Bible Strands
2 Kings 21:7
Manasseh even took the carved Asherah pole he had made and set it up in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records King Manasseh placing a self-made idol inside the Jerusalem temple during his reign, juxtaposing his action against a prior divine declaration to David and Solomon. The account frames this historical moment without direct speech, highlighting the breach of God's earlier commitment to the site.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיָּשֶׂם (va.ya.sem) translates literally as "and he put" or "he set up," indicating the physical installation of the object. The noun פֶּסֶל (pe.sel) means "carved image" or "graven idol," specifying the manufactured nature of the Asherah pole.
The thread — This act directly contradicts the covenant declarations in 2 Samuel 7:13 and 1 Kings 8:29, where God established the temple and Jerusalem as the permanent dwelling for His Name. The narrative immediately connects this desecration to the conditional warning in 2 Kings 21:8 regarding Israel's continued possession of the land.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to acknowledge that deliberate idolatry violates explicit divine warnings about the temple's exclusive holiness. It demands recognition that covenant actions trigger the historical consequences outlined in the surrounding narrative.
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 he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 7:16 For I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My Name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
- 2 Samuel 7:13 He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
- 1 Kings 8:29 May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place.
- 1 Kings 9:3 And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and petition before Me. I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting My Name there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
- 2 Chronicles 7:12 the LORD appeared to him at night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.
- Deuteronomy 16:21 Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole next to the altar you will build for the LORD your God,
- 2 Kings 21:4 Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My Name.”
- 2 Kings 23:6 He brought the Asherah pole from the house of the LORD to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem, and there he burned it, ground it to powder, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.
- 2 Kings 23:27 For the LORD had said, “I will remove Judah from My sight, just as I removed Israel. I will reject this city Jerusalem, which I chose, and the temple of which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’”
- 2 Chronicles 7:20 then I will uproot Israel from the soil I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.