Bible Strands
2 Kings 3:2
And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as his father and mother had done. He removed the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records Jehoram’s accession to the throne of Israel in Samaria and immediately notes his first religious actions upon taking power. The account situates his reign within the broader political timeline of Judah’s Jehoshaphat.
The words — The phrase בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה (be'enei Yahweh) literally means "in the eyes of Yahweh," setting divine observation as the metric for moral evaluation. The particle רַק (rak) functions as a restrictive "only" or "but," marking a qualified departure from his parents' record.
The thread — Jehoram’s removal of his father’s sacred pillar anticipates Jehu’s later destruction of the same object (2 Kings 10:26). This partial reform stands in contrast to Ahab’s total surrender to evil under Jezebel’s incitement (1 Kings 21:25) and precedes Jehu’s public declaration of service to Baal (2 Kings 10:18).
Why it lands — The text states that Jehoram did evil yet removed one idolatrous monument, while the surrounding context notes his continued adherence to Jeroboam’s sins. It requires recognizing that selective religious action without comprehensive repentance remains condemned.
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 wrought evil in the sight of the Lord; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 10:18 Then Jehu brought all the people together and said, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him a lot.
- 1 Kings 21:25 (Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel.
- 2 Kings 10:26 They brought out the sacred pillar of the temple of Baal and burned it.
- Exodus 23:24 You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces.
- 1 Samuel 15:19 So why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you rush upon the plunder and do evil in the sight of the LORD?”
- 1 Kings 16:19 because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the sight of the LORD and following the example of Jeroboam and the sin he had committed and had caused Israel to commit.
- 1 Kings 16:31 And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then proceeded to serve and worship Baal.
- 1 Kings 21:5 Soon his wife Jezebel came in and asked, “Why are you so sullen that you refuse to eat?”
- 1 Kings 21:20 When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.” He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD.
- 2 Kings 6:31 He announced, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders through this day!”