2 Kings 23:10-14

Why does Josiah desecrate sites as well as remove their objects?

Berean Standard Bible

10 He also desecrated Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so that no one could sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire to Molech. 11 And he removed from the entrance to the house of the LORD the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court near the chamber of an official named Nathan-melech. And Josiah burned up the chariots of the sun. 12 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. 13 The king also desecrated the high places east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 He smashed the sacred pillars to pieces, cut down the Asherah poles, and covered the sites with human bones.

What is the context?

Josiah desecrates Topheth so that children can no longer be sacrificed there. He also removes horses dedicated to the sun, burns the solar chariots, and destroys royal altars associated with Ahaz and Manasseh.

The account reaches back to high places Solomon built for foreign gods. The reform confronts practices connected with honored kings as well as more recent rulers, so ancestry and royal prestige do not make them acceptable.

The sites are left unfit for their former religious use, including through the presence of human bones. The purpose within the account is to stop and discredit the forbidden worship; it is not a general instruction to desecrate present-day burial places or attack other religious communities.

How is this passage commonly understood?

Wesley emphasizes the deliberate removal of idolatry’s places and reminders. The USCCB notes also identify the child sacrifice as a practice condemned in the law. The text supplies that moral concern without requiring speculative explanations of drums, an idol’s physical design, or the exact function of every dedicated horse.

What is our position?

We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.

Where can I study this further?

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