2 Kings 23:16

16 As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mountain. He sent [someone] to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar.^[a] He defiled it according to the word of the Lord proclaimed by the man of God^[b] who proclaimed these things.^[c]

2 Kings 23:16 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 23:16

And as Josiah turned himself
From the high place, and the altar at Bethel; for he not only gave orders for the destroying of idolatrous places and idols, but he saw them executed himself:

he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount;
the graves of idolatrous priests and worshippers, who chose to be buried near those places of idolatry; nor was it unusual for persons to be buried on hills and mountains, see ( Joshua 24:30 Joshua 24:33 ) and this was a custom in other nations formerly ^F20, particularly among the Indians ^F21 now, who in many things agree with the Jews:

and sent and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burnt them upon
the altar;
where they had sacrificed to idols:

and polluted it;
with their bones, which, according to the law, were defiling, and which was done in contempt of their idolatrous worship there:

according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who
proclaimed these words;
or things; foretold that such a king by name would arise, and burn men's bones upon the altar, and which had been foretold more than three hundred and fifty years before this time.

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 Vid. Servium in Virgil. Aeneid. 11. ver 849. "fuit ingens monte sub alto".
F21 Manasseh ben Israel Spes Israelis. sect 6. p. 29.

2 Kings 23:16 In-Context

14 He broke the sacred pillars into pieces, cut down the Asherah poles, then filled their places with human bones.

15 He even tore down the altar at Bethel and the high place that Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, had made. Then he burned the high place, crushed it to dust, and burned the Asherah.

16 As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mountain. He sent [someone] to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar. He defiled it according to the word of the Lord proclaimed by the man of God who proclaimed these things.

17 Then he said, "What is this monument I see?" The men of the city told him, "It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done to the altar at Bethel."

18 So he said, "Let him rest. Don't let anyone disturb his bones." So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.

Footnotes

• [a]. 2 Ch 34:5
• [b]. LXX adds when Jeroboam stood by the altar of the feast. And he turned and raised his eyes to the tomb of the man of God
• [c]. 1 Kg 13:2