Bible Strands
2 Kings 16:12
When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator describes King Ahaz upon his return from Damascus, observing the newly constructed altar before him. This occurs immediately after Uriah the priest finished building the structure according to Ahaz’s specifications.
The words — The text highlights וַ/יִּקְרַ֥ב (va/i.yik.Rav), meaning "and he drew near," which describes the king’s physical approach to the altar before offering. This verb establishes the necessary proximity for ritual action.
The thread — The narrative of a king approaching an altar to offer sacrifices parallels the ritual protocols outlined in Numbers 18:4 regarding attendance at the Tent of Meeting. The sequence also echoes the altar-centered encounters recorded in 1 Kings 13:1.
Why it lands — The verse records Ahaz’s immediate adoption of the foreign altar’s functions, demanding recognition of his voluntary shift away from established worship. It requires the reader to observe how political alignment directly shapes religious practice.
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 when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 26:16 But when Uzziah became powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.
- Numbers 18:4 They are to join you and attend to the duties of the Tent of Meeting, doing all the work at the Tent; but no outsider may come near you.
- 1 Kings 13:1 Suddenly, as Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD.
- 2 Chronicles 28:23 He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him, and he said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But these gods were the downfall of Ahaz and of all Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 28:25 In every city of Judah he built high places to offer incense to other gods, and so he provoked the LORD, the God of his fathers.