The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 167

writer In vers. 8 e.nd 6 respectively-the one twelve times; "image" or "images" nine- saying that Aso. "took e.we.y the high places," teen times; and "garrisons" once. It appears without o.ny further limitation; the other simply to have slipped from the signification so.ying within two verses, "Also out of e.ll of pillar into the rendering of the word tha cities of Judoh" (note by the we.y here "ime.ge," by aid of the intermedio.te word the suggestive stress le.id upon "the cities," "statue." It is need of the pillar or statue of possibly os more easily coped with than Baal in 2 Kings iii. 2; x. 26, 27, with his country districts) "he t.ook e.wo.y the high name expressed; e.nd in eh. xviii. 4; xxiii. 14, plnces." The only legitimo.te inference without that no.me expressed. Cut down (t11ldng into o.ccount both the words used, the groves; Hebrew, C'".lo/..~;-;J-nt;i Jl:1~'.1· The and the foct tho.t the Io.st written a.re found verb here used implies the " cutting," close upon the former, with the signillco.nt "cutting down," '' pruning" of trees. It is conjunction "also") must be that some undoubtedly e.pplied also to other cutting different informe.tion was intended in the and cutting down, e.s of the " breaking" of two plo.ces. Ver. 3 finds Ase. ns much a rod (Zech. xi. 10), of an nrm (1 Se.m. ii. me.star of "Jude.h" o.s ver. 5. Therefore 31), of horns (Jer. xlviii. 25), of be.rs or the ne.turo.l interprefation of ver. 3 must be bolts (Isa.. xiv. 2), It occurs in e.11 twenty- the.t Ase. o.t once abolished "the high ple.ces" three times. It is here employed to describe nee.rest home, nearest Jerusalem, most the destroying of what according to the within his own persona.I reach; then "also" Authorized Version are called "groves" that he did and ordered the so.me to be done (Septuo.gint, 1£>..uos; Vnlgate, lucus)-o. word in "all the cities of Judah," a.nd it was which with little doubt misleads for the ren- done at the time, if only for the time. dering of our c•:,!t~- .Before this same Thirdly, include the statement of eh. xv. 17, word we have also another Hebrew verb for if we do not insist (as we might insist very "cutting," of very frequent occurrence in fairly when pressed on a point of alleged its simple and metaphorically derived uses inconsistency or contradiction) on the fact included, viz. n~;;i. The first uses of thfa that now the high places " of Israel" are verb with the above word are found in Judg. distinctly designated, and that therein those vi. 25, 26, 30. That word means literally outlying parts of Ase.'s more or less acknow- "fortune," but in its ultimate derivation ledged sway outside of Judah and his "straightness," and hence supposed to desig- thoroughest control are designedly described, ne.te, in Phamician and Aramrean idolatry, let us instead take the help of an exactly Aste.rte or the planet Venus, who is cou- analogous (and ane.logouely alleged) dis- stautly associated in such idolatry with Ba:11 crepancy (eh. xvii. 7 compe.red with eh. (Judg. iii. 7). But see for the first occur- xx. 33), and we find there that the very key rence of the word, Exod. xxxiv. 13, where with which to unlock the d:ifliculty is pro- there is no express mention of Be.al, but vided to our hand. Jehoshaphat (eh. xvii. where the idolatries of the Amari te, 6) "took away the high places;" "the Cano.unite, Hittite, Hivite, Perizzite, and people" ( ch. x.x. 33) did not faithfully and Jebusite o.re being spoken of. When we with a constant hAe.rt follow suit, but ho.cl ta.ke into consideration the probable ulti- failed to prepare, i.e. to tum "their hearts mate derivation of the won!, the fo.ct of the unto the God of their fathers." How well verbs the.t speak of "cutting" being uni- the juxtaposition of these very words would formly applied to what it represents, tha tell, nny, do tell, with the emphatic words of "burning" to which this was condemned 1 Kings xv. 141 "Nevertheless .Asa's heart (Judg. vi. 26) when cut dowu, and a series wo.s perfect with the Lord all hie de.ye; " of statements that represent it as "set up and with our eh. xv. 17, "Nevertheless the under every green tree" (1 Kings xiv. 23; heart of .Asa was perfect all his days." In 2 Kings xvii. 10; see also 1 Kings xv. I 3; both these passa.ges the antithesis is patent 2 Kings xxi. 7; xxiii. 6; eh. xv. lG), it not between .l!sa's heart and the people's heo.rts, only becomes perfectly certain that "grove" between Asa's "all his days" and the 11.nd "groves" cannot rightly render ths people's uncertainty and apostasy. The word but directs us with the light of those tidelity of Bible history and its non- pass~ges that speak of, it coupled with Baal cunningly, non-fabulously devised tenor as an object of worship, and that speak of nre gratefully corroborated by the inqui- prophet and priest called ~! its name sition mode into such a supposed "dis- (Judg. iii. 7 (comp~ed wit~. u. 13; x._ 6; creprmcy," "inconsistency,"" contradiction." 1 Sam. vii. 4); I Kings xvm. 19: 2 ~rngs Notice ouce more the confirming indication, xxi. 3; xxiii. 4), to the etron? convi~t1vn so for as it goes, of the one verb that com- tlmt it should be at once written with e. mands the next verse, as there noted upon. capital letter, and rendered ns 11. proper Brake down the imagea; Hebrew, n\:i'l!t:2- It nnmo; that it may possibly be a synonym occurs in the Authorized Version thirty-two with Ashtoroth, i:a· Astarlc, or o. rcprcsontn• times, 11.nd is rendered •• pillar" or " pillai'B " tion in woodeu pi ar, stock or trunk lnsh1ou 1 16S THE SECOND BOOK OF TRE CHRONICLES. 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