2 Kings 18:4

18:4 He eliminated the high places, smashed the sacred pillars to bits, and cut down the Asherah pole. ¹  He also demolished the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for up to that time ²  the Israelites had been offering incense to it; it was called Nehushtan. ³ 

Exodus 32:20

32:20 He took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, ground it ⁴  to powder, poured it out on the water, and made the Israelites drink it. ⁵ 

Deuteronomy 12:3

12:3 You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, ⁶  burn up their sacred Asherah poles, ⁷  and cut down the images of their gods; you must eliminate their very memory from that place.

Deuteronomy 12:2

12:2 You must by all means destroy ⁸  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. ⁹ 

Deuteronomy 21:17

21:17 Rather, he must acknowledge the son of the less loved ¹⁰  wife as firstborn and give him the double portion ¹¹  of all he has, for that son is the beginning of his father’s procreative power ¹²  – to him should go the right of the firstborn.

Isaiah 2:18

2:18 The worthless idols will be completely eliminated. ¹³ 

Zechariah 13:2

13:2 And also on that day,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will remove ¹⁴  the names of the idols from the land and they will never again be remembered. Moreover, I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.

¹ tn The term is singular in the MT but plural in the LXX and other ancient versions. It is also possible to regard the singular as a collective singular, especially in the context of other plural items.

² tn Heb “until those days.”

³ tn In Hebrew the name sounds like the phrase נְחַשׁ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת (nÿkhash hannÿkhoshet), “bronze serpent.”

⁴ tn Here “it” has been supplied.

⁵ tn Here “it” has been supplied.

⁶ sn Sacred pillars. These are the stelae (stone pillars; the Hebrew term is מַצֵּבֹת, matsevot) associated with Baal worship, perhaps to mark a spot hallowed by an alleged visitation of the gods. See also Deut 7:5.

⁷ sn Sacred Asherah poles. The Hebrew term (plural) is אֲשֵׁרִים (’asherim). See note on the word “(leafy) tree” in v. 2, and also Deut 7:5.

⁸ 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.”

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ tn See note on the word “other” in v. 15.

¹¹ tn Heb “measure of two.” The Hebrew expression פִּי שְׁנַיִם (piy shÿnayim) suggests a two-thirds split; that is, the elder gets two parts and the younger one part. Cf. 2 Kgs 2:9; Zech 13:8. The practice is implicit in Isaac’s blessing of Jacob (Gen 25:31-34) and Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim (Gen 48:8-22).

¹² tn Heb “his generative power” (אוֹן, ’on; cf. HALOT 22 s.v.). Cf. NAB “the first fruits of his manhood”; NRSV “the first issue of his virility.”

¹³ tc The verb “pass away” is singular in the Hebrew text, despite the plural subject (“worthless idols”) that precedes. The verb should be emended to a plural; the final vav (ו) has been accidentally omitted by haplography (note the vav at the beginning of the immediately following form).

¹⁴ tn Heb “cut off” (so NRSV); NAB “destroy”; NIV “banish.”