Deuteronomy 12:2

2 subvertite omnia loca in quibus coluerunt gentes quas possessuri estis deos suos super montes excelsos et colles et subter omne lignum frondosum

Deuteronomy 12:2 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 12:2

Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations
which ye shall possess served their gods
The temples erected for the worship of them by the Canaanites, of which there were many, as appears by the various names of places given them from the temples in them, as Bethshemesh, Bethbaalmeon, Bethpeor, and others:

upon the high mountains and upon the hills:
which they chose to worship on, being nearer the heavens, and which they thought most acceptable to their gods; and some of them had their names from hence, as Baalpeor, in like manner as Jupiter Olympius was called by the Greeks; see ( Jeremiah 2:20 ) ( 3:6 ) ,

and under every green tree;
which being shady and solitary, and pleasant to the sight, they fancied their gods delighted in, and this notion prevailed among other nations; and there is scarcely any deity but what had some tree or another devoted to it; as the oak to Jupiter, the laurel to Apollo, the ivy to Bacchus, the olive to Minerva, the myrtle to Venus see ( Jeremiah 2:20 ) ( 3:6 ) .

Deuteronomy 12:2 In-Context

1 haec sunt praecepta atque iudicia quae facere debetis in terra quam Dominus Deus patrum tuorum daturus est tibi ut possideas eam cunctis diebus quibus super humum gradieris

2 subvertite omnia loca in quibus coluerunt gentes quas possessuri estis deos suos super montes excelsos et colles et subter omne lignum frondosum

3 dissipate aras earum et confringite statuas lucos igne conburite et idola comminuite disperdite nomina eorum de locis illis

4 non facietis ita Domino Deo vestro

5 sed ad locum quem elegerit Dominus Deus vester de cunctis tribubus vestris ut ponat nomen suum ibi et habitet in eo venietis