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2 Chronicles 23:17

in 2 Chronicles 23

So all the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols to pieces and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

KJV

Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

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This verse in 2 Chronicles 23

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The greatest grievance of Athaliah's reign was the bringing in of the worship of Baal, and supporting of that; therefore that must be abolished in the first place. Down with Baal's house, his altars, his images; down with them all, and let the blood of his priests be mingled with his sacrifices; for God had commanded that seducers to idolatry should be put to death, Deut. xiii.

This site's exposition

that they should be the Lord’s people

on 2 Chronicles 23:16-18

Jehoiada renews the covenant, and Chronicles states its parties differently than Kings does: Kings names the LORD, the king and the people as the three sides, while Chronicles reads between him, and between all the people, and between the king, the priest standing in God's place as Moses once did for Israel. Then the house of Baal comes down, its altars and images broken, and Mattan the priest of Baal is slain before his own altars, judgment falling where the false worship had stood. Jehoiada restores the temple's offices into the hand of the priests the Levites exactly as David had distributed them, offering the burnt offerings as the law of Moses commands and singing as David ordained, so the reform ends by putting the Davidic order back in its place rather than only tearing an idol's house down.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

The continuance of David's seed and throne was what God had sworn by his holiness ( Ps. lxxxix. 35 ), and an interruption was no defeasance; the stream of government here runs again in the right channel. The instrument and chief manager of the restoration is Jehoiada, who appears to have been, 1.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Mattan the priest - The Targum will not prostitute the term priest, but calls him כומרא cumera, priestling.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיָּבֹ֨אוּand they went

    vaiyavouH935 →2568 times

  • כָל־all

    khol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הָעָ֤םthe people

    haamH5971 →1873 times

  • בֵּית־[the] house of

    beit-H1004 →2046 times

  • הַבַּ֙עַל֙<the> Baal

    habaalH1168 →82 times

  • וַֽיִּתְּצֻ֔הוּand they pulled down it

    vaiyitetzuhuH5422 →42 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • מִזְבְּחֹתָ֥יוaltars its

    mizbechotavH4196 →401 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • צְלָמָ֖יוimages its

    tzelamavH6754 →

  • שִׁבֵּ֑רוּthey broke

    shiberuH7665 →147 times

  • וְאֵ֗תand <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • מַתָּן֙Mattan

    matanH4977 →

  • כֹּהֵ֣ן[the] priest of

    kohenH3548 →750 times

  • הַבַּ֔עַל<the> Baal

    habaalH1168 →82 times

  • הָרְג֖וּthey killed

    hareguH2026 →167 times

  • לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before

    lifneiH6440 →2123 times

  • הַֽמִּזְבְּחֽוֹת׃the altars

    hamizbechotH4196 →401 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

12 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Kings 18:40Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.3 worksDeuteronomy 13:5–9Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you.2 worksDeuteronomy 12:3Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.2 works2 Chronicles 34:4Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.2 worksIsaiah 2:18and the idols will vanish completely.2 works2 Kings 10:25–28When he had finished making the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and officers, “Go in and kill them. Do not let anyone out.” So the guards and officers put them to the sword, threw the bodies out, and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal.2 works
The other 6 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Chronicles 34:7He tore down the altars and Asherah poles, crushed the idols to powder, and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.2 works2 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 had burned incense to it.2 works2 Kings 11:18–19So all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols to pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars. And Jehoiada the priest posted guards for the house of the LORD.2 worksZechariah 13:2–3And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.2 works2 Chronicles 31:1When 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 altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the Israelites returned to their cities, each to his own property.2 worksLeviticus 26:30I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and heap your lifeless bodies on the lifeless remains of your idols; and My soul will despise you.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Deuteronomy 12:3

    Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.

    it leads to

    • Zechariah 13:2

      And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Judges 2:2

      and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done?

    • Numbers 33:52

      you must drive out before you all the inhabitants of the land, destroy all their carved images and cast idols, and demolish all their high places.

    • Psalms 16:4

      Sorrows will multiply to those who chase other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood, or speak their names with my lips.

  • Through

    2 Chronicles 34:4

    Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the…

    it leads to

    • 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…

  • Through

    1 Kings 18:40

    Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.

    it leads to

    • Judges 4:7

      And I will draw out Sisera the commander of Jabin’s army, his chariots, and his troops to the River Kishon, and I will deliver him into your hand.’”

    • Deuteronomy 18:20

      But if any prophet dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or to speak in the name of other gods, that prophet must be put…

    • Deuteronomy 13:5

      Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the…

About 2 Chronicles

Solomon Receives the Queen of Sheba, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Solomon Receives the Queen of Sheba, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Chronicles: the study guide →Read 2 Chronicles 23 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Chronicles 23 →