2 Kings 11:18
in 2 Kings 11So 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of Jehovah.
KJV
And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord.
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This verse in 2 Kings 11
Commentary
7 notes on this verseHis altars and images brake they in pieces - It is probable that Athaliah had set up the worship of Baal in Judah, as Jezebel had done in Israel; or probably it had never been removed since the days of Solomon. It was no wonder that Jehoiada began his reform with this act, when we learn from 2Ch 24:7, that the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord did they bestow upon Baalim.
This site's exposition
went into the house of Baal
on 2 Kings 11:18-20
Reform follows the coronation without a pause, the house of Baal torn down, its altars and images broken in pieces, and Mattan its priest killed at his own altar, the very worship Athaliah and her mother Jezebel had planted in two kingdoms uprooted in Judah in a single afternoon. The king is brought down to the palace and set on the throne, and the narrator repeats that Athaliah was slain, a second notice after verse sixteen's, closing the episode before the boy king's minority opens the next chapter. All the people of the land rejoice, and the city is in quiet.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
After the kingdom had been pacified and its problems settled down, Jehoiada devoted himself to restore the religion of God, which had been destroyed by Joram and his successors. Therefore, in the first place, he persuaded the king and the entire people to renew the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
All his worshippers, it should seem, deserted him; only his priest Mattan stuck to his altar. Though all men forsook Baal, he would not, and there he was slain, the best sacrifice that ever was offered upon that altar.
Now here we have David's promised lamp almost extinguished and yet wonderfully preserved. It was almost extinguished by the barbarous malice of Athaliah, the queen-mother, who, when she heard that her son Ahaziah was slain by Jehu, arose and destroyed all the seed-royal (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And all the people of the land,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A temple had been built to Baal at Jerusalem itself by Athaliah, Ahaziah, or Jehoram. According to Josephus, it was constructed in the reign of Jehoram. Its exact position is uncertain. Images - The word used here is not the same as in 2Ki 10:26, but a word which implies likeness. The Phoenicians had fashioned images, besides their unfashioned pillar-idols. The priest appointed ... - The temple worship having been discontinued during Athaliah’s rule, it devolved on Jehoiada now to re-establish it (see marginal reference). He had already summoned the Levites out of all the cities of Judah 2Ch 23:2, and had made use of them in the events of the day. He therefore proceeded at once to assign the custody of the temple to a particular course, before conducting the young king to the palace.
The words behind it
26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ | vaiyavou | and they went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עַם֩ | ʾam | [the] people of | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הָאָ֨רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| בֵּית־ | beit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הַבַּ֜עַל | habaal | <the> Baal | H1168 → | 82 times |
| וַֽיִּתְּצֻ֗הוּ | vaiyitetzuhu | and they pulled down it | H5422 → | 42 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִזְבְּחֹתָ֤יו | mizbechotov | altars its | H4196 → | 401 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צְלָמָיו֙ | tzelamav | images its | H6754 → | |
| שִׁבְּר֣וּ | shiberu | they broke | H7665 → | 147 times |
| הֵיטֵ֔ב | heitev | thoroughly <do well> | H3190 → | 117 times |
| וְאֵ֗ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַתָּן֙ | matan | Mattan | H4977 → | |
| כֹּהֵ֣ן | kohen | [the] priest of | H3548 → | 750 times |
| הַבַּ֔עַל | habaal | <the> Baal | H1168 → | 82 times |
| הָרְג֖וּ | haregu | they killed | H2026 → | 167 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַֽמִּזְבְּח֑וֹת | hamizbechot | the altars | H4196 → | 401 times |
| וַיָּ֧שֶׂם | vaiyasem | and he appointed | H7760 → | 584 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֛ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| פְּקֻדּ֖וֹת | pekudot | overseers | H6486 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיָּבֹ֣אוּand they went
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
עַם֩[the] people of
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
הָאָ֨רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
בֵּית־[the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
הַבַּ֜עַל<the> Baal
habaalH1168 →82 times
וַֽיִּתְּצֻ֗הוּand they pulled down it
vaiyitetzuhuH5422 →42 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מִזְבְּחֹתָ֤יוaltars its
mizbechotovH4196 →401 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
צְלָמָיו֙images its
tzelamavH6754 →
שִׁבְּר֣וּthey broke
shiberuH7665 →147 times
הֵיטֵ֔בthoroughly <do well>
heitevH3190 →117 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
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
הַֽמִּזְבְּח֑וֹתthe altars
hamizbechotH4196 →401 times
וַיָּ֧שֶׂםand he appointed
vaiyasemH7760 →584 times
הַכֹּהֵ֛ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
פְּקֻדּ֖וֹתoverseers
pekudotH6486 →
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בֵּ֥ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
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.
it leads to
- 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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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
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 Chronicles 31:1
Through
Deuteronomy 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.
it leads to
- 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.
- 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?
- 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…
- Numbers 33:52
Through
2 Kings 10:26They brought out the sacred pillar of the temple of Baal and burned it.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 14:23
They also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.
- 1 Kings 14:23
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 11:13; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.