2 Kings 23:13 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
2 Kings 23:13
And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
an elevation · definite article + noun, common feminine plural absolute
before
פְּנֵ֣יpe.Nei
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Jerusalem
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֗םye.ru.sha.Lim
H3389
Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · proper noun, a place name
hand
מִימִ֣יןmi.Min
H3225
the right hand or side (leg · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
mount
לְהַרle.har-
H2022
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
corruption
הַמַּשְׁחִית֒ha.mash.Chit
H4889
destructive · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Kings 11:5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
1 Kings 11:7 Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomina…
Numbers 21:29 Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon k…
Judges 2:13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
Judges 10:6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of…
Judges 11:24 Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them…
1 Samuel 7:4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only.
1 Samuel 12:10 And they cried unto the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now del…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 23:4-24
We have here an account of such a reformation as we have not met with in all the history of the kings of Judah, such thorough riddance made of all the abominable things and such foundations laid of a glorious good work; and here I cannot but wonder at two things: - 1. That so many wicked things should have got in, and kept standing so long, as we find here removed. 2. That notwithstanding the removal of these wicked things, and the hopeful prospects here given of a happy settlement, yet within a few years Jerusalem was utterly destroyed, and even this did not save it; for the generality of the people, after all, hated to be reformed. The founder melteth in vain, and therefore reprobate silve…
the high places . . . which Solomon . . . had builded--(See on Kg1 11:5).
the right hand of the mount of corruption--The Mount of Olives is a hilly range on the east of Jerusalem. This range has three summits, of which the central one is the Mount of Corruption, so called from the idol temples built there, and of course the hill on the right hand denotes the southernmost peak. Josiah is said not to have destroyed, but only defiled, "the high places on the hill of corruption." It is most probable that Hezekiah had long before demolished the idolatrous temples erected there by Solomon but, as the superstitious people continued to regard the spot as consecrated ground, Josiah defiled it.
Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 23:13
Mount of corruption - This, says Jarchi, following the Chaldee, was the mount of Olives, for this is the mount המשחה hammishchah, of unction; but because of the idolatrous purposes for which it was used, the Scripture changed the appellation to the mount המשחית hammashchith, of corruption.
Ashtoreth the abomination, etc. - See on Kg1 11:7 (note).
John Gill on 2 Kings 23:13
And the high places that were before Jerusalem,.... Not only that were within the city, and at the gates of it, but what were without it:
which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption: the mount of Olives, so called from the idolatry and corrupt worship performed in it, by way of reproach, with a small alteration of the letters of the word for at the right hand, or south of this mountain, as the Targum; though others say (q), on the north side of the mount of Olives, four furlongs or half a mile from Jerusalem, were high places:
which Solomon king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom…
The Church Fathers
"Also the high places that were in Jerusalem, etc." [2 Kings 23:13] What is said shortly after about the same king: Also the high places that were in Jerusalem, to the right side of the Mount of Offense, etc., up to, The king defiled and crushed the statues; it is clear as daylight that Scripture usually names high places as locations set on leafy hills, in which they sacrificed either to demons or even to the Lord, drawn by the pleasantness of the locations, contrary to the prohibition of leaving the altar which was in the temple and offering sacrifices. Whence it is often said in this book about kings who were less perfectly just: Nevertheless he did not remove the high places. But the Mount of Offense, he calls the Mount of the idol, because it is customary in Scriptures to name idols as offense, because either God is offended in them, or they bring offense and ruin to their worshipers, as is indicated in this very sentence that follows, when it says: Which Solomon, the king of Israel, had built for Astaroth, the idol of the Sidonians, and for Chamos, an offense to Moab, and for Melchon, an abomination to the children of Ammon. Where this also, if I am not mistaken, is clearly shown, which I wish had not been shown: that evidently Solomon never perfectly repented of the crime of idolatry he had committed. For if he had produced fruits worthy of repentance, he would have striven above all to remove the idols he had built from the holy city; and not, to the scandal of the foolish, would he have left what he, although once the wisest, had done erroneously, as if done wisely and rightly. Scripture mentions this above, saying: Then Solomon built a shrine for Chemosh, the idol of Moab, on the mountain opposite Jerusalem, and for Molech, the idol of the children of Ammon (1 Kings 11). Nor should it seem contradictory that the mountain where these idols were made is said to be against Jerusalem, here it is stated to be placed in Jerusalem; because undoubtedly it was situated so near the city, that it seemed to belong to it, and also to stain it with the filth gathered there.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Ammonite — The usual name of the descendants of Ammon, the son of Lot (Gen. 19:38). From the very beginning (Deut. 2:16-20) of their history till they are lost sight of (Judg. 5:2), this tribe is closely…
Ashtoreth — The moon goddess of the Phoenicians, representing the passive principle in nature, their principal female deity; frequently associated with the name of Baal, the sun-god, their chief male deity…
Chemosh — The destroyer, subduer, or fish-god, the god of the Moabites (Num. 21:29; Jer. 48:7, 13, 46). The worship of this god, “the abomination of Moab,” was introduced at Jerusalem by Solomon (1 Kings…
Esdraelon — The Greek form of the Hebrew “Jezreel,” the name of the great plain (called by the natives Merj Ibn Amer; i.e., “the meadow of the son of Amer”) which stretches across Central Palestine from the…
Hinnom — A deep, narrow ravine separating Mount Zion from the so-called “Hill of Evil Counsel.” It took its name from “some ancient hero, the son of Hinnom.” It is first mentioned in Josh. 15:8. It had been…
Jeremiah — Raised up or appointed by Jehovah. (1.) A Gadite who joined David in the wilderness (1 Chr. 12:10). (2.) A Gadite warrior (1 Chr. 12:13). (3.) A Benjamite slinger who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chr.…
Josiah — Healed by Jehovah, or Jehovah will support. The son of Amon, and his successor on the throne of Judah (2 Kings 22:1; 2 Chr. 34:1). His history is contained in 2 Kings 22, 23. He stands foremost among…
Moloch — King, the name of the national god of the Ammonites, to whom children were sacrificed by fire. He was the consuming and destroying and also at the same time the purifying fire. In Amos 5:26, “your…
Mount of corruption — (2 Kings 23:13; Vulg., “mount of offence”), the name given to a part of the Mount of Olives, so called because idol temples were there erected in the time of Solomon, temples to the Zidonian…
Olives, Mount Of — “The Mount of Olives” occurs in the Old Testament in (Zechariah 14:4) only. In (2 Samuel 15:30) it is called “Olivet;” in other places simply “the mount,” (Nehemiah 8:15) “the mount facing Jerusalem”…
Solomon
שְׁלֹמֹ֨הshe.lo.Moh
H8010
Shelomah · proper noun, a man's name
king
מֶֽלֶךְMe.lekh-
H4428
a king · noun, common masculine singular construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֜לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
builded
בָּ֠נָהBa.nah
H1129
to build (literally and figuratively) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Ashtoreth
לְעַשְׁתֹּ֣רֶתle.'ash.To.ret
H6253
Ashtoreth · preposition + proper noun, a title
abomination
שִׁקֻּ֣ץshi.Kutz
H8251
disgusting · noun, common masculine singular construct
Zidonians
צִידֹנִ֗יםtzi.do.Nim
H6722
a Tsidonian or inhabitant of Tsidon · noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
Chemosh
וְלִכְמוֹשׁ֙ve.likh.mo.Vosh
H3645
Kemosh · conjunction + preposition + proper noun, a title
abomination
שִׁקֻּ֣ץshi.Kutz
H8251
disgusting · noun, common masculine singular construct
Moabites
מוֹאָ֔בmo.'Av
H4124
Moab · proper noun, a place name
Milcom
וּלְמִלְכֹּ֖םu.le.mil.Kom
H4445
Malcam or Milcom · conjunction + preposition + proper noun, a title
abomination
תּוֹעֲבַ֣תto.'a.Vat
H8441
properly · noun, common feminine singular construct
children
בְּנֵֽיbe.nei-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Ammon
עַמּ֑וֹןa.Mon
H5983
Ammon · proper noun, a man's name
king
הַמֶּֽלֶךְha.Me.lekh
H4428
a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
defile
טִמֵּ֖אti.Me'
H2930
to be foul · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Instead of resting content with the fact that he was promised deliverance from the approaching judgment, Josiah did everything that was in his power to lead the whole nation to true conversion to the Lord, and thereby avert as far as possible the threatened curse of rejection, since the Lord in His word had promised forgiveness and mercy to the penitent. He therefore gathered together the elders of the nation, and went with them, with the priests and prophets and the assembled people, into the temple, and there had the book of the law read to those who were assembled, and concluded a covenant with the Lord, into which the people also entered. After this he had all the remnants of idolatry er…
Solomon had erected the pagan shrines because of his many foreign wives (1 Kgs 11:5, 7, 33).
Rashi on 2 Kings 23:13
Of Har Hamashchis. [I.e.,] the Mount of Olives, which is known as the Mount of Oil. But because its name is mentioned in reference to idolatry, [Scripture] changed its name to a derogatory expression.14I.e., from הר המשחה [=Mount of Oil] to הר המשחית [=Mount of Destroyer].
Olves, Mount of — So called from the olive trees with which its sides are clothed, is a mountain ridge on the east of Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:7; Ezek. 11:23; Zech. 14:4), from which it is separated by the valley of…
Pentateuch — The five-fold volume, consisting of the first five books of the Old Testament. This word does not occur in Scripture, nor is it certainly known when the roll was thus divided into five portions…
Solomon — Peaceful, (Heb. Shelomoh), David’s second son by Bathsheba, i.e., the first after their legal marriage (2 Sam. 12). He was probably born about B.C. 1035 (1 Chr. 22:5; 29:1). He succeeded his father…
Zidon, Or Sidon — (Genesis 10:15,19; Joshua 11:8; 19:28; Judges 1:31; 18:28; Isaiah 23:2,4,12; Jeremiah 25:22; 27:3; Ezekiel 28:21,22; Joel 3:4) (Joel 4:4); Zech 9:2; Matt 11:21,22; 15:21; Mark 3:8; 1:24,31; Luke…
Zidonians — the inhabitants of Zidon. They were among the nations of Canaan; left to give the Israelites practice in the art of war, (Judges 3:3) and colonies of them appear to have spread up into the hill…
Ammonites · Character of — Character of
Ammonites, The · Character of: Idolatrous — Character of: Idolatrous
Ashtoreth · Worshiped by Israelites — Worshiped by Israelites
Chemosh · .The Moabites and Ammonites — .The Moabites and Ammonites
Corruption · .Mount of — .Mount of
Iconoclasm · .Josiah — .Josiah
Mountains · Mentioned in scripture: Olives or mount of corruption — Mentioned in scripture: Olives or mount of corruption
Olives, Mount Of · General references — General references
Zeal · Should be exhibited: Against idolatry — Should be exhibited: Against idolatry
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
