Melachim Bais 23:4

4 And HaMelech commanded Chilkiyahu HaKohen HaGadol, and the Kohanei HaMishneh, and the Shomrei HaSaf, to bring forth out of the Heikhal Hashem all the kelim that were made for Ba’al, and for Asherah, and for all the Tzeva HaShomayim; and he burned them outside Yerushalayim in the fields of the Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beit-El.

Melachim Bais 23:4 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 23:4

And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests
of the second order
Or the second course of the priests; the course of Jedaiah, ( 1 Chronicles 24:7 ) as some think; or rather, the two chief priests next to the high priest, who were of the line both of Eleazar and Ithamar; though the Targum interprets it of the Sagan of the priests, a deputy of the high priest, such as in later times the high priest had always appointed for him on the day of atonement ^F18:

and the keepers of the door:
the porters at the door and gates of the temple; or rather the treasurers, as the Targum; such as were appointed over the vessels of the sanctuary, as the Jewish writers generally interpret it, and which best agrees with what follows:

to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were
made for Baal:
used in burning incense, or offering sacrifices to him:

and for the grove:
the idol of the grove, or Asherah, that is, Ashtoreth, or Astarte, the same with Venus, or the moon, as Baal was the sun, the one the husband, and the other the wife, according to the Jews ^F19:

and for all the host of heaven:
the stars:

and he burnt them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron;
or plain of Kidron, as the Targum; through which the brook Kidron ran:

and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel;
where one of Jeroboam's calves was set, and was the source of idolatry; and this he did in contempt of that place; and, to show his detestation of the idolatry there, he made it a dunghill of ashes of things used in idolatrous service; this he could do, that place being in the hands of the kings of Judah from the times of Ahijah, ( 2 Chronicles 13:19 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 Misn. Yoma, c. 1. sect. 1.
F19 Zohar in Gen. fol. 34. 3.

Melachim Bais 23:4 In-Context

2 And HaMelech went up into the Beis Hashem, and kol ish Yehudah and all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim with him, and the Kohanim, and the Nevi’im, and kol HaAm, both katon and gadol; and he read in their ears all the Divrei Sefer HaBrit which was found in the Beis Hashem.

3 And HaMelech stood by HaAmmud, and cut HaBrit before Hashem, to walk after Hashem, and to be shomer mitzvot over His commandments and His edot and His chukkot with all their lev and all their nefesh, to carry out these Divrei HaBrit that were written in this Sefer. And kol HaAm stood [under oath] to HaBrit.

4 And HaMelech commanded Chilkiyahu HaKohen HaGadol, and the Kohanei HaMishneh, and the Shomrei HaSaf, to bring forth out of the Heikhal Hashem all the kelim that were made for Ba’al, and for Asherah, and for all the Tzeva HaShomayim; and he burned them outside Yerushalayim in the fields of the Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beit-El.

5 And he did away with hakemarim (the idol priests), whom the Melachim of Yehudah had ordained to burn ketoret in the high places in the towns of Yehudah, and in the places around Yerushalayim; them also that burned ketoret unto Ba’al, to the shemesh, and to the yarei’ach, and to the mazalot (constellations) and to all the Tzeva HaShomayim.

6 And he took out the Asherah from the Beis Hashem, outside Yerushalayim, unto the Kidron Valley, and burned it in the Kidron Valley, and ground it to powder, and cast its aphar upon the keverim of the Bnei HaAm [i.e., them that sacrificed unto them].