2 Kings 23:5
in 2 Kings 23Josiah also did away with the idolatrous priests ordained by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem—those who had burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in 2 Kings 23
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe idolatrous priests - הכמרים hakkemarim. Who these were is not well known. The Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, call them the priests simply, which the kings of Judah had ordained. Probably they were an order made by the idolatrous kings of Judah, and called kemarim, from כמר camar, which signifies to be scorched, shriveled together, made dark, or black, because their business was constantly to attend sacrificial fires, and probably they were black garments; hence the Jews in derision call Christian ministers kemarim, because of their black clothes and garments.
This site's exposition
all the articles made for Baal
on 2 Kings 23:4-6
Hilkiah and the "priests second in rank" remove "all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the host of heaven". The Asherah pole is burned, ground, and thrown "on the graves of the common people", to make the idol as unclean as a corpse.
This site's exposition
did away with the idolatrous priests
The idolatrous priests translate the Hebrew kemarim, a word Clarke ties to a root meaning scorched or blackened, and Henry links it to black robes. Zephaniah 1:4 and Hosea 10:5 name the same priests. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown trace their incense to the sun, moon and constellations back to Assyria.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), chemarim, black men, or that wore black. Those that sacrificed to Osiris, or that wept for Tammuz ( Ezek. viii. 14 ), or that worshipped the infernal deities, put on black garments as mourners.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And he put down the idolatrous priests,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
This form of false worship was not by images, but pure star-worship, borrowed from the old Assyrians. and--rather, "even to all the host of heaven."
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִשְׁבִּ֣ית | vehishbit | and he removed | H7673 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַכְּמָרִ֗ים | hakemarim | the pagan priests | H3649 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָֽתְנוּ֙ | natenu | they had appointed | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| מַלְכֵ֣י | malkhei | [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יְהוּדָ֔ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וַיְקַטֵּ֤ר | vaykater | and he made smoke | H6999 → | 116 times |
| בַּבָּמוֹת֙ | babamot | at the high places | H1116 → | 102 times |
| בְּעָרֵ֣י | bearei | in [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| יְהוּדָ֔ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וּמְסִבֵּ֖י | umesibei | and [the] surroundings of | H4524 → | |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַֽמְקַטְּרִ֣ים | hamkaterim | the [ones who] made smoke | H6999 → | 116 times |
| לַבַּ֗עַל | labaal | to <the> Baal | H1168 → | 82 times |
| לַשֶּׁ֤מֶשׁ | lashemesh | to the sun | H8121 → | 134 times |
| וְלַיָּרֵ֙חַ֙ | velaiyareach | and to the moon | H3394 → | |
| וְלַמַּזָּל֔וֹת | velammazalot | and to the constellations | H4208 → | |
| וּלְכֹ֖ל | ulekhol | and to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| צְבָ֥א | tzeva' | [the] host of | H6635 → | 485 times |
| הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
וְהִשְׁבִּ֣יתand he removed
vehishbitH7673 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַכְּמָרִ֗יםthe pagan priests
hakemarimH3649 →
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָֽתְנוּ֙they had appointed
natenuH5414 →2011 times
מַלְכֵ֣י[the] kings of
malkheiH4428 →2525 times
יְהוּדָ֔הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וַיְקַטֵּ֤רand he made smoke
vaykaterH6999 →116 times
בַּבָּמוֹת֙at the high places
babamotH1116 →102 times
בְּעָרֵ֣יin [the] cities of
beareiH5892 →1090 times
יְהוּדָ֔הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וּמְסִבֵּ֖יand [the] surroundings of
umesibeiH4524 →
יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַֽמְקַטְּרִ֣יםthe [ones who] made smoke
hamkaterimH6999 →116 times
לַבַּ֗עַלto <the> Baal
labaalH1168 →82 times
לַשֶּׁ֤מֶשׁto the sun
lashemeshH8121 →134 times
וְלַיָּרֵ֙חַ֙and to the moon
velaiyareachH3394 →
וְלַמַּזָּל֔וֹתand to the constellations
velammazalotH4208 →
וּלְכֹ֖לand to all
ulekholH3605 →5413 times
צְבָ֥א[the] host of
tzeva'H6635 →485 times
הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃the heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Hosea 10:5The people of Samaria will fear for the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn with its idolatrous priests— those who rejoiced in its glory— for it has been taken from them into…
it leads to
- Hosea 9:11
Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird, with no birth, no pregnancy, and no conception.
- Hosea 5:8
Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah; raise the battle cry in Beth-aven: Lead on, O Benjamin!
- Hosea 4:15
Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’
- Hosea 8:5–6
He has rejected your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence?
- 1 Samuel 4:21–22
And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband had been killed.
- Hosea 9:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies14
On this verse
About 2 Kings
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonLate monarchyJosiahThe boy-king who found the book of the law in the temple, tore his clothes, and led Judah's last great reformation and Passover be…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.