2 Chronicles 11:15

15 Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places, the goat-demons,^[a] and the [gold] calves he had made.^[b]

2 Chronicles 11:15 Meaning and Commentary

2 Chronicles 11:15

And he ordained him priests for the high places
Of such who were not of the tribe of Levi, and family of Aaron; see ( 1 Kings 12:31 )

and for the devils;
demons in the shape of goats, as this word signifies, in which form many of the Heathen deities were worshipped; idols of whatsoever kind are so called; for whosoever worships them worships not God, but devils, ( 1 Corinthians 10:21 ) the images which Jeroboam set up may be meant, and the next clause may be rendered as explanative of them:

even for the calves which he had made;
one of which he set up at Dan, and the other at Bethel, ( 1 Kings 12:28 1 Kings 12:29 ) .

2 Chronicles 11:15 In-Context

13 The priests and Levites from all their regions throughout Israel took their stand with Rehoboam,

14 for the Levites left their pasturelands and their possessions and went to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons refused to let them serve as priests of the Lord.

15 Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places, the goat-demons, and the [gold] calves he had made.

16 Those from every tribe of Israel who had determined in their hearts to seek the Lord their God followed the Levites to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their ancestors.

17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lv 17:7
• [b]. 1 Kg 12:25-33