New American Standard Bible 1995
2 Kings 23:7
7He also broke down the houses of the 1male cult prostitutes which were in the house of the Lord, where 2the women were weaving 3hangings for the Asherah.
2 Kings 23:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the grove.
- New International Version (NIV)He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes that were in the temple of the Lord, the quarters where women did weaving for Asherah.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then he tore down the ritual booths of the perverted persons that were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the wooden image.
Context of 2 Kings 23:7
5He did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the host of heaven. 6He brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and ground it to dust, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people. He also broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes which were in the house of the Lord, where the women were weaving hangings for the Asherah. 8Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one’s left at the city gate. 9Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.
Read all of 2 Kings 232 Kings 23:7 word by word
וַיִּתֹּץ֙ אֶת־בָּתֵּ֣י הַקְּדֵשִׁ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּבֵ֣ית יְהוָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר הַנָּשִׁ֗ים אֹרְג֥וֹת שָׁ֛ם בָּתִּ֖ים לָאֲשֵׁרָֽה׃Read the interlinear
- He also brokeנָתַץnâthats · to tearH5422
- the housesבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
- cultקָדֵשׁqâdêsh · male cult prostituteH6945
- whichאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- in the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- whereשָׁםshâm · thereH8033
- the womenאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
- were weavingאָרַג'ârag · to weaveH707
- hangingsבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: containerH1004
- for the Asherahאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
Cross-references for 2 Kings 23:7
- Genesis 19:4Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter;
- 1 Kings 14:24There were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.
- 1 Kings 15:12He also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols which his fathers had made.
- 1 Kings 22:46The remnant of the sodomites who remained in the days of his father Asa, he expelled from the land.
- 2 Chronicles 34:33Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel to serve the Lord their God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the Lord God of their fathers.
- Romans 1:26For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,
- Exodus 35:25All the skilled women spun with their hands, and brought what they had spun, in blue and purple and scarlet material and in fine linen.
- Ezekiel 8:14Then He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.
- Ezekiel 16:16You took some of your clothes, made for yourself high places of various colors and played the harlot on them, which should never come about nor happen.
- Hosea 2:13I will punish her for the days of the Baals When she used to offer sacrifices to them And adorn herself with her earrings and jewelry, And follow her lovers, so that she forgot Me,” declares the Lord.
Commentaries on 2 Kings 23:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7The houses of the sodomites - We have already often met with these קדשים kedeshim or consecrated persons. The word implies all kinds of prostitutes, as well as abusers of themselves with mankind. Wove hangings for the grove - For Asherah; curtains or tent coverings for the places where the rites of the impure goddess were performed. See at the end of 2 Kings 21:26; (note).Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4-20Verses 4-20 A parenthesis giving the earlier reforms of Josiah. 2 Kings 23:4 The priests of the second order - This is a new expression; and probably refers to the ordinary priests, called here “priests of the second order,” in contrast with the high priest, whose dignity was reviving (2 Kings 12:2 note). The vessels - This would include the whole apparatus of worship, altars, images, dresses, utensils, etc., for Baal, etc. (2 Kings 21:3-5 notes). The…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-14Verses 4-14 What abundance of wickedness in Judah and Jerusalem! One would not have believed it possible, that in Judah, where God was known, in Israel, where his name was great, in Salem, in Zion, where his dwelling-place was, such abominations should be found. Josiah had reigned eighteen years, and had himself set the people a good example, and kept up religion according to the Divine law; yet, when he came to search for idolatry, the depth and extent…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-7Josiah removed the priests who led idol worship. He also destroyed the living places of the cult prostitutes. These practices had been allowed by Manasseh and Amon. They continued the prostitution that came from Canaanite religion (see 1 Kings 14:24; 15:12; 22:46). Shockingly, this was practiced inside the temple itself.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. brake down the houses of the sodomites--not solid houses, but tents, called elsewhere [2Ki 17:30] Succoth-benoth, "the booths of the young women," who were devoted to the service of Asherah, for which they made embroidered hangings, and in which they gave themselves to unbridled revelry and lust. Or the hangings might be for Asherah itself, as it is a popular superstition in the East to hang pieces of cloth on trees.Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 23:7
In the dictionaries
Notes
- 1. 2 Kings 23:7 1 Kin 14:24; 15:12 ↩
- 2. 2 Kings 23:7 Ex 35:25, 26; Ezek 16:16 ↩
- 3. 2 Kings 23:7 Or tents; lit houses ↩
Commentaries on 2 Kings 23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New American Standard Bible 1995 — © 1960–1995 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Commentaries