1 Kings 3:2

3:2 Now the people were offering sacrifices at the high places, ¹  because in those days a temple had not yet been built to honor the Lord. ² 

Deuteronomy 12:2

12:2 You must by all means destroy ³  all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods – on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree. ⁴ 

Isaiah 57:5

57:5 you who practice ritual sex ⁵  under the oaks and every green tree,

who slaughter children near the streams under the rocky overhangs. ⁶ 

Ezekiel 16:24-25

16:24 you built yourself a chamber ⁷  and put up a pavilion ⁸  in every public square. 16:25 At the head of every street you erected your pavilion and you disgraced ⁹  your beauty when you spread ¹⁰  your legs to every passerby and multiplied your promiscuity.

Ezekiel 20:28-29

20:28 I brought them to the land which I swore ¹¹  to give them, but whenever they saw any high hill or leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices there and presented the offerings that provoke me to anger. They offered their soothing aroma there and poured out their drink offerings. 20:29 So I said to them, What is this high place you go to?’” (So it is called “High Place” ¹²  to this day.)

¹ sn Offering sacrifices at the high places. The “high places” were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated.

² tn Heb “for the name of the Lord.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “to honor the Lord”). The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.

³ tn Heb “destroying you must destroy”; KJV “Ye shall utterly (surely ASV) destroy”; NRSV “must demolish completely.” The Hebrew infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by the words “by all means.”

⁴ sn Every leafy tree. This expression refers to evergreens which, because they keep their foliage throughout the year, provided apt symbolism for nature cults such as those practiced in Canaan. The deity particularly in view is Asherah, wife of the great god El, who was considered the goddess of fertility and whose worship frequently took place at shrines near or among clusters (groves) of such trees (see also Deut 7:5). See J. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:569-70; J. DeMoor, TDOT 1:438-44.

⁵ tn Heb “inflame yourselves”; NRSV “burn with lust.” This verse alludes to the practice of ritual sex that accompanied pagan fertility rites.

⁶ sn This apparently alludes to the practice of child sacrifice (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

⁷ tn The Hebrew גֶּב (gev) may represent more than one word, each rare in the Old Testament. It may refer to a “mound” or to “rafters.” The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate interpret this as a brothel.

⁸ tn Or “lofty place” (NRSV). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:229, and B. Lang, Frau Weisheit, 137.

⁹ tn Heb “treated as if abominable,” i.e., repudiated.

¹⁰ tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew root is found in Prov 13:3 in reference to the talkative person who habitually “opens wide” his lips.

¹¹ tn Heb “which I lifted up my hand.”

¹² tn The Hebrew word (“Bamah”) means “high place.”