2 Kings 23:12

12 The king also tore down the altars that were on the roof of Ahaz's upper story, which had been made by the Judean kings, and he did the same with the altars that Manasseh had built in the two courtyards of the LORD's temple. He broke them up there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.

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 Josiah defiled the Topheth in the Ben-hinnom Valley so no one could burn their child alive in honor of the god Molech.

11 He did away with the horses that Judah's kings had dedicated to the sun. They were kept at the entrance to the LORD's temple near a room in the annex that belonged to an official named Nathan-melech. Josiah set fire to the chariots that were dedicated to the sun.

12 The king also tore down the altars that were on the roof of Ahaz's upper story, which had been made by the Judean kings, and he did the same with the altars that Manasseh had built in the two courtyards of the LORD's temple. He broke them up there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.

13 The king then defiled the shrines facing Jerusalem, south of the Mountain of Destruction. Solomon the king of Israel had built these for Ashtoreth, the monstrous Sidonian god, for Chemosh, the monstrous Moabite god, and for Milcom, the detestable Ammonite god.

14 He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the sacred poles, filling the places where they had been with human bones.

Footnotes

• [a]. Correction; MT removed them quickly or ran from there