Idolatry

How Nave’s arranged it

• WICKED PRACTICES OF
• Human sacrificesLeviticus 18:21Leviticus 20:2–5Deuteronomy 12:31Deuteronomy 18:102 Kings 3:262 Kings 3:272 Kings 16:32 Kings 17:172 Kings 17:182 Kings 21:62 Kings 23:102 Chronicles 28:32 Chronicles 33:6Psalms 106:37Psalms 106:38Isaiah 57:5Jeremiah 7:31Jeremiah 19:4–7Jeremiah 32:35Ezekiel 16:20
• Practices of, relating to the deadDeuteronomy 14:1
• Licentiousness ofExodus 32:6Exodus 32:25Numbers 25:1–31 Kings 14:241 Kings 15:122 Kings 17:302 Kings 23:7Ezekiel 16:17Ezekiel 23:1–44Hosea 4:12–14Amos 2:8Micah 1:7Romans 1:24Romans 1:26Romans 1:271 Corinthians 10:71 Corinthians 10:81 Peter 4:31 Peter 4:4Revelation 2:14
• OTHER CUSTOMS OF
• Offered burnt offeringsExodus 32:61 Kings 18:26Acts 14:13
• LibationsIsaiah 57:6Isaiah 65:11Jeremiah 7:18Jeremiah 19:13Jeremiah 32:29Jeremiah 44:17Jeremiah 44:19Jeremiah 44:25Ezekiel 20:28
• Libations of wineDeuteronomy 32:38
• Libations of bloodPsalms 16:4Zechariah 9:7
• Meat offeringsIsaiah 57:6Jeremiah 7:18Jeremiah 44:17Ezekiel 16:19
• Peace offeringsExodus 32:6
• Incense burned on altars1 Kings 12:332 Chronicles 30:142 Chronicles 34:25Isaiah 65:3Jeremiah 1:16Jeremiah 11:12Jeremiah 11:17Jeremiah 44:3Jeremiah 48:35Ezekiel 16:18Ezekiel 23:41Hosea 11:2

The passages, in Bible order (302)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Genesis 35:2

   So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 35:22 voices

   “Put away the strange gods - אלהי הנכר elohey hannechar, the gods of the foreigners, which were among them. Jacob’s servants were all Syrians, and no doubt were addicted less or more to idolatry and superstition.

   “After he was called by God, Jacob ascends to Bethel, that is, to the house of God (this is how the name Bethel is interpreted), offers sacrifices to God and is declared chief and master of the holy rites. He teaches his successors and descendants how they must enter the house of God. He orders the foreign gods to be rejected like dung and filth and to change the garments. It is fitting for us to do likewise when we are called before God, or enter the divine temple, especially in the time of the holy baptism.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 35:2→

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2. Genesis 35:4

   So they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and all their earrings, and Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 35:42 voices

   “The oak being deemed a consecrated tree, to bury them at its root was to deposit them in a place where no bold hand would venture to disturb the ground; and hence it was called from this circumstance--"the plain of Meonenim"--that is, "the oak of enchantments" (Jud 9:37); and from the great stone which Joshua set up--"the oak of the pillar" (Jud 9:6).

   “And - ear-rings which were in their ears - Whether these rings were in the ears of the gods, or in those of Jacob’s family, we may rest assured that they were not mere ornaments, but served for superstitious purposes. Ear-rings were certainly worn as amulets and charms, first consecrated to some god, or formed under some constellation, on which magical characters and images were drawn. A very ancient and beautiful one of this kind brought from Egypt, cut out of a solid piece of cornelian, now lies before me.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 35:4→

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3. Exodus 12:12

   On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 12:122 voices

   “Against all the gods of Egypt, etc. - As different animals were sacred among the Egyptians, the slaying of the first-born of all the beasts might be called executing judgment upon the gods of Egypt. As this however does not appear very clear and satisfactory, some have imagined that the word אלהי elohey should be translated princes, which is the rendering in our margin; for as these princes, who were rulers of the kingdom under Pharaoh, were equally hostile to the Hebrews with Pharaoh himself, therefore these judgments fell equally heavy on them also.

   “Moses does not mention the fulfillment, in this chapter, yet he speaks of it Num. xxxiii. It is very probable that the idols which the Egyptians worshipped were destroyed, those of metal melted, those of wood consumed, and those of stone broken to pieces, whence Jethro infers ( ch. xviii. 11 ), The Lord is greater than all gods.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 12:12→

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4. Exodus 20:3–6

   You shall have no other gods before Me.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 20:3–62 voices

   “God commands us by His prophet not to esteem any new God to be God, and not to worship any strange God. Now it is clear that that is called new which is not from everlasting, and on the contrary, that is called everlasting which is not new.

   “Thou shalt have no other gods before me - אלהים אחרים elohim acherim, no strange gods - none that thou art not acquainted with, none who has not given thee such proofs of his power and godhead as I have done in delivering thee from the Egyptians, dividing the Red Sea, bringing water out of the rock, quails into the desert, manna from heaven to feed thee, and the pillar of cloud to direct, enlighten, and shield thee.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 20:3–6→

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5. Exodus 20:23

   You are not to make any gods alongside Me; you are not to make for yourselves gods of silver or gold.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 20:231 voice

   “22, 23. the Lord said unto Moses--It appears from De 4:14-16, that this injunction was a conclusion drawn from the scene on Sinai--that as no similitude of God was displayed then, they should not attempt to make any visible figure or form of Him.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 20:23→

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6. Exodus 23:13

   Pay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.

   Verse page →Original language →

7. Exodus 32:4

   He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”

   ›Commentary on Exodus 32:42 voices

   “This idol seems to have been the god Apis, the chief deity of the Egyptians, worshipped at Memphis under the form of a live ox, three years old. It was distinguished by a triangular white spot on its forehead and other peculiar marks.

   “Fashioned it with a graving tool - There has been much controversy about the meaning of the word חרט cheret in the text: some make it a mould, others a garment, cloth, or apron; some a purse or bag, and others a graver. It is likely that some mould was made on this occasion, that the gold when fused was cast into it, and that afterwards it was brought into form and symmetry by the action of the chisel and graver. These be thy gods, O Israel - The whole of this is a most strange and unaccountable transaction.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 32:4→

   Verse page →Original language →

8. Exodus 32:6

   So the next day they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to indulge in revelry.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 32:61 voice

   “The people sat down to eat and to drink - The burnt-offerings were wholly consumed; the peace-offerings, when the blood bad been poured out, became the food of the priests, etc. When therefore the strictly religious part of these ceremonies was finished, the people sat down to eat of the peace-offerings, and this they did merely as the idolaters, eating and drinking to excess.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 32:6→

   Verse page →Original language →

9. Exodus 32:18

   But Moses replied: “It is neither the cry of victory nor the cry of defeat; I hear the sound of singing!”

   ›Commentary on Exodus 32:181 voice

   “Moses turned, and went down from the mount--The plain, Er-Raheh, is not visible from the top of Jebel Musa, nor can the mount be descended on the side towards that valley; hence Moses and his companion, who on duty had patiently waited his return in the hollow of the mountain's brow, heard the shouting some time before they actually saw the camp.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 32:18→

   Verse page →Original language →

10. Exodus 32:19

    As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain.

    ›Commentary on Exodus 32:191 voice

    “Moses was the meekest man on the earth, and yet when he saw the calf, and the dancing, his anger waxed hot. Note, It is no breach of the law of meekness to show our displeasure at the wickedness of the wicked. Those are angry and sin not that are angry at sin only, not as against themselves, but as against God.

    Everything gathered on Exodus 32:19→

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11. Exodus 32:20

    Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink it.

    ›Commentary on Exodus 32:201 voice

    “He took the calf - and burnt - and ground it to powder, etc. - How truly contemptible must the object of their idolatry appear when they were obliged to drink their god, reduced to powder and strewed on the water! “But,” says an objector, “how could gold, the most ductile of all metals, and the most ponderous, be stamped into dust and strewed on water?” In Deu 9:21, this matter is fully explained.

    Everything gathered on Exodus 32:20→

    Verse page →Original language →

12. Exodus 32:25

    Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them run wild and become a laughingstock to their enemies.

    ›Commentary on Exodus 32:251 voice

    “Moses saw that the people were naked - They were stripped, says the Targum, of the holy crown that was upon their heads, on which the great and precious name Jehovah was engraved. But it is more likely that the word פרע parua implies that they were reduced to the most helpless and wretched state, being abandoned by God in the midst of their enemies. This is exactly similar to that expression, 2Ch 28:19: For the Lord brought Judah low, because of Ahaz king of Israel: for he made Judah Naked, הפריע hiphria, and transgressed sore against the Lord.

    Everything gathered on Exodus 32:25→

    Verse page →Original language →

13. Exodus 34:17

    You shall make no molten gods for yourselves.

    ›Commentary on Exodus 34:172 voices

    "You shall make for yourself no molten gods." You see that he forbids the making of images because of idolatry and that it is impossible to make an image of the bodiless, invisible and uncircumscribed God. "You saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke.…" And St. Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, says, "Being therefore God's offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man."

    “Moses bowed . . . and worshipped--In the East, people bow the head to royalty, and are silent when it passes by, while in the West, they take off their hats and shout.

    Everything gathered on Exodus 34:17→

    Verse page →Original language →

14. Leviticus 18:21

    You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

    ›Commentary on Leviticus 18:212 voices

    “Pass through fire - This was done, either by burning them in the fire, or by making them pass between two great fires, which was a kind of consecration of them to that God. Moloch - Called also Milcom, was an idol chiefly of the Ammonites. He seems to be the Saturn of the heathens, to whom especially children and men were sacrificed.

    “Pass through the fire to Molech - The name of this idol is mentioned for the first time in this place. As the word מלח molech or melech signifies king or governor, it is very likely that this idol represented the sun; and more particularly as the fire appears to have been so much employed in his worship. There are several opinions concerning the meaning of passing through the fire to Molech. 1. Some think that the semen humanum was offered on the fire to this idol. 2. Others think that the children were actually made a burnt-offering to him.

    Everything gathered on Leviticus 18:21→

    Verse page →Original language →

15. Leviticus 19:4

    Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods. I am the LORD your God.

    ›Commentary on Leviticus 19:41 voice

    “Turn ye not unto idols - אלילם elilim, literally nothings; and to this St. Paul seems to allude 1Co 8:4, where he says, We know that an idol is Nothing in the world.

    Everything gathered on Leviticus 19:4→

    Verse page →Original language →

16. Leviticus 20:2–5

    “Tell the Israelites, ‘Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him.

    ›Commentary on Leviticus 20:2–52 voices

    “That giveth any of his seed unto Molech - To what has been said in the note on Lev 18:21 (note), we may add, that the rabbins describe this idol, who was probably a representative or emblematical personification of the solar influence, as made of brass, in the form of a man, with the head of an ox; that a fire was kindled in the inside, and the child to be sacrificed to him was put in his arms, and roasted to death.

    “Abraham's offering Isaac could not give countenance, much less could it give rise to this barbarous practice, since, though that was commanded, it was immediately countermanded.

    Everything gathered on Leviticus 20:2–5→

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