2 Kings 23:12

12 ¹The altars which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and ²the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, the king broke down; and he smashed them there and ³threw their dust into the brook Kidron.

2 Kings 23:12 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 23:12

And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of
Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made
Which were on the roof of the royal palace; the roofs of houses in Judah being flat, ( Deuteronomy 21:8 ) altars might be built upon them; so, in Arabia, altars were built on the tops of houses to offer incense thereon daily to the sun ^F16; as here by Manasseh and Amon very probably, which might be chosen because nearer the heavens; for which reason the Heathens made use of high places to worship in, see ( Jeremiah 19:13 ) ( 32:29 ) ( Zephaniah 1:5 )

and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house
of the Lord;
( 2 Kings 21:5 )

did the king beat down;
ordered to be demolished:

and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the
brook Kidron;
that there might be no remains of them to be put to any superstitious use.

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 Strabo, Geograph l. 16. p. 539.

2 Kings 23:12 In-Context

10 He also defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for Molech.

11 He did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of the LORD , by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

12 The altars which were on the roof, 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 , the king broke down; and he smashed them there and threw their dust into the brook Kidron.

13 The high places which were before Jerusalem, which were on the right of the mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the king defiled.

14 He broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with human bones

Cross References

• 1. Jeremiah 19:13; Zephaniah 1:5
• 2. 2 Kings 21:5; 2 Chronicles 33:5
• 3. 2 Kings 23:4, 6

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "ran from there"