And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
The king also destroyed the worship sites that were east of Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives (which had become known as the Mount of Corruption). These were the places that King Solomon had built long ago for worshiping foreign gods: Ashtoreth (the disgusting god of the Sidonians), Chemosh (the disgusting god of the Moabites), and Milcom (the disgusting god of the Ammonites). The king made all these places unfit for worship.
King Josiah was tearing down the pagan worship sites that even the great King Solomon had built, showing his complete commitment to removing idol worship from Israel.
📚 Historical Context
This occurred during King Josiah's religious reforms around 621 BC, when he was systematically destroying all places of idol worship in Judah. These particular shrines had been built by Solomon about 350 years earlier to accommodate his foreign wives and their gods. The Mount of Olives had become so associated with false worship that it earned the nickname 'Mount of Corruption.'
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