in the cities of Samaria, Kg2 23:19. These the kings of Israel built, and God raised up this king of Judah to pull them down, for the honour of the ancient house of David, from which the ten tribes had revolted; the priests he justly made sacrifices upon their own altars, Kg2 23:20.
3. He carefully preserved the sepulchre of that man of God who came from Judah to foretel this, which now a king who came from Judah executed. This was that good prophet who proclaimed these things against the altar of Bethel, and yet was himself slain by a lion for disobeying the word of the Lord; but to show that God's displeasure against him went no further than his death, but ended there, God so ordered it that when all the graves about his were disturbed his was safe (Kg2 23:17, Kg2 23:18) and no man moved his bones. He had entered into peace, and therefore should rest in his bed, Isa 57:2. The old lying prophet, who desired to be buried as near him as might be, it should seem, knew what he did; for his dust also, being mingled with that of the good prophet, was preserved for his sake; see Num 23:10.
IV. We are here told what a solemn passover Josiah and his people kept after all this. When they had cleared the country of the old leaven they then applied themselves to the keeping of the feast. When Jehu had destroyed the worship of Baal, yet he took no heed to walk in the commandments and ordinances of God; but Josiah considered that we must learn to do well, and no only cease to do evil, and that the way to keep out all abominable customs is to keep up all instituted ordinances (see Lev 18:30), and therefore he commanded all the people to keep the passover, which was not only a memorial of their deliverance out of Egypt, but a token of their dedication to him that brought them out and their communion with him. This he found written in the book of the law, here called the book of the covenant; for, though the divine authority may deal with us in a way of absolute command, divine grace condescends to federal transactions, and therefore he observed it. We have not such a particular account of this passover as of that in Hezekiah's time, 2 Chr. 30. But, in general, we are told that there was not holden such a passover in any of the foregoing reigns, no, not from the days of the judges (Kg2 23:22), which, by the way, intimates that, though the account which the book of Judges gives of the state of Israel under that dynasty looks but melancholy, yet there were then some golden days. This passover, it seems, was extraordinary for the number and devotion of the communicants, their sacrifices and offerings, and their exact observance of the laws of the feast; and it was not now as in Hezekiah's passover, when many communicated that were not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary, and the Levites were permitted to do the priests' work. We have reason to think that during all the remainder of Josiah's reign religion flourished and the feasts of the Lord were very carefully observed; but in this passover the satisfaction they took in the covenant lately renewed, the reformation in pursuance of it, and the revival of an ordinance of which they had lately found the divine original in the book of the law, and which had long been neglected or carelessly kept, put them into great transports of holy joy; and God was pleased to recompense their zeal in destroying idolatry with uncommon tokens of his presence and favour. All this concurred to make it a distinguished passover.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv4–7 And he put down the idolatrous priests,.... The Cemarim,…
And he put down the idolatrous priests,.... The Cemarim, so called, because they wore black clothes, as Kimchi and others, whereas the priests of the Lord were clothed in white linen; see Gill on Zep 1:4.
whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places, in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; for though those high places were destroyed by Hezekiah, they were rebuilt by Manasseh his son, and priests put in them to officiate there, whom Josiah now deposed, Kg2 21:3,
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them also that burnt incense unto Baal; in the same high places; these were the priests, and the others in the preceding clause are thought to be ministers unto them:
to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets; the five planets besides the sun and moon, as Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and Venus; or to the twelve celestial signs in the firmament, as some (t); though Theodoret takes it to be a single star, the evening star:
and to all the host of heaven; or even to the host of heaven, all the stars thereof: this part of worship:
burning incense, which was peculiar to the most high God, yet was frequently made by idolaters to their deities; and from the word (u) by which it is here and elsewhere expressed may "nectar" be derived, so much spoken of by the Heathen poets as of a sweet smell (w), and as delicious to their gods; and so Porphyry (x) represents the gods as living on smoke, vapours, and perfumes; and frankincense is said, by Diodorus Siculus (y), to be most grateful to them, and beloved by them; this therefore is a much better derivation of the word "nectar" than what Suidas (z) gives, that is, as if it was "nectar", because it makes those young that drink it; or than the account Athenaeus (a) gives of it, that it is a wine in Babylon so called.
(t) David de Pomis Lexic. fol. 77. 3. (u) "suffitum fecit. Et diis acceptus--" Nidor. Ovid. Metamorph. 1. 12, fab. 4. (w) Theocrit. Idyll. xvii. ver. 29. (x) De Abstinentia, l. 2. c. 42. Celsus apud Origen. l. 8. p. 417. (y) Biblioth. l. 2. p. 132. (z) In voce (a) Deipnosophist. l. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv4–7 Second order - Either those two who were next…
Second order - Either those two who were next in degree to the high-priest, and in case of sickness were to manage his work: or the heads of the twenty four courses which David had appointed. The grove - The image of the grove: it being most frequent to call images by the names of the persons or things which they represent. The fields - Adjoining to the brook of Kidron. To Beth- el - To shew his abhorrence of them, and that he would not give the ashes of them a place in his kingdom: and to pollute and disgrace that place which had been the chief seat and throne of idolatry.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv4–7 Verse 4. The priests of the second order] These…
Verse 4. The priests of the second order] These were probably such as supplied the place of the high priest when he was prevented: from fulfilling the functions of his office. So the Chaldee understood the place - the sagan of the high priests. But the words may refer to those of the second course or order established by David: though it does not appear that those orders were now in use, yet the distinction was continued even to the time of our Lord. We find the course of Abia, which was the eighth, mentioned Lu 1:5; where see the note. See Clarke on Lu 1:5.
All the vessels] These had been used for idolatrous purposes; the king is now to destroy them; for although no longer used in this way, they might, if permitted to remain, be an incentive to idolatry at a future time.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv4–7 2Ki 23:4. The king commanded Hilkiah and the priests…
2Ki 23:4. The king commanded Hilkiah and the priests of the second order — Either those two who were next in degree to the high-priest, and in case of sickness were to manage his work; or the heads of the twenty-four courses which David had appointed. To bring forth out of the temple — Or to take care they should be brought forth. All the vessels made for Baal — So that, even in the house of the Lord, the sacred temple built by Solomon, and dedicated to the honour and worship of the God of Israel, were found vessels, and all manner of utensils, for the worship of Baal, for the grove, and all the host of heaven — It appears, therefore, that although Josiah had suppressed the worship of idols, yet the provisions made for that worship were carefully preserved by some persons in power, even in the temple itself, to be used again whenever the present restraint should be taken off: nay, even the image of the grove, probably Ashtaroth or Venus, was yet kept standing in the temple. How Josiah could suffer all this, till the eighteenth year of his reign, is difficult to say; perhaps it was done without his knowledge. He now, however, gives orders that all these instruments of idolatry should be burned, in the fields adjoining to the brook Kidron; and that the ashes of them should be carried out of his kingdom to Beth-el: in token of his abhorrence of every species of idolatry, and to pollute and disgrace that place which had been the chief seat and throne of it.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v4 A parenthesis giving the earlier reforms of Josiah.
A parenthesis giving the earlier reforms of Josiah.
2Ki 23:4
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The priests of the second order - This is a new expression; and probably refers to the ordinary priests, called here “priests of the second order,” in contrast with the high priest, whose dignity was reviving (2Ki 12:2 note).
The vessels - This would include the whole apparatus of worship, altars, images, dresses, utensils, etc., for Baal, etc. (2Ki 21:3-5 notes).
The ashes of the idolatrous objects burned in the first instance in the “fields of Kidron” (i. e., in the part of the valley which lies northeast of the city, a part much broader than that between the Temple Hill and the Mount of Olives) were actually taken to Bethel, as to an accursed place, and one just beyond the borders of Judah; while those of other objects burned afterward were not carried so far, the trouble being great and the need not absolute, but were thrown into the Kidron 2Ki 23:12, when there happened to be water to carry them away, or scattered on graves which were already unclean 2Ki 23:6. Compare 1Ki 15:13.
2Ki 23:5
He put down ... - or, “He caused to cease the idolatrous priests” (margin); i. e., he stopped them. The word translated “idolatrous priests” (see the margin) is a rare one, occurring only here and in marginal references. Here and in Zephaniah it is contrasted with כהן kôhên, another class of high-place priests. The כהן kôhên were probably “Levitical,” the כהן kâhêm “non-Levitical priests of the highplaces.” כהן kâhêm appears to have been a foreign term, perhaps derived from the Syriac cumro, which means a priest of any kind.
Whom the kings of Judah had ordained - The consecration of non-Levitical priests by the kings of Judah (compare 1Ki 12:31) had not been previously mentioned; but it is quite in accordance with the other proceedings of Manasseh and Amon.
The planets - See the marginal note, i. e., the “signs of the Zodiac.” Compare Job 38:32 margin. The word in the original probably means primarily “houses” or “stations,” which was the name applied by the Babylonians to their divisions of the Zodiac.
2Ki 23:6
The ashes, being polluted and polluting, were thrown upon graves, because there no one could come into contact with them, since graves were avoided as unclean places.
2Ki 23:7
By the house of the Lord - This did not arise from intentional desecration, but from the fact that the practices in question were a part of the idolatrous ceremonial, being regarded as pleasing to the gods, and, indeed, as positive acts of worship (compare the marginal reference).
The “women” were probably the priestesses attached to the worship of Astarte, which was intimately connected with that of the Asherah or “grove.” Among their occupations one was the weaving of coverings (literally “houses” margin) for the Asherah, which seem to have been of various colors (marginal reference).
2Ki 23:8
Josiah removed the Levitical priests, who had officiated at the various high-places, from the scenes of their idolatries, and brought them to Jerusalem, where their conduct might be watched.
From Geba to Beer-sheba - i. e., from the extreme north to the extreme south of the kingdom of Judah. On Geba see the marginal reference note. The high-place of Beer-sheba had obtained an evil celebrity Amo 5:5; Amo 8:14.
The high places of the gates ... - Render, “He brake down the high-places of the gates, both that which was at the entering in of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city (1Ki 22:26 note), and also that which was on a man’s left hand at the gate of the city.” According to this, there were only two “high-places of the gates” (or idolatrous shrines erected in the city at gate-towers) at Jerusalem. The “gate of Joshua is conjectured to have been a gate in the inner wall; and the “gate of the city,” the Valley-gate (modern “Jaffa-gate”).
2Ki 23:9
Nevertheless - Connect this verse with the first clause of 2Ki 23:8. The priests were treated as if they had been disqualified from serving at the altar by a bodily blemish Lev 21:21-23. They were not secularised, but remained in the priestly order and received a maintenance from the ecclesiastical revenues. Contrast with this treatment Josiah’s severity toward the priests of the high-places in Samaria, who were sacrificed upon their own altars 2Ki 23:20. Probably the high-place worship in Judaea had continued in the main a worship of Yahweh with idolatrous rites, while in Samaria it had degenerated into an actual worship of other gods.
2Ki 23:10
The word Topheth, or Topher - variously derived from toph, “a drum” or “tabour,” because the cries of the sacrificed children were drowned by the noise of such instruments; or, from a root taph or toph, meaning “to burn” - was a spot in the valley of Hinnom (marginal reference note). The later Jewish kings, Manasseh and Amon (or, perhaps, Ahaz, 2Ch 28:3), had given it over to the Moloch priests for their worship; and here, ever since, the Moloch service had maintained its ground and flourished (marginal references).
2Ki 23:11
The custom of dedicating a chariot and horses to the Sun is a Persian practice. There are no traces of it in Assyria; and it is extremely curious to find that it was known to the Jews as early as the reign of Manasseh. The idea of regarding the Sun as a charioteer who drove his horses daily across the sky, so familiar to the Greeks and Romans, may not improbably have been imported from Asia, and may have been at the root of the custom in question. The chariot, or chariots, of the Sun appear to have been used, chiefly if not solely, for sacred processions. They were white, and were drawn probably by white horses. The kings of Judah who gave them were Manasseh and Amon certainly; perhaps Ahaz; perhaps even earlier monarchs, as Joash and Amaziah.
In the suburbs - The expression used here פרברים parbārı̂ym is of unknown derivation and occurs nowhere else. A somewhat similar word occurs in 1Ch 26:18, namely, פרבר parbār, which seems to have been a place just outside the western wall of the temple, and therefore a sort of “purlieu” or “suburb.” The פרברים parbārı̂ym of this passage may mean the same place or it may signify some other “suburb” of the temple.
2Ki 23:12
The upper chamber of Ahaz - Conjectured to be a chamber erected on the flat roof of one of the gateways which led into the temple court. It was probably built in order that its roof might be used for the worship of the host of heaven, for which house-tops were considered especially appropriate (compare the marginal references).
Brake them down from thence - Rather as in the margin, i. e., he “hasted and cast the dust into Kidron.”
2Ki 23:13
On the position of these high-places see 1Ki 11:7 note. As they were allowed to remain under such kings as Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah, they were probably among the old high-places where Yahweh had been worshipped blamelessly, or at least without any consciousness of guilt (see 1Ki 3:2 note). Manasseh or Amon had however restored them to the condition which they had held in the reign of Solomon, and therefore Josiah would condemn them to a special defilement.
The mount of corruption - See the margin. It is suspected that the original name was Har ham-mishcah, “mount of anointing,” and that this was changed afterward, by way of contempt, into Har ham-mashchith, “mount of corruption.”
2Ki 23:14
The Law attached uncleanness to the “bones of men,” no less than to actual corpses Num 19:16. We may gather from this and other passages 2Ki 23:20; 1Ki 13:2, that the Jews who rejected the Law were as firm believers in the defilement as those who adhered to the Law.
2Ki 23:15
And burned the high place - This “high place” is to be distinguished from the altar and the grove (אשׁרה 'ăshêrâh). It may have been a shrine or tabernacle, either standing by itself or else covering the “grove” (2Ki 23:7 note; 1Ki 14:23 note). As it was “stamped small to powder,” it must have been made either of metal or stone.
2Ki 23:16
To burn human bones was contrary to all the ordinary Jewish feelings with respect to the sanctity of the sepulchre, and had even been denounced as a sin of a heinous character when committed by a king of Moab Amo 2:1. Joshua did it, because justified by the divine command (marginal reference).
2Ki 23:17
What title is that? - Rather, “What pillar is that?” The word in the original indicates a short stone pillar, which was set up either as a way-mark Jer 31:21, or as a sepulchral monument Gen 35:20; Eze 39:15.
2Ki 23:19
The cities of Samaria - The reformation which Josiah effected in Samaria, is narrated in Chronicles. It implies sovereignty to the furthest northern limits of Galilee, and is explained by the general political history of the East during his reign. Between 632-626 B.C. the Scythians ravaged the more northern countries of Armenia, Media, and Cappadocia, and found their way across Mesopotamia to Syria, and thence, made an attempt to invade Egypt. As they were neither the fated enemy of Judah, nor had any hand in bringing that enemy into the country, no mention is made of them in the Historical Books of Scripture. It is only in the prophets that we catch glimpses of the fearful sufferings of the time Zep 2:4-6; Jer 1:13-15; Jer 6:2-5; Ezek. 38; 39. The invasion had scarcely gone by, and matters settled into their former position, when the astounding intelligence must have reached Jerusalem that the Assyrian monarchy had fallen; that Nineveh was destroyed, and that her place was to be taken, so far as Syria and Palestine were concerned, by Babylon. This event is fixed about 625 B.C., which seems to be exactly the time during which Josiah was occupied in carrying out his reformation in Samaria. The confusion arising in these provinces from the Scythian invasion and the troubles in Assyria was taken advantage of by Josiah to enlarge his own sovereignty. There is every indication that Josiah did, in fact, unite under his rule all the old “land of Israel” except the trans-Jordanic region, and regarded himself as subject to Nabopolassar of Babylon.
2Ki 23:20
Here, as in 2Ki 23:16, Josiah may have regarded himself as bound to act as he did (marginal reference “b”). Excepting on account of the prophecy, he would scarcely have slain the priests upon the altars.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv4–7 Order, who presided over the 24 classes of inferior…
Order, who presided over the 24 classes of inferior priests. (Menochius) --- Jonathas understands it of those who supplied the place of the high priest when he could not attend. (Grotius) --- Baal, the sun: (Calmet) in Hebrew, "for." --- The grove, Astarte, or the moon. (Haydock) --- Cedron, to the east and south of Jerusalem, where Topheth and the sepulchres of the poor, and all unclean things, were placed. Here the pagans burnt their children in honour of Moloch. See 3 Kings xv. 13., and 2 Paralipomenon xxix. 16., and xxx. 14. --- Bethel, out of contempt for the golden calf, (Haydock) and to remove those impurities to a greater distance. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv4–7 HE DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 23:4-28)
HE DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 23:4-28)
the king commanded Hilkiah, &c.--that is, the high priest and other priests, for there was not a variety of official gradations in the temple.
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all the vessels, &c.--the whole apparatus of idol-worship.
burned them without Jerusalem--The law required them to be consigned to the flames (Deu 7:25).
in the fields of Kidron--most probably that part of the valley of Kidron, where lies Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. It is a level, spacious basin, abounding at present with plantations [ROBINSON]. The brook winds along the east and south of the city, the channel of which is throughout a large portion of the year almost or wholly dry, except after heavy rains, when it suddenly swells and overflows. There were emptied all the impurities of the temple (Ch2 29:15-16) and the city. His reforming predecessors had ordered the mutilated relics of idolatry to be thrown into that receptacle of filth (Kg1 15:13; Ch2 15:16; Ch2 30:14); but Josiah, while he imitated their piety, far outstripped them in zeal; for he caused the ashes of the burnt wood and the fragments of the broken metal to be collected and conveyed to Beth-el, in order thenceforth to associate ideas of horror and aversion with that place, as odious for the worst pollutions.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv4–7 4. Priests of the second order — Those who…
4. Priests of the second order — Those who ranked next in order to the high priest. The great body of the priesthood were of this order, but some among them were more distinguished than others. Compare 2Ki_25:18.
Keepers of the door — Levites who guarded the entrance to the temple, called porters in 1Ch_23:5.
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All the vessels — Such as altars, images, and symbols, that had been used in the false worship.
Baal… grove… host of heaven — See at 2Ki_23:3-7.
Burned them — As the law commanded. Deu_7:5; Deu_7:25; Deu_12:3.
Fields of Kidron — Probably at the upper part of the Kidron valley, and a little northeast of Jerusalem, where, according to Robinson, “the valley spreads out into a basin of some breadth, which is tilled, and contains plantations of olive and other fruit trees.” It was probably in the same spot that Asa burned the Asherah idol of his mother. 1Ki_15:13.
Carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el — To signify that all this idolatry originated, not at Jerusalem, but at Beth-el, where Jeroboam’s false worship had been inaugurated, (1Ki_12:29,) and thence spread and opened the way for all manner of idolatrous practices.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–7 4. priests of the second order] i.e. Those who…
4. priests of the second order] i.e. Those who were next in rank to the high priest (cf. Jer_52:24).
the keepers of the door] Who would be of the priests or Levites, and so could enter within the holy place.
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to bring forth … all the vessels that were made for Baal] We see therefore that the Baal worship had been fully established within the holy place.
and for the grove] the Asherah. See note on 1Ki_14:15. The same change is also made in the 6th verse.
in the fields of Kidron] These were where the valley of the Kidron growing wider offered space for such a burning. We can again see that the destruction was in agreement with the commands in Deu_7:25; Deu_12:3.
and carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el] That the refuse of all these objects of idolatry might be cast away in the place whence the first step was taken which had led to idolatry among the people of the Lord.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–7 (4) The priests of the second order.—Thenius is probably…
(4) The priests of the second order.—Thenius is probably right in reading the singular, the priest of the second rank, i.e., the high priest’s deputy, after the Targum, unless the heads of the twenty-four classes be intended (“the chief priests” of the New Testament). (See also 2Ki_25:18.)
The keepers of the door (threshold).—The three chief warders (2Ki_25:18.)
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Out of the temple—i.e., out of the principal chamber or holy place.
For Baal . . . grove.—For the Baal . . . Ashçrah (so in 2Ki_23:6-7; 2Ki_23:15 also).
Burned them.—According to the law of Deu_7:25; Deu_12:3. (Comp. 1Ch_14:12.)
Without Jerusalem.—As unclean.
In the fields of Kidron.—North-east of the city, where the ravine expands considerably. (Comp. Jer_31:40; also 1Ki_15:13.)
Carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el.—This is undoubtedly strange, and Chronicles says nothing about it. If the ashes of the vessels were sent to Beth-el, why not also those of the idols themselves, and the fragments of the altars (2Ki_23:6-12)? The text appears to be corrupt.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv4–7 Vers. 4-27. Josiah"s reformation of religion. The reformation of…
Vers. 4-27. Josiah"s reformation of religion. The reformation of religion by Josiah next engages the writer"s attention, and is treated, not chronologically, but rather gee-graphically, under the three heads of
(1) reforms in Jerusalem;
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(2) reforms outside Jerusalem, but in the kingdom of Judah; and
(3) reforms in the territory which had belonged to the kingdom of Samaria (vers. 4-20).
The celebration of the Passover is then briefly noticed (vers. 21-25); and the section concludes with an eulogy of Josiah (vers. 24, 25), who, however, it is noticed could not, with all his piety, obtain a revocation of the sentence passed on Judah in consequence of the sins of Manasseh. The fate of Judah was fixed (vers. 26, 27).
And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order. Not the "deputy-high priests," of whom there seems to have been only one at this period of the history; (2Ki_25:18) nor the "heads of the courses," who were not recognized as a distinct class of priests till much later; but merely the common priests, as distinguished from the high priest. (So Keil, Bahr, and others.) And the keepers of the door ; literally, the keepers of the threshold; i.e. the Levites, whose duty it was to keep watch and ward at the outer temple gates. (see 1Ch_26:13-18) Their importance at this time appears again in 2Ki_25:18. To bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal. The reformation naturally began with the purging of the temple. So the reformation under Jehoiada (2Ki_11:18) and that of Manasseh. (2Ch_33:15) Under "the vessels" ( would be included the entire paraphernalia of worship, even the two altars which had been set up in honor of Baal in the outer and the inner courts. (comp. 2Ki_21:5) And for the grove, (see 2Ki_21:3) and for all the host of heaven. The three worships are here united, because there was a close connection between them. Baal was, in one of his aspects, the sun; and Astarte, the goddess of the "grove" wet-ship, was, in one of her aspects, the moon. The cult of "the host of heaven," though, perhaps, derived from a different source, naturally became associated with the cults of the sun and moon. And he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron. The Law required that idols should be burnt with, (Deu_7:25) and likewise "groves". (Deu_12:3) It was enough to "overthrow" altars (Deu_12:3) and to "break" pillars. But Josiah seems to have thought it best to destroy by fire, i.e. in the completest possible way, all the objects, of whatever kind, which had been connected with the idol-worship (see vers. 6, 12, 15, 16). The burning took place in "the fields of Kidron," i.e. in the upper part of the Kidron valley, to the northeast of Jerusalem, in order that not even the smoke should pollute the town. (comp. 1Ki_15:13) And carried the ashes of them unto Bethel. This was a very unusual precaution, and shows Josiah"s extreme scrupulousness. He would not have even the ashes of the wooden objects, or the calcined powder of the metal ones, remain even in the vicinity of the holy city, but transported them to a distance. In selecting Bethel as the place to convey them to, he was no doubt actuated by the circumstance that that village was in some sense the fount and origin of all the religious impurities which had overflowed the land. That which had proceeded from Bethel might well be taken back thither.
Vers. 4-27. The inability of the best intentions and the strongest will to convert a nation that is corrupt to the core.
Josiah"s reformation was the most energetic and the most thorough-going that was ever carried out by any Jewish king. It far transcended, not only the efforts made by Jehoiada in the time of Joash, (2Ki_11:17-21 2Ki_12:1-16) and the feeble attempts of Manasseh on his return from Babylon, (2Ch_33:15-19) but even the earnest endeavors of Hezekiah at the beginning of his reign. (2Ki_17:3-6) "It extended not only to the kingdom of Judah, but also to the former kingdom of Israel; not only to the public, but also to the private, life of the people. The evil was everywhere to be torn out, roots and all. Nothing which could perpetuate the memory of heathen or of illegitimate Jehovah-worship remained standing. All the places of worship, all the images, all the utensils, were not only destroyed, but also defiled; even the ashes were thrown into the river(?) at an unclean place, that they might be borne away forever. The idol-priests themselves were slain, and the bones of those who were already dead were taken out of the graves and burnt. The priests of Jehovah, who had performed their functions upon the heights, were deposed from their office and dignity, and were not allowed to sacrifice any more at the altar of Jehovah" (Bahr). It may be added to this account that private superstitions, the use of teraphim and gillulim, together with the practice of witchcraft and magic arts, were put a stop to, and the rightful ordinances of the Mosaic religion restored and re-established with the utmost strictness and exactitude (vers. 24, 25).
Josiah did all that a godly king could do to check the downward course of his nation and recall it to piety and virtue. And for his efforts the sacred writers give him the highest praise. (2Ki_22:2 2Ki_23:25; 2Ch_34:2 2Ch_35:26; Ecc 49:1-3) It has been reserved for modern criticism to discover that he defeated his own ends by the violence of his methods, and injured the cause of true religion by making a book such an imperfect law-book and history as the Pentateuch the fundamental law of the nation (Ewald, Eisenlohr). It has not, however, been as yet shown that Josiah"s methods were any more violent than the Law required (Exo_22:20; Deu_13:5, Deu_13:9, Deu_13:15) much less that injury is done to the cause of true religion by the adoption of a sacred book as the standard of religious truth and morality. The real reason for the failure of his reformation was "the irreformability of the people." When they professed to turn to God, they did not do it "with their whole heart, but feignediy" (Jer_3:10) at any rate, with but half their heart, moved by a gust of sentiment, not by any deep strong tide of religious feeling. And so they soon relapsed into their old ways. The severe religion, the stern morality, which Josiah sought to impose, had no attraction for them. They shrank from Mosaism as cold, hard, austere. They preferred the religions of the nations, with their lax morality, their gay rites, their consecration of voluptuousness. So they "slid back by a perpetual backsliding"; (Jer_8:5) they reintroduced all the old abominations; they sinned in secret when they were unable to sin in public; they "proceeded from evil to evil". (Jer_9:4) It has been argued (Ewald, "History of Israel," vol. 4. pp. 242, 243) that if Josiah"s life had not been cut short within thirteen years of his undertaking the great national reform, if he had been permitted to carry on for some years longer in the same spirit the work which he had initiated, there might have been a complete removal of all the ancient and deep-rooted evils, and a lasting impression might have been made upon the character of the whole people. But this seems too favorable a forecast. The nation was rotten to the core; the "whole head was sick, and the whole heart faint.... from the sole of the foot even unto the head there was no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores." When such is the case, no human efforts can avail anything not the strongest will, not the wisest measures, not the purest and best intentions; the time for repentance and return to God is gone by, and nothing remains but "a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall destroy God"s adversaries". (Heb_10:27)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv6–7 (See Scofield "Deu 16:21").
grove
(See Scofield "Deu 16:21").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 6 the priests under him
the priests under him
"the other priests who served him"
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gatekeepers
men who guarded the gates to the temple
for Baal ... for all the stars
"so people could use them to worship Baal ... so people could use them to worship all the stars"
He burned ... and carried ... He got rid
The word "he" refers to Josiah. He would have commanded his workers to do these things. It is likely that Hilkiah and the priests who assisted him did these things. AT: "he had them burn them ... and carry them ... He had them get rid" (See: Metonymy)
Kidron Valley ... Bethel
names of places (See: How to Translate Names)
to Baal, to the sun and the moon, to the planets, and to all the stars
"as a way to worship Baal, the sun and the moon, the planets, and all the stars"
translationWords
high priest
temple
Baal
Asherah
heaven
Bethel
false god
incense
high place
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4–5 23:4 remove . . . all the articles: Josiah…
23:4 remove . . . all the articles: Josiah eliminated from the Temple detestable items associated with pagan worship. • terraces of the Kidron Valley: This area, near the Valley of Ben-Hinnom where the loathsome Molech rituals of child sacrifice had been carried out, became a place where ashes and dead bodies were taken (Jer 26:23). • Taking the ashes away to Bethel, where Jeroboam had erected one of his cult altars (1 Kgs 12:28-29), would defile the site forever.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.