2 Kings 16:11
in 2 Kings 16And Uriah the priest built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, and he completed it by the time King Ahaz had returned.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Urijah the priest built an altar: according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so did Urijah the priest make it against the coming of king Ahaz from Damascus.
KJV
And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus.
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This verse in 2 Kings 16
Commentary
4 notes on this verse"Let us oblige him in this," thinks Urijah, "and then he will bring all his sacrifices to us; for by this craft we get our living." But, whatever pretence he had, it was a most base wicked thing for him that was a priest, a chief priest, to make this altar, in compliance with an idolatrous prince, for hereby, 1.
This site's exposition
the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it
on 2 Kings 16:10-11
At Damascus, paying his respects to the king he now serves, Ahaz admires a pagan altar and sends its exact pattern home, and Urijah the priest builds it before the king even returns, with no recorded word of protest. Henry sets this eagerly copied foreign design against the pattern God himself gave Moses for the tabernacle, a pattern no king before Ahaz thought to improve on. The priesthood meant to guard the house instead executes a layman's design on schedule.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The sin in this affair consisted in meddling with, and improving according to human taste and fancy, the altars of the temple, the patterns of which had been furnished by divine authority (Ex 25:40; Urijah was one of the witnesses taken by Isaiah to bear his prediction against Syria and Israel (Isa 8:2).
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How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Before [king Achaz] came. [He built the altar] before the king came from Damesek. 1 Achaz decided to worship the idols of Arom because he believed they were responsible for his defeat. See II Divrei Hayomim:23.
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. 4 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
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּ֛בֶן | vaiyiven | and he built | H1129 → | 376 times |
| אוּרִיָּ֥ה | ʾuriyah | Uriah | H223 → | 39 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֖ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חַ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| כְּכֹ֣ל | kekhol | according to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שָׁלַח֩ | shalach | he had sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אָחָ֜ז | ʾachaz | Ahaz | H271 → | 42 times |
| מִדַּמֶּ֗שֶׂק | midamesek | from Damascus | H1834 → | 45 times |
| כֵּ֤ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| עָשָׂה֙ | ʾasah | he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אוּרִיָּ֣ה | ʾuriyah | Uriah | H223 → | 39 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֔ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| בּ֥וֹא | bo' | came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַמֶּֽלֶךְ־ | hamelekh- | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אָחָ֖ז | ʾachaz | Ahaz | H271 → | 42 times |
| מִדַּמָּֽשֶׂק׃ | midamasek | from Damascus | H1834 → | 45 times |
וַיִּ֛בֶןand he built
vaiyivenH1129 →376 times
אוּרִיָּ֥הUriah
ʾuriyahH223 →39 times
הַכֹּהֵ֖ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חַthe altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 times
כְּכֹ֣לaccording to all
kekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁר־that
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
שָׁלַח֩he had sent
shalachH7971 →845 times
הַמֶּ֨לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אָחָ֜זAhaz
ʾachazH271 →42 times
מִדַּמֶּ֗שֶׂקfrom Damascus
midamesekH1834 →45 times
כֵּ֤ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
עָשָׂה֙he did
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
אוּרִיָּ֣הUriah
ʾuriyahH223 →39 times
הַכֹּהֵ֔ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
בּ֥וֹאcame
bo'H935 →2568 times
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ־the king
hamelekh-H4428 →2525 times
אָחָ֖זAhaz
ʾachazH271 →42 times
מִדַּמָּֽשֶׂק׃from Damascus
midamasekH1834 →45 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
Hosea 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget…
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:13
Therefore My people will go into exile for their lack of understanding; their dignitaries are starving and their masses are parched with thirst.
- Proverbs 19:2
Even zeal is no good without knowledge, and he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark.
- Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
- 2 Corinthians 4:3–6
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
- Hosea 4:1
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God…
- Isaiah 5:13
Through
Ezekiel 22:26Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They…
it leads to
- Leviticus 10:10
You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the clean and the unclean,
- Ezekiel 22:8
You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
- Ezekiel 44:23
They are to teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to discern between the clean and the unclean.
- Leviticus 10:10
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; 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.