The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 405

ohamberlain, whioh was in the suburbs. lishecl on it. The "right hand" of the There were many "chnmbers" attached to n_iountain would, according to Jewish no- the temple, which were sometimes u!ed as tions, be the more southern part. Which store-rooms for different materials (1 Cbron. Solomon the King· of Israel-rather, King ix. 26; 2 Chron. xxxi. 11, 12; Neh. x. 38; of l•rael, since there is no article-had xiii. 5), sometimes as residences (Neh. xiii. bnilded for Aehtoreth the abomination of 7). In Josiah's time," Natban-melech the the Zidoniane (see 1 Kings xi. 7). Though chamberlain," or rather " the eunuch," occu. Aebtorctb, or Astarte, or lsbtar, or the Dea pied one of these. It was situnted 0•"11"1!l:l Byra, was worshipped generally throughout -" in the outskirts" or "purlieus" of 'tiie Phcanicia, a1;1d perhap~ even more widely, temple. And burned the chariots of the yet she was m a peculiar way " tlie abomi- sun with :fire (comp. vers. 4, 6, 15, etc.). nation of the Zidonians," being the deity Josiah burnt all the material objects that to whom the city of Bidon was especially had been desecrated by the idolatries ; the dedicated (see the inscription on the tomb persons and animals so desecrated. he " re- of Eshmnnazar, published in the 'Records moved," or deprived of their functions. of the Past,' vol. ix. pp. 113, l H ). And !or Ver. 12.-And the altars that were on the Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites. top of the upper ohamber of Ahaz. It would Chemosh appears as the spcci.il god of the seem that "the upper chamber of Ahaz" Moabites on the famous Moabite Stone was within the temple precincts, since the in eleven places. The stone itself was pollutions spoken of, both before and after, dedicate,! to Cbemosh (line 3). The Moabites are pollutions belonging to the temple. It are, spoken of as " the people of Cbemosb" may have been erected on the flat roof of (lines 5, 6). Success in war comes from one of the gates, or on the top of a store- him, and defeat is the result of his anger. cbamber. Altars upon J"oofs were a new One of his designations is" Ashtar-Chemosb" form of idolatry, apparently connected with (line 17), or "Chemosb, who is also Ash tar," the worship of the "host of heaven" (see Ashtar being the male principle correspond- Jer. xix. 13; Zeph. i. 5). Whioh the kings ing to the female Astarte or Ashtoreth. of J"udah-i.e. Manasseh and Amon, perhn.ps And for Mi.loom. }Ioloch was called by the also Ahn.z-had made, and the altars whioh Jews "Milcom," or "Malcam "-" their Manasseh had made in the two oourte of the king "-i.e. the king of the Ammonite honee of the Lord (see above, eh. xxi. 4, 5). people, since he was the sole god whom As Manasseh, on his repentance, merely they acknowledged (see 1 Kings :ri. 5; "cast these altars out of the city" (2 Chron. Jer. xlix. 3 compared with Jer. :tlviii. 7; xxxiii. 15), it was easy for Amon to replace Amos i. 15; Zeph. i. 5). The abomination them. They belonged to the worship of of the ohildren of Ammon (see l Kiugs the "host of heaven." Did the king beat xi. 5, 7; o.nd compare the comment on down, and brake them down from thence, 1 Kings in the 'Pulpit Commentary,' p. and cast the duet of them into the brook 222). Did the king defile. The manner of Kidron (comp. ver. 6, and the comment the defilement is stated in the next rnrse. ad Zoe.). Ver. 14.-And he brake in pieces the Ver. 13.-And the high places that were images - or, pillars (see the comment on before Jerusalem. The high places which 1 Kings xiv. 23)-and out down the groves- Solomon established in the neighbourhood i.e. the asherim, or'' sacred trees"-and filled of Jerusalem for the use of his wives, and their places with the bones of men. What- in the worship at which be become himself ever spoke of death and dissolution was a entangled in his old age, appeo.r to have special defilement to shrines where the gods been situated on the ridge of the mountain worshipped were deities of productivity and which lies over against Jerusalem to the genero.tion. Bones of men had nlso the east, a part of which is Olivet. The southern actual taint of corruption about them. The summit, the traditional mons offensionis, "uncleanness" of dead bodies arose first out was probably the high place of Moloch of man's natural shrinking from death, and (Milcom), while the most northern summit was then further confirm e.! b v the horrors (now called Karem-es-Seyad) has some o.ocompanying decay. The notion was pro- claim to be rego.rdod as the high place of bably coeval with death itself. It received Chemosh. (So Brocardus in A.D. 1260.) o. sanction from the Law, which made it e. The site of the high pince of Ashtoreth is legal defilement to touch a corpse (Numb. doubtful. Whioh were on the right hand xix. 11, 16), and placed under a sentence of of the mount of corruption. The name uncleanness all that wns in the tent where "mount of corruption" seems to ho.ve been a man died (Numb. xi.x. 14, 15). given nfter Solomon's time to the entire Ver. 15.-Moreover the altar that was at ridge of hills which lies over against Bethel, o.nd the high place; n,ther, the altar Jerusalem to the east., on account of the that was at Bethel, the high place, without any rites which he had allowed to be cstab- "and." .i~;C, is iu npposition with ~;V~~  THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. [011. xxm. 1-87.