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2 Kings 23:12

in 2 Kings 23

He pulled down the altars that the kings of Judah had set up on the roof near the upper chamber of Ahaz, and the altars that Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the house of the LORD. The king pulverized them there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Jehovah, did the king break down, and beat them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.

KJV

And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.

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This verse in 2 Kings 23

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

On the top of the upper chamber - Altars built on the flat roof of the house. Such altars were erected to the sun, moon, stars, etc.

This site's exposition

top of the upper chamber of Ahaz

on 2 Kings 23:12-14

Ahaz had built altars on the palace roof itself, and Manasseh had built more inside the temple's two courts; Josiah beats them all down and scatters the dust in the Kidron. The high places on the mount before Jerusalem reach back further still, to Solomon, who raised them for Ashtoreth of the Sidonians, Chemosh of Moab, and Milcom of Ammon (1 Ki 11:7); Josiah defiles the same ground his ancestor first profaned. The images are broken and the sites filled with human bones, the strongest defilement the law recognized (Num 19:15), so no worshipper could return to them clean.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

There was Tophet, in the valley of the son of Hinnom, very near Jerusalem, where the image of Moloch (that god of unnatural cruelty, as others were of unnatural uncleanness) was kept, to which some sacrificed their children, burning them in the fire, others dedicated them, making them to pass through the fire (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Josiah is said not to have destroyed, but only defiled, "the high places on the hill of corruption." It is most probable that Hezekiah had long before demolished the idolatrous temples erected there by Solomon but, as the superstitious people continued to regard the spot as consecrated ground, Josiah defiled it.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

The horses. Those [people] who prostrated themselves to the sun, had horses ready in the morning to go out toward the sun.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Kings 23:11:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

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. 6 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

30 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.

  • וְאֶֽת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • הַֽמִּזְבְּח֡וֹתthe altars

    hamizbechotH4196 →401 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • עַל־[were] on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הַגָּג֩the roof of

    hagagH1406 →

  • עֲלִיַּ֨ת[the] upper room of

    ʾaliyatH5944 →20 times

  • אָחָ֜זAhaz

    ʾachazH271 →42 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־which

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • עָשׂ֣וּ׀they had made

    ʾasuH6213 →2628 times

  • מַלְכֵ֣י[the] kings of

    malkheiH4428 →2525 times

  • יְהוּדָ֗הJudah

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • הַֽמִּזְבְּחוֹת֙the altars

    hamizbechotH4196 →401 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־which

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • עָשָׂ֣הhe had made

    ʾasahH6213 →2628 times

  • מְנַשֶּׁ֔הManasseh

    menashehH4519 →146 times

  • בִּשְׁתֵּ֛יin [the] two

    bishteiH8147 →768 times

  • חַצְר֥וֹת[the] courtyards of

    chatzrotH2691 →191 times

  • בֵּית־[the] house of

    beit-H1004 →2046 times

  • יְהוָ֖הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • נָתַ֣ץhe pulled down

    natatzH5422 →42 times

  • הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • וַיָּ֣רָץand he ran

    vaiyarotzH7323 →103 times

  • מִשָּׁ֔םfrom there

    mishamH8033 →834 times

  • וְהִשְׁלִ֥יךְand he threw

    vehishlikhH7993 →125 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • עֲפָרָ֖םdust their

    ʾafaramH6083 →110 times

  • אֶל־into

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • נַ֥חַל[the] wadi of

    nachalH5158 →141 times

  • קִדְרֽוֹן׃Kidron

    kidronH6939 →11 times

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

Related verses

14 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.

Jeremiah 19:13The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”6 worksZephaniah 1:5those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,5 works2 Kings 21:5In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven.5 works2 Chronicles 33:5In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven.3 worksJeremiah 31:40The whole valley of the dead bodies and ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley, to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east, will be holy to the LORD. It will never again be uprooted or demolished.”3 worksJohn 18:1After Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples across the Kidron Valley, where they entered a garden.3 works
The other 8 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Kings 23:6He brought the Asherah pole from the house of the LORD to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem, and there he burned it, ground it to powder, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.2 worksDeuteronomy 22:8If you build a new house, you are to construct a railing around your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it.2 works2 Kings 21:21–22He walked in all the ways of his father, and he served and worshiped the idols his father had served.2 works2 Chronicles 33:15He removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, along with all the altars he had built on the temple mount and in Jerusalem, and he dumped them outside the city.2 works2 Kings 23:4Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests second in rank, and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the host of heaven. And he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.2 worksJeremiah 7:30For the people of Judah have done evil in My sight, declares the LORD. They have set up their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it.2 worksEzekiel 5:11Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and abominations, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look upon you with pity, nor will I spare you.2 works2 Chronicles 15:16King Asa also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole, crushed it, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.2 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

    Zephaniah 1:5

    those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 17:33

      They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods according to the customs of the nations from which they had been carried away.

    • Jeremiah 19:13

      The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and…

    • 2 Kings 17:41

      So these nations worshiped the LORD but also served their idols, and to this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 19:13

    The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and…

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 32:29

      And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come in, set it on fire, and burn it, along with the houses of those who provoked Me to anger by burning incense to…

    • Jeremiah 7:18

      The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me…

    • Zephaniah 1:5

      those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,

  • Through

    2 Chronicles 33:5

    In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven.

    it leads to

    • 2 Chronicles 4:9

      He made the courtyard of the priests and the large court with its doors, and he overlaid the doors with bronze.

  • Through

    2 Kings 21:5

    In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven.

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 7:12

      The great courtyard was surrounded by three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams, as were the inner courtyard and portico of the house of the LORD.

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Kings

Elijah Ascends to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Elijah Ascends to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Kings: the study guide →Read 2 Kings 23 →

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.

Read on in 2 Kings 23 →