And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba, and brake down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man’s left hand at the gate of the city.
He brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and made the high places unclean where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba. He also tore down the high places at the gates that were at the entrance of Joshua the city governor's gate, which were on a person's left side at the city gate.
King Josiah systematically removed priests from illegal worship sites and destroyed all the unauthorized places of worship throughout his kingdom from north to south.
📚 Historical Context
This verse describes King Josiah's religious reforms around 621 BC, when he worked to eliminate idol worship and restore proper worship of God in Judah. The 'high places' were unauthorized worship sites on hills or elevated areas where people offered sacrifices to foreign gods or worshipped God improperly. Geba to Beersheba represents the entire territory of Judah from north to south.
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