Melachim Bais 21:7

7 And he set a pesel HaAsherah he had made in the Beis [Hashem] of which Hashem said to Dovid, and to Sh’lomo bno, In this Beis, and in Yerushalayim, which I have chosen out of all Shivtei Yisroel, will I put Shmi (My Name) l’olam;

Melachim Bais 21:7 Meaning and Commentary

Ver. 7 And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the
house
Which was either an image that had been placed in a grove planted by him, and now removed into the house or temple of the Lord; or, as some think, this was a representation of a grove, a carved grove of gold or silver, in the midst of which an image was placed in the temple; though what Selden observes ^F2, seems best of all, that this was an image of Asherah, as in the original text; that is, of Astarte or Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians, ( 1 Kings 11:5 ) , the same the Phoenicians are said to call Astroarche, and affirm it to be the moon ^F3: in ( 2 Chronicles 33:7 ) it is called a carved image the idol he had made; and an Arabic writer ^F4 says, it had four faces, which seems to be a figure of the cherubim; but, according to Suidas ^F5, it was the statue of Jupiter, who also says it had four faces:

of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son:
that is, of which house or temple:

in this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the
tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever;
see ( 1 Kings 8:29 ) ( 9:3 ) (See Gill on 2 Kings 21:3).

---

FOOTNOTES:

F2 De Dis Syris, Syntagm. 2. c. 2. p. 233.
F3 Herodian. l. 5. c. 15.
F4 Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. Dyn. 3. p. 66.
F5 In voce (manasshva) .

Melachim Bais 21:7 In-Context

5 And he built mizbechot for kol Tzava HaShomayim in the two khatzerot (courtyards) of the Beis Hashem.

6 And he made bno pass through the eish, and practiced sorcery, and witchcraft, and dealt with familiar spirits [i.e., he consulted mediums] and spiritists; he wrought much rah in the eyes of Hashem, to provoke Him to anger.

7 And he set a pesel HaAsherah he had made in the Beis [Hashem] of which Hashem said to Dovid, and to Sh’lomo bno, In this Beis, and in Yerushalayim, which I have chosen out of all Shivtei Yisroel, will I put Shmi (My Name) l’olam;

8 Neither will I make the regel Yisroel move any more out of ha’adamah (the land) which I gave their avot; only if they will be shomer to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the torah that avdi Moshe commanded them.

9 But they paid heed not; and Menasheh seduced them to do rah more than did the Goyim whom Hashem destroyed before the Bnei Yisroel.