2 Kings 13:6
in 2 Kings 13Nevertheless, they did not turn away from the sins that the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit, but they continued to walk in them. The Asherah pole even remained standing in Samaria.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, wherewith he made Israel to sin, but walked therein: and there remained the Asherah also in Samaria.)
KJV
Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.)
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This verse in 2 Kings 13
Commentary
6 notes on this verseNevertheless, they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin, but walked therein,.... Continued to worship the calves still, which was an instance of great ingratitude; the Syriac and Arabic versions read, "he departed not"; Jehoahaz the king: and there remained the grove in Samaria; which Ahab made there, 1Ki 16:33, neither Jehu nor his son had it cut down, though Baal was destroyed.
This site's exposition
Jehoahaz sought the favor of the LORD
on 2 Kings 13:4-6
Under Hazael's oppression Jehoahaz prays, and “the LORD gave Israel a deliverer”, whom Gill and the older commentators identify as Joash. Israel kept “the sins that the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit,” and Ahab's Asherah pole still stood. Mercy answers the cry, and the reform never comes.
This site's exposition
The Asherah pole even remained
Adam Clarke named the goddess behind the pole as Asherah, or Astarte, still worshipped in Samaria. John Gill noted Jehu destroyed Baal and left Ahab's pole standing, and his son did the same. The Syriac and Arabic versions, Gill adds, read the first clause as he did not turn away.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
In all the history of the ten tribes we never find the least shock given to that idolatry, but, in every reign, still the calf was their god, and they separated themselves to that shame. It was the honour of Israel that they were taken under the special protection of heaven; God himself was their defence, the shield of their help and the sword of their excellency.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The grove also in Samaria - Asherah, or Astarte, remained in Samaria, and there was she worshipped, with all her abominable rites.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
But walked therein - Rather, “he walked therein,” meaning Joash, the “saviour” of the preceding verse. There remained the grove also in Samaria - It seems strange that Jehu had not destroyed this when he put down the worship of Baal 2Ki 10:26-28. Perhaps the “grove” or “Asherah” worship was too closely connected with the old worship in high places to be set aside with the same ease as the rites newly introduced from Phoenicia.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַ֠ךְ | ʾakh | nevertheless | H389 → | 161 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| סָ֜רוּ | saru | they turned aside | H5493 → | 299 times |
| מֵחַטֹּ֧אות | mechatot | from [the] sins of | H2403 → | 295 times |
| בֵּית־ | beit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יָרָבְעָ֛ם | yaraveam | Jeroboam | H3379 → | 104 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֶחֱטִ֥יא | hecheti' | he caused to sin | H2398 → | 238 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| בָּ֣הּ | bah | in it | ||
| הָלָ֑ךְ | halakh | it walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְגַם֙ | vegam | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| הָאֲשֵׁרָ֔ה | haasherah | the Asherah pole | H842 → | 40 times |
| עָמְדָ֖ה | ʾamedah | it remained | H5975 → | 521 times |
| בְּשֹׁמְרֽוֹן׃ | beshomeron | in Samaria | H8111 → | 109 times |
אַ֠ךְnevertheless
ʾakhH389 →161 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
סָ֜רוּthey turned aside
saruH5493 →299 times
מֵחַטֹּ֧אותfrom [the] sins of
mechatotH2403 →295 times
בֵּית־[the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
יָרָבְעָ֛םJeroboam
yaraveamH3379 →104 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
הֶחֱטִ֥יאhe caused to sin
hecheti'H2398 →238 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
בָּ֣הּin it
bah
הָלָ֑ךְit walked
halakhH1980 →1546 times
וְגַם֙and also
vegamH1571 →769 times
הָאֲשֵׁרָ֔הthe Asherah pole
haasherahH842 →40 times
עָמְדָ֖הit remained
ʾamedahH5975 →521 times
בְּשֹׁמְרֽוֹן׃in Samaria
beshomeronH8111 →109 times
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
2 Kings 18:4He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 31:1
When all this had ended, the Israelites in attendance went out to the cities of Judah and broke up the sacred pillars, chopped down the Asherah poles, and tore down the high places and…
- Numbers 21:8–9
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.”
- 2 Kings 18:22
But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is He not the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem: ‘You must worship…
- 2 Chronicles 31:1
Through
2 Kings 10:29but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 12:28–30
After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out…
- 1 Kings 12:28–30
Through
2 Kings 13:2And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and followed the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 14:16
So He will give Israel over on account of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 14:16
Through
1 Kings 15:3And Abijam walked in all the sins that his father before him had committed, and his heart was not as fully devoted to the LORD his God as the heart of David his forefather…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 11:4
For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.
- Psalms 119:80
May my heart be blameless in Your statutes, that I may not be put to shame.
- 1 Kings 11:4
Through
1 Kings 16:33Then he set up an Asherah pole. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 21:25
(Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel.
- 1 Kings 21:25
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.