(8) And he brought all the priests . . .--Josiah caused all the priests of the local sanctuaries of Jehovah to migrate to Jerusalem, and polluted the high places to which they had been attached, in order to get rid of the illegitimate worship once for all.
From Geba.--The present Jeba, near the ancient Ramah (1 Kings 15:22).
The high places of the gates.--Altars erected within the gates, that persons entering or leaving the city might make an offering to ensure success in their business.
That were in the entering in . . .--Thenius renders, (the high place) which was at the entry of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, (as well as) that which was on the left in the city gate. But this assumption of two localities is very precarious. The Authorised Version appears to be correct (a similar repetition of the relative referring to the same antecedent occurs in 2 Kings 23:13). Joshua is an unknown personage, and it is not clear whether "the gate of Joshua" was a gate of the city named after him, or the great gate of his residence; nor is it certain that "the gate of the city" was that now called the Jaffa Gate. It is possible that the governor's residence lay near the principal gate of the city, on the left as one entered. Several "high places" stood in the open space in front of it, between it and the city gate. These would naturally be called "the high places of the gates."
Verse 8. - And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah. Here the writer diverges from his proper subject - the reforms in and near Jerusalem - to speak of changes which were made in other parts of Judaea. The Levitical priests, who in various cities of Judah had conducted the worship at the high places, were summoned to Jerusalem by Josiah, and forced to remain there, that the unauthorized worship which they had conducted might be brought to an end. And defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense. Hezekiah had "removed the high places, and broken the images, and cut down the groves" throughout his dominions (2 Kings 18:4), but he had not in any way "defiled the high places;" and therefore no sooner did a king take a different view of his duties than the worship was at once restored (2 Kings 21:3), and flourished as before. Josiah conceived the idea that, if the high places were "defiled," it would be impossible to renew the worship at them. From Geba to Beersheba. Geba takes here the place of Bethel as the northern limit of Judah. It was situated at a very short distance from Bethel, and was made to supersede it on account of the idolatries by which Bethel had been disgraced. The exact site is probably the modern Jeba, on the southern edge of the Wady Suweinit. And brake down the high places of the gates. The high-place worship had, it would seem, invaded Jerusalem itself. In some of the gates of the city, which were "large open buildings for public meetings and intercourse" (Bahr), altars, or more elaborate places of worship, had been established, and an unauthorized ritual of the high-place type had been set up. That were - rather, that which was - in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city. This and the succeeding clauses are limitations of the general statement concerning the "high places of the gates," and indicate that two gates only had been polluted by high-place worship, viz. "the gate of Joshua," and the gale known κατἐξοχὴν as "the city gate." Neither of these can be determinately fixed, since they are only mentioned in the present passage. Which were on a man's left hand at the gate of the city; rather, and also that which was on the left-hand side in the gate of the city. (So Thenius, Keil, and Bahr.)
23:4-14 What abundance of wickedness in Judah and Jerusalem! One would not have believed it possible, that in Judah, where God was known, in Israel, where his name was great, in Salem, in Zion, where his dwelling-place was, such abominations should be found. Josiah had reigned eighteen years, and had himself set the people a good example, and kept up religion according to the Divine law; yet, when he came to search for idolatry, the depth and extent were very great. Both common history, and the records of God's word, teach, that all the real godliness or goodness ever found on earth, is derived from the new-creating Spirit of Jesus Christ.
And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah,.... Who were of the sons of Aaron, and had served in the high places there:
and defiled the high places where the priests had burnt incense; by casting dead carcasses, or the bones of dead men, or dung, or anything that was unclean, into them, by way of contempt:
from Geba to Beersheba; which were the northern and southern boundaries of the land of Judah:
and brake down the high places of the gates: of the cities where some think tutelar gods were placed to be worshipped by persons as they went in or out of them: and particularly that
which 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; of the city of Jerusalem, where this Joshua was chief magistrate under the king; at whose door stood an high place, which, Kimchi thinks, might he greater than the rest, and therefore mentioned alone, yet was not spared on account of its greatness, or of the person to whom it belonged.
From Geba.--The present Jeba, near the ancient Ramah (1 Kings 15:22).
To Beer-sheba.--Where was a specially frequented high place (Amos 5:5, Amos 8:14; and Note on 2 Chronicles 34:6).
The high places of the gates.--Altars erected within the gates, that persons entering or leaving the city might make an offering to ensure success in their business.
That were in the entering in . . .--Thenius renders, (the high place) which was at the entry of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, (as well as) that which was on the left in the city gate. But this assumption of two localities is very precarious. The Authorised Version appears to be correct (a similar repetition of the relative referring to the same antecedent occurs in 2 Kings 23:13). Joshua is an unknown personage, and it is not clear whether "the gate of Joshua" was a gate of the city named after him, or the great gate of his residence; nor is it certain that "the gate of the city" was that now called the Jaffa Gate. It is possible that the governor's residence lay near the principal gate of the city, on the left as one entered. Several "high places" stood in the open space in front of it, between it and the city gate. These would naturally be called "the high places of the gates."
and defiled the high places where the priests had burnt incense; by casting dead carcasses, or the bones of dead men, or dung, or anything that was unclean, into them, by way of contempt:
from Geba to Beersheba; which were the northern and southern boundaries of the land of Judah:
and brake down the high places of the gates: of the cities where some think tutelar gods were placed to be worshipped by persons as they went in or out of them: and particularly that
which 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; of the city of Jerusalem, where this Joshua was chief magistrate under the king; at whose door stood an high place, which, Kimchi thinks, might he greater than the rest, and therefore mentioned alone, yet was not spared on account of its greatness, or of the person to whom it belonged.