2 Kings 23:19
in 2 Kings 23Just as Josiah had done at Bethel, so also in the cities of Samaria he removed all the shrines of the high places set up by the kings of Israel who had provoked the LORD to anger.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke Jehovah to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Beth-el.
KJV
And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Beth–el.
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This verse in 2 Kings 23
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThat were in the cities of Samaria - Israel had now no king; and Josiah, of the blood royal of Judah, had certainly a direct right to the kingdom; he had, at this time, an especial commission from God, to reform every abuse through the whole land - all that ground that was given by the Lord as an inheritance to the twelve sons of Jacob. Therefore he had every right to carry his plans of reformation into the Samaritan states.
This site's exposition
cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel
on 2 Kings 23:19-20
Josiah's reform does not stop at Judah's border; he treats the shrines of the fallen northern kingdom exactly as he treated Bethel, and slaughters the priests of the high places on their own altars, burning human bones over them as he had done there. Israel had no king of its own by this point, and Clarke reads Josiah's authority as flowing from his standing as the house of David over ground once given to all twelve tribes, not from any new conquest. He then returns to Jerusalem, the northern campaign closed inside two verses.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And all the houses also of the high places,....
These the kings of Israel built, and God raised up this king of Judah to pull them down, for the honour of the ancient house of David, from which the ten tribes had revolted; the priests he justly made sacrifices upon their own altars,
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְגַם֩ | vegam | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בָּתֵּ֨י | batei | [the] houses of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הַבָּמ֜וֹת | habamot | the high places | H1116 → | 102 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר׀ | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּעָרֵ֣י | bearei | [were] in [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| שֹׁמְר֗וֹן | shomeron | Samaria | H8111 → | 109 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשׂ֜וּ | ʾasu | they had made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מַלְכֵ֤י | malkhei | [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לְהַכְעִ֔יס | lehakhis | to provoke anger | H3707 → | 54 times |
| הֵסִ֖יר | hesir | he removed | H5493 → | 299 times |
| יֹֽאשִׁיָּ֑הוּ | yoshiyahu | Josiah | H2977 → | 53 times |
| וַיַּ֣עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָהֶ֔ם | lahem | to them | ||
| כְּכָל־ | kekhol- | according to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַֽמַּעֲשִׂ֔ים | hamaasim | the deeds | H4639 → | 236 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשָׂ֖ה | ʾasah | he had done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בְּבֵֽית־ | beveit- | at Beth- | H1008 → | 142 times |
| אֵֽל׃ | ʾel | -el | H1008 → | 142 times |
וְגַם֩and also
vegamH1571 →769 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בָּתֵּ֨י[the] houses of
bateiH1004 →2046 times
הַבָּמ֜וֹתthe high places
habamotH1116 →102 times
אֲשֶׁ֣ר׀which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּעָרֵ֣י[were] in [the] cities of
beareiH5892 →1090 times
שֹׁמְר֗וֹןSamaria
shomeronH8111 →109 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָשׂ֜וּthey had made
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
מַלְכֵ֤י[the] kings of
malkheiH4428 →2525 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לְהַכְעִ֔יסto provoke anger
lehakhisH3707 →54 times
הֵסִ֖ירhe removed
hesirH5493 →299 times
יֹֽאשִׁיָּ֑הוּJosiah
yoshiyahuH2977 →53 times
וַיַּ֣עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
לָהֶ֔םto them
lahem
כְּכָל־according to all
kekhol-H3605 →5413 times
הַֽמַּעֲשִׂ֔יםthe deeds
hamaasimH4639 →236 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָשָׂ֖הhe had done
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
בְּבֵֽית־at Beth-
beveit-H1008 →142 times
אֵֽל׃-el
ʾelH1008 →142 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
2 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…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 18:4
He 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…
- 2 Chronicles 32:12
Did not Hezekiah himself remove His high places and His altars and say to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before one altar, and on it you shall burn sacrifices’?
- Genesis 19:15
At daybreak the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.”
- 2 Kings 18:4
Through
1 Kings 13:32for the message that he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria will surely…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 16:24
He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city there, calling it Samaria after the name of Shemer, who had owned the hill.
- 1 Kings 13:2
And he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, “O altar, O altar, this is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of…
- Leviticus 26:30
I 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 Kings 12:31
Jeroboam also built shrines on the high places and appointed from every class of people priests who were not Levites.
- 2 Kings 23:16–19
And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the hillside, and he sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar to defile it,…
- 1 Kings 16:24
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings

Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- 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…
- PlaceThe northern hill countrySamariaThe hill Omri bought and built his capital on, where Ahab raised a temple to Baal, where the four lepers found the Aramean camp em…
- PlaceCentral hill countryBethelThe house of God, where Jacob saw the ladder and heard the promise, where he returned to raise an altar, and where Jeroboam’s gold…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
