2 Kings 23:4

Josiah's Covenantal Reforms

³ The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep His commandments, His testimonies, and His statutes with all his heart and soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant. ⁴ Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the doorkeepers to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal, for [the goddess] Asherah, and for all the [starry] host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel [where Israel’s idolatry began]. ⁵ He got rid of the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense [to pagan gods] in the high places in Judah’s cities and all around Jerusalem—also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations [of the zodiac], and to all the [starry] host of heaven.

Chief Priest

From the Lord

Heavenly Host

High Priest

Host of Heaven

House of God

House of the Lord

Lifted Up

Stars of Heaven

Temple of the Lord

Baal

Beth-el

Hilkiah

Israel

Jehovah

Jerusalem

Kidron

2 Kings 21:3

For he rebuilt the high places [for the worship of pagan gods] which his father Hezekiah had destroyed; and he set up altars for Baal and made an [image of] Asherah, just as Ahab king of Israel had done, and he worshiped all the [starry] host of heaven and served them.

2 Kings 21:7

He made a carved image of the [goddess] Asherah and set it up in the house (temple), of which the Lord said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this house and in Jerusalem [in the tribe of Judah], which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My Name forever.

2 Kings 25:18

The captain of the bodyguard took [captive] Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers [of the temple].

2 Chronicles 33:3

For he rebuilt the [idolatrous] high places which his father Hezekiah had torn down; and he set up altars for the Baals and made the Asherim, and worshiped all the host of heaven [the sun, the moon, stars and planets] and served them.

Judges 2:13

So they abandoned the Lord and served Baal [the pagan god of the Canaanites] and the Ashtaroth.

2 Samuel 15:23

While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people crossed over. The king also crossed the Brook Kidron, and all the people went on toward the way of the wilderness [that lies between Jerusalem and the Jordan River].

1 Kings 12:29

He set the one [golden calf] in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

1 Kings 16:31

It came about, as if it had been a trivial thing for Ahab to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.

1 Kings 18:19

Now then, send word and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of [the goddess] Asherah, who eat at [Queen] Jezebel’s table.”

1 Kings 18:26

So they took the bull that was given to them and prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, hear and answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they had made.

1 Kings 18:40

Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” They seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and [as God’s law required] killed them there.

1 Kings 19:18

Yet I will leave 7,000 [survivors] in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed down to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

2 Kings 17:16

They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves cast images of two calves; and they made an Asherah [idol] and worshiped all the [starry] host of heaven and served Baal.

2 Kings 22:4

“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, so that he may count the entire amount of money brought into the house of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people.

2 Kings 23:15

Further, the altar that was at Bethel, the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he tore down. Then he demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah.

1 Chronicles 24:4-19

Since there were more chief men found among the descendants of Eleazar than among the descendants of Ithamar [because of Eli’s misfortunes, and Saul’s massacre of the priests at Nob], they were divided in this way: sixteen heads of fathers’ households of the descendants of Eleazar and eight of the descendants of Ithamar, corresponding to their fathers’ households.

1 Chronicles 26:1-19

For the divisions of the gatekeepers: Of the Korahites: Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph.

2 Chronicles 33:7

Then he set the carved image of the idol which he had made in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My Name [and the symbol of my Presence] forever;

2 Chronicles 34:3-4

For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young (sixteen), he began to seek after and inquire of the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and cast images.

Isaiah 27:9

Therefore through this the wickedness [the sin, the injustice, the wrongdoing] of Jacob (Israel) will be atoned for and forgiven;
And this will be the full price [that God requires] for taking away his sin:
When Israel makes all the stones of the [pagan] altars like crushed chalk stones;
When the Asherim and the incense altars will not stand.

Jeremiah 7:9

Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear [oaths] falsely, offer sacrifices or burn incense to Baal, and follow after other gods that you have not known,

Jeremiah 52:24

Then the captain of the guard took [as prisoners] Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three doorkeepers.

Hosea 4:15

Though you, Israel, play the prostitute [by worshiping idols],
Do not let Judah become guilty [of the same thing];
And do not go to Gilgal [where idols are worshiped],
Or go up to Beth-aven (House of Wickedness),
Nor swear [oaths in idolatrous worship, saying],
“As the Lord lives!”

Amos 4:4

“Come to Bethel [where the golden calf is] and transgress;
In Gilgal [where idols are worshiped] multiply transgression;
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
Your tithes every three days!

Matthew 26:3

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the courtyard of the [elegant home of the Jewish] high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,

Matthew 27:1

When it was morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) conferred together against Jesus, [plotting how] to put Him to death [since under Roman rule they had no power to execute anyone];

John 18:1

Having said these things, Jesus left with His disciples and went across the ravine of the Kidron. There was a garden there, which He and His disciples entered.