And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.
English Standard Version (ESV)
King Josiah's radical cleansing wasn't just about removing idols; it was about desecration. By filling the sacred pagan sites with the bones of those who worshipped there, he was symbolically declaring that their gods had no power and their worship was utterly defiled and worthless. This wasn't just destruction, but a statement of ultimate victory and the total repudiation of false worship.
And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.
English Standard Version (ESV)
King Josiah, during his sweeping religious reforms, is systematically destroying the pagan altars and idols throughout the land of Judah. He's not just removing them; he's desecrating the sites where these false gods were worshipped, even digging up the bones of the idolatrous priests and scattering them over these sacred (but now defiled) places to completely eradicate their influence. This act directly follows his discovery and destruction of the Ark of the Covenant's unauthorized resting place and his reading of God's law.
Josiah's actions in 2 Kings 23 weren't just minor renovations; they were a scorched-earth campaign against deeply entrenched pagan practices. What was it about these pillars and Asherim that made them so offensive to God?
Eradicating Foreign Worship
King Josiah, upon discovering the Book of the Law, was horrified by the state of Israel's spiritual life. He launched a sweeping purge of all remnants of Canaanite and Assyrian worship that had infiltrated the land.
Josiah didn't just remove them; he destroyed them and defiled the sacred sites by filling them with human bones. This was a deliberate act to make these places ritually unclean and unusable for pagan worship, severing the connection completely.
Filling the sacred places of idols with the bones of their own priests and worshippers sounds extreme. What was the terrifying theological statement Josiah was making?
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Ultimate Defilement and Divine Judgment
The act of filling the high places with human bones was a profound declaration of God’s victory and the utter ruin of idolatry.
Understand the original words
matstsebah · Hebrew Noun
Standing stones or obelisks, often used in ancient Near Eastern religions as symbolic representations of deities or as markers of religious significance, strictly forbidden in Yahwistic worship.
Asherim · Hebrew Noun
Wooden poles or living trees set up as cultic objects to represent the goddess Asherah; they were symbols of fertility and were strictly prohibited under the Mosaic law.
Josiah's radical reforms, sparked by the rediscovery of God's law, involved a violent dismantling of pagan worship sites across the land, symbolizing a fierce commitment to monotheism.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria and Israel
The Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrian Empire, leading to the exile of many Israelites and the settlement of foreign peoples in their land.
c. 640-609 BC
Reign of King Josiah
Josiah became king of Judah at a young age and is known for his extensive religious reforms aimed at purging idolatry and restoring the worship of Yahweh.
c. 622 BC— this verse
Discovery of the Book of the Law
During renovations in the Temple, the high priest Hilkiah discovered a scroll believed to be a core part of the Book of Deuteronomy. This discovery profoundly impacted King Josiah.
c. 621 BC
Josiah's Great Passover
Following the discovery and the reforms, Josiah led a large-scale celebration of Passover in Jerusalem, emphasizing the centralized worship of God as prescribed in the Law.
c. 609 BC
Death of Josiah at Megiddo
King Josiah was killed in battle against the Egyptians at Megiddo, a tragic end that deeply impacted Judah and marked a turning point in its political and spiritual trajectory.
586 BC
Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
The Babylonian Empire, under Nebuchadnezzar, conquered Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and exiled much of the remaining population, ending the Davidic monarchy.
This passage directly contrasts Josiah's actions with God's command to tear down foreign altars and break their sacred pillars, highlighting the severity of idolatry that Josiah was purging.
Deuteronomy 7:5The verse echoes God's instructions to utterly destroy the places of worship of the Canaanites, showing that Josiah was acting according to ancient commands to eliminate pagan practices.
Isaiah 27:9This prophetic verse speaks of atonement for the sin of Jacob through the removal of idolatry, mirroring Josiah's radical cleansing of the land from deeply entrenched pagan worship.
Jeremiah 3:10This passage condemns Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness, using imagery of returning to God that Josiah's actions were desperately trying to restore, illustrating the depth of the sin he was confronting.
King Josiah's radical cleansing wasn't just about removing idols; it was about desecration. By filling the sacred pagan sites with the bones of those who worshipped there, he was symbolically declaring that their gods had no power and their worship was utterly defiled and worthless. This wasn't just destruction, but a statement of ultimate victory and the total repudiation of false worship.
King Josiah, during his sweeping religious reforms, is systematically destroying the pagan altars and idols throughout the land of Judah. He's not just removing them; he's desecrating the sites where these false gods were worshipped, even digging up the bones of the idolatrous priests and scattering them over these sacred (but now defiled) places to completely eradicate their influence. This act directly follows his discovery and destruction of the Ark of the Covenant's unauthorized resting place and his reading of God's law.
King Josiah, during his sweeping religious reforms, is systematically destroying the pagan altars and idols throughout the land of Judah. He's not just removing them; he's desecrating the sites where these false gods were worshipped, even digging up the bones of the idolatrous priests and scattering them over these sacred (but now defiled) places to completely eradicate their influence. This act directly follows his discovery and destruction of the Ark of the Covenant's unauthorized resting place and his reading of God's law.
"And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men." — King Josiah's radical cleansing wasn't just about removing idols; it was about desecration. By filling the sacred pagan sites with the bones of those who worshipped there, he was symbolically decla…
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Last reviewed October 2026