2 Kings 23:15

23:15 He also tore down the altar in Bethel ¹  at the high place made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin. ²  He burned all the combustible items at that high place and crushed them to dust; including the Asherah pole. ³ 

2 Kings 23:19

23:19 Josiah also removed all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria. The kings of Israel had made them and angered the Lord. ⁴  He did to them what he had done to the high place in Bethel. ⁵ 

2 Kings 23:2

23:2 The king went up to the Lord’s temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, all the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. All the people were there, from the youngest to the oldest. He read aloud ⁶  all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s temple.

2 Kings 1:1

Elijah Confronts the King and His Commanders

1:1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. ⁷ 

2 Kings 1:6-7

1:6 They replied, ⁸  “A man came up to meet us. He told us, “Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. ⁹  Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.”’” 1:7 The king ¹⁰  asked them, “Describe the appearance ¹¹  of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.”

¹ map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

² tn Heb “And also the altar that is in Bethel, the high place that Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin, also that altar and the high place he tore down.” The more repetitive Hebrew text is emphatic.

³ tn Heb “he burned the high place, crushing to dust, and he burned the Asherah pole.” High places per se are never referred to as being burned elsewhere. בָּמָה (bamah) here stands by metonymy for the combustible items located on the high place. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 289.

⁴ tc Heb “which the kings of Israel had made, angering.” The object has been accidentally omitted in the MT. It appears in the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate versions.

⁵ tn Heb “and he did to them according to all the deeds he had done in Bethel.”

⁶ tn Heb “read in their ears.”

⁷ sn This statement may fit better with the final paragraph of 1 Kgs 22.

⁸ tn Heb “said to him.”

⁹ tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are sending to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question. In v. 3 the messengers are addressed (in the phrase “you are on your way” the second person plural pronoun is used in Hebrew), but here the king is addressed (in the phrase “you are sending” the second person singular pronoun is used).

¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ tn Heb “What was the manner…?”