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23:10 Topheth was a precinct in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, which lay southwest of the city of David and led into the Kidron Valley. The detestable rite of child sacrifice had occurred there. • Molech has been identified with a number of deities (see 1 Kgs 11:5, 7, 33) and with the name of a sacrifice offered to Baal (Jer 7:31-32; 19:5-6; 32:35).
23:11 The horse was used in sun worship in the ancient Near East. The Assyrian sun-god Shamash and other deities were depicted riding across the sky in horse-drawn chariots. Archaeological evidence suggests that a solar cult existed in Israel as early as the 800s BC. The cult’s popularity likely increased during the reigns of Manasseh and Amon, when it was s...
23:11 The horse was used in sun worship in the ancient Near East. The Assyrian sun-god Shamash and other deities were depicted riding across the sky in horse-drawn chariots. Archaeological evidence suggests that a solar cult existed in Israel as early as the 800s BC. The cult’s popularity likely increased during the reigns of Manasseh and Amon, when it was sponsored by the crown (21:3-5, 21-22). Despite Josiah’s reforms, shortly after his death Ezekiel denounced the sun worshipers again for performing their rituals within the inner court of the Temple (Ezek 8:16). • the eunuch, an officer of the court: The term translated eunuch can refer not only to those who were physically eunuchs but also to high officials.
23:12 upper room of Ahaz: Roof-top altars were used for astral worship (Jer 19:13; Zeph 1:5) and rituals associated with Baal (Jer 32:29).
23:1-2 In the spirit of the instructions of Deuteronomy (Deut 31:10-13) and like Joshua before him (Josh 8:34-35), Josiah summoned . . . all the people to hear the reading of the entire Book of the Covenant.
Josiah
Josiah Josiah, who reigned in Judah from 640 to 609 BC, was a godly man, unlike his grandfather Manasseh and his father, Amon. Josiah “turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses” (2 Kgs 23:25). The kingdom of Judah was grossly idolatrous and wicked during Manasseh’s reign (697–642 BC). Despite Manasseh’s own repentance toward the end of his reign, conditions continued to worsen under his son Amon (642–640 BC), who was so bad that his own officials assassinated him, and the eight-year-old Josiah was placed on the throne (21:23-24; 22:1; 2 Chr 33:24–34:1). When Josiah was sixteen, he began “to seek the God of his ancestor David” (2 Chr 34:3). From that point on, he was dedicated to purifying the worship of the people of God. At twenty, Josiah began eradicating pagan places of worship, especially the despised pagan worship center at Bethel. Josiah fulfilled prophecy (1 Kgs 13:1-3) by destroying its altar and burning the bones of pagan priests to desecrate the site (2 Kgs 23:15-18). When Josiah was twenty-six, he organized repairs to the Temple (22:3-7). In the process, the priest Hilkiah found the Book of the Law and read it...
deuteronomy 7:5
deuteronomy 12:3
deuteronomy 28:15-68
deuteronomy 31:10-13
joshua 8:34-35
joshua 24:1-27
1 kings 8:1-53
1 kings 11:5