1 Kings 15:13
in 1 Kings 15He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
KJV
And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.
⋯
This verse in 1 Kings 15
Commentary
11 notes on this verseFurthermore, the adversary tempted Job through his children and his possessions, and when he could not prevail over him, he went and brought against him his armor, and he came, bringing with him a daughter of Eve, who had caused Adam to sink, and through her mouth he said to Job, her righteous husband, "Curse God." But Job rejected her counsel. King Asa also conquered the Accursed-of-life, when he wished to come in against him, through his mother.
This site's exposition
did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord
on 1 Kings 15:11-13
Asa is measured by the same standard just applied to his father, as did David his father, and this time the verdict is positive: the sodomites, the cult prostitutes the law names at Deuteronomy 23:17-18, are put out of the land, and the idols his fathers made are removed. His own mother is not spared; he takes away her standing as queen for the idol she had made in a grove, and burns it at the brook Kidron, the same valley Judah's later reformers will use for the same purpose.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
In the meantime, Asa devoted himself to the reconstruction of the ruins of religion. He destroyed the temples of the idols, smashed the statues, set the sacred woods on fire and removed the ignominy of the effeminate priests. He also drove away Maacah, the mother …
Look for a little at those books on the Republic from which you drew that ideal of the most devoted citizen: that there should be no limit or legitimate restriction on his service. Look, I beg you, and notice with what high praise frugality and temperance are there spoken of, as well as fidelity to the marriage bond, and chaste, honorable and upright conduct. When a state excels in these, it can truly be said to bloom. But in churches in growing numbers all over the world, as in holy gatherings of peoples, these principles are taught and learned; above all, the devotion by which the true and truth-giving God is worshiped, who not only commands these principles to be kept but also gives them fulfillment. It is by these that the human mind is prepared and made fit for the divine society and for its habitation in the eternal heavenly country. Hence he has foretold that the images of the many false gods would be overturned and has commanded them to be overturned.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
An Idol - Hebrew. a terror, or horror, that is, an horrible idol; which it may be so called, because it was of a more terrible shape than ordinary, and not to be seen without horror. Kidron - That when it was burnt to powder, it might be thrown into the water, and be unfit for any use.
(2.) She shall be deposed, He removed her from being queen, or from the queen, that is, from conversing with his wife; he banished her from the court, and confined her to an obscure and private life. Those that have power are happy when thus they have hearts to use it well. He re-established that which was good (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen,....
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Her title, and the privileges connected with that honor and dignity which gave her precedency among the ladies of the royal family, and great influence in the kingdom, were taken away. She was degraded for her idolatry. because she had made an idol in a grove--A very obscene figure, and the grove was devoted to the grossest licentiousness.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
his mother's name was Maachah--She was properly his grandmother, and she is here called "the king's mother," from the post of dignity which at the beginning of his reign she possessed.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
She had made an idol in a grove - The original word, מפלצת miphletseth, is variously understood. I shall give its different views in the versions: - “Besides, he removed his mother Maacha from being chief in the sacred rites of Priapus, and in his grove which she had consecrated.” - Vulgate. “And Ana, [other copies Maacha], he removed from being governess, because she had made an assembly in her grove.” - Septuagint. “Moreover, he deprived Maacha, his mother, of her own magnificence, because she had celebrated a solemnity to her own worship.” - Syriac. “And even Maacha, his mother, he removed from the kingdom, because she had made an idol in a grove.” - Chaldee. “Besides, he removed Maacha, his mother, from her kingdom, because she had made a high tree into an idol.” - Arabic. “Also he removed Maacha, his mother, from the kingdom, because she had made a horrible statue; and our rabbins say that it was called מפלצת miphletseth, because מפליא ליצנותא maphli leytsanutha, it produced wonderful ridicule; for she made it ad instar membri virilis, and she used it daily.” - Rabbi Solomon Jarchi. From the whole, it is pretty evident that the image was a mere Priapus, or something of the same nature, and that Maachah had an assembly in the grove where this image was set up, and doubtless worshipped it with the most impure rites. What the Roman Priapus was I need not tell the learned reader; and as to the unlearned, it would not profit him to know. Maachah was most likely another Messalina; and Asa probably did for his mother what Claudius did for his wife.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Asa degraded Maachah from the rank and state of queen-mother. The word translated “idol” both here and in the parallel passage (marginal reference), does not occur elsewhere in Scripture. It is derived from a root signifying “fear” or “trembling,” and may perhaps best be understood as “a fright, a horror.” Such a name would seem best to apply to a grotesque and hideous image like the Phthah of the Egyptians. She made it to serve in lieu of the ordinary “grove” - asherah, or idolatrous emblem of Astarte (Exo 34:13 note).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
He removed from her position of authority. From being queen.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And he rid [the land] of prostitutes. [Targum] Yonoson rendered, “and he abolished the prostitutes.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְגַ֣ם׀ | vegam | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַעֲכָ֣ה | maakhah | Maacah | H4601 → | 23 times |
| אִמּ֗וֹ | ʾimo | mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| וַיְסִרֶ֙הָ֙ | vaysireha | and he removed her | H5493 → | 299 times |
| מִגְּבִירָ֔ה | migevirah | from queen-mother | H1377 → | |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשְׂתָ֥ה | ʾasetah | she had made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מִפְלֶ֖צֶת | mifletzet | an abominable image | H4656 → | |
| לָאֲשֵׁרָ֑ה | laasherah | to <the> Asherah pole | H842 → | 40 times |
| וַיִּכְרֹ֤ת | vaiyikhrot | and he cut down | H3772 → | 288 times |
| אָסָא֙ | ʾasa' | Asa | H609 → | 57 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִפְלַצְתָּ֔הּ | miflatztah | abominable image her | H4656 → | |
| וַיִּשְׂרֹ֖ף | vaiyisrof | and he burned [it] | H8313 → | 117 times |
| בְּנַ֥חַל | benachal | in [the] wadi of | H5158 → | 141 times |
| קִדְרֽוֹן׃ | kidron | Kidron | H6939 → |
וְגַ֣ם׀and also
vegamH1571 →769 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מַעֲכָ֣הMaacah
maakhahH4601 →23 times
אִמּ֗וֹmother his
ʾimoH517 →220 times
וַיְסִרֶ֙הָ֙and he removed her
vaysirehaH5493 →299 times
מִגְּבִירָ֔הfrom queen-mother
migevirahH1377 →
אֲשֶׁר־that
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
עָשְׂתָ֥הshe had made
ʾasetahH6213 →2628 times
מִפְלֶ֖צֶתan abominable image
mifletzetH4656 →
לָאֲשֵׁרָ֑הto <the> Asherah pole
laasherahH842 →40 times
וַיִּכְרֹ֤תand he cut down
vaiyikhrotH3772 →288 times
אָסָא֙Asa
ʾasa'H609 →57 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מִפְלַצְתָּ֔הּabominable image her
miflatztahH4656 →
וַיִּשְׂרֹ֖ףand he burned [it]
vaiyisrofH8313 →117 times
בְּנַ֥חַלin [the] wadi of
benachalH5158 →141 times
קִדְרֽוֹן׃Kidron
kidronH6939 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 10:37Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
it leads to
- Luke 14:26
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.
- Matthew 22:37
Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
- Philippians 3:7–9
But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 5:14–15
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.
- Deuteronomy 33:9
He said of his father and mother, ‘I do not consider them.’ He disregarded his brothers and did not know his own sons, for he kept Your word and maintained Your covenant.
- Luke 14:26
Through
John 18:1After Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples across the Kidron Valley, where they entered a garden.
it leads to
- Matthew 26:36
At that time Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He told them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
- 2 Samuel 15:23
Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly as all the people passed by. And as the king crossed the Kidron Valley, all the people also passed toward the way of the wilderness.
- Mark 14:32
Then they came to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus told His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
- Matthew 26:36
About 1 Kings
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Aphrahat the Persian Sage, DEMONSTRATION 6.3; Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 91; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 15:1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.