Keraia
2 Kings 23

2 Kings 23:12

Josiah Destroys Idolatry · 2 Kings 23:4–20
Read 2 Kings 23

Translations

Modern
He pulled down the altars that the kings of Judah had set up on the roof near the upper chamber of Ahaz, and the altars that Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the house of the LORD. The king pulverized them there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.
Traditional
And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
Literal
And the altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of YHWH, the king broke down and pulverized them there, and he threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.
Latin
Altaria quoque quæ erant super tecta cœnaculi Achaz, quæ fecerant reges Juda, et altaria quæ fecerat Manasses in duobus atriis templi Domini, destruxit rex, et cucurrit inde, et dispersit cinerem eorum in torrentem Cedron.

Original

Hebrew
English
He pulled down the altars that the kings of Judah had set up on the roof near the upper chamber of Ahaz, and the altars that Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the house of the LORD. The king pulverized them there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.

Notes

2 Kings 23:12

the upper chamber of Ahaz: People used rooftop altars for star worship (Jeremiah 19:13; Zephaniah 1:5) and Baal rituals (Jeremiah 32:29).

Theme notes and profiles

Josiah The Collapse of Culture

Events

Parallels

1 Kings 13:1–10 2 Chronicles 34:3–7

People

Ahaz: King of Judah, son of Jotham Judah: Israelite tribe, kingdom, and province Manasseh: King of Judah, son of Hezekiah

Places

Kidron: A valley east of Jerusalem, site of significant events

Glossary

Book of the Covenant Hell Josiah Kidron Kings, Books of First and Second Kohath, Kohathites Manasseh (Person) Temple Upper Room

Topics

Altar used in Idolatrous Worship Altars for Idolatrous Worship, often Erected on Roofs of Houses Cedron: Idols Destroyed on the Banks of Josiah House: Architecture of Altars On Houses: The Flat Roofs of had often Idolatrous Altars on Them Iconoclasm: Destroyed by Josiah Idolatry: Objects of, Worshipped: On the Tops of Houses Josiah: King of Judah: Destroys the Altar and High Places of Idolatry Kidron: Destruction of Idols At, by Asa, Josiah, and the Levites Prophecies Concerning Israel: Josiah Succeeds Amon Prophecy: Miscellaneous, Fulfilled: The Birth and Zeal of Josiah the First Temple: Purified by Josiah Zeal: should be Exhibited: Against Idolatry