Kings II 23:6

6 All these as a thorn thrust forth, for they shall not be taken with the hand,

Kings II 23:6 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 23:6

And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord
Not a real grove of trees, but a carved one, as some think; or rather the image of the grove, ( 2 Kings 21:7 ) that is, the idol Ashtoreth, or Astarte, which was set up there; so Theodoret says; some interpreters call it Astoreth, the name of Venus, whom they call Astarte: this Josiah ordered to be brought

without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burnt it at the brook
Kidron;
the black brook, where the filth of the sacrifices was carried:

and stamped it small to powder;
as Moses did the golden calf:

and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the
people;
the common people, see ( Jeremiah 26:23 ) or rather on the graves of the worshippers of idols, as it seems from ( 2 Chronicles 34:4 ) the Targum is,

``on the graves of the children of Galia,''

which, Kimchi says, is the name of an idol; this was done partly in contempt of the idol, groves being, according to law, impure; and partly to the reproach of the deceased, and the memory of them, for their idolatry, and to deter from it those that survived them.

Kings II 23:6 In-Context

4 And in the morning light of God, let the sun arise in the morning, from the light of which the Lord passed on, and as it were from the rain of the tender grass upon the earth.

5 For my house not so with the Mighty One: for he has made an everlasting covenant with me, ready, guarded at every time; for all my salvation and all my desire , that the wicked should not flourish.

6 All these as a thorn thrust forth, for they shall not be taken with the hand,

7 and a man shall not labour among them; and that which is fully armed with iron, and the staff of a spear, an he shall burn them with fire, and they shall be burnt in their shame.

8 These the names of the mighty men of David: Jebosthe the Chananite is a captain of the third : Adinon the Asonite, he drew his sword against eight hundred soldiers at once.