Bible Strands
2 Kings 11:18
So all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols to pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars. And Jehoiada the priest posted guards for the house of the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative records the people of the land acting immediately after Jehoiada establishes covenants with the king and the populace. This occurs during the transition of power as Jehoiada prepares to escort Joash to the royal throne.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיִּתְּצֻהוּ (vayittehuhu) literally means "and they pulled down," describing the physical demolition of the temple structure. The phrase בֵּית־בַּעַל (beit-Ba‘al) identifies the specific sanctuary targeted for destruction.
The thread — This demolition parallels the destruction commands in Deuteronomy 12:3 and the pillar burning in 2 Kings 10:26. The execution of the priest also mirrors the judgment carried out in 1 Kings 18:40.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that covenant renewal requires the active removal of competing religious systems. It establishes that public worship must be physically separated from idolatrous practice before institutional order can be restored.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 12:3 Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.
- 1 Kings 18:40 Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
- 2 Kings 10:26 They brought out the sacred pillar of the temple of Baal and burned it.
- 2 Kings 18:4 He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.
- Deuteronomy 13:5 Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you.
- Exodus 32:20 Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink it.
- Deuteronomy 13:9 Instead, you must surely kill him. Your hand must be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.
- 2 Kings 9:25 And Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Pick him up and throw him into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember that when you and I were riding together behind his father Ahab, the LORD lifted up this burden against him:
- 2 Kings 23:4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests second in rank, and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the host of heaven. And he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.
- 2 Kings 23:10 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.