King James Version

What Does 1 Kings 14:23 Mean?

“For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. images: or, standing images, or, statues”

Context

And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.

And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.

For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. images: or, standing images, or, statues

And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:

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Commentary

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(23) **High places, and images, and groves.**—On the “high places,” see 1Kings 3:2, and Note there. The “images” of this passage seem undoubtedly to have been stone pillars, as the “groves” (*i.e.*, the asherahs) were wooden stumps of trees (possibly in both cases surmounted by some rude representation of the deity worshipped). The first mention of such a pillar is in Genesis 28:18; Genesis 31:13; Genesis 35:14, there applied to the stone which Jacob raises and anoints, in order to mark the scene of the vision at Bethel; next, we find repeated commands to destroy them (with the asherahs also) as erected by the Canaanites (Exodus 23:24; Exodus 34:13; Leviticus 26:1; Deuteronomy 7:5; Deuteronomy 12:3), and to suffer neither near the altar of the Lord (Deuteronomy 16:21). Like the high places, it seems plain that both might be either unauthorised emblems of God’s presence or images of false gods; and, indeed, the stone pillar appears in some cases to be associated with the worship of Baal, as the Asherah with that of Ashtoreth. In this passage, from the strength of the language used, and from the notice in 1Kings 14:24, it seems that the grosser idolatry is referred to. It was practised “on every high hill, and every shady tree”—such trees as were notable for size and shade in the bareness of the hills of Palestine.

Charles John Ellicott (1819–1905). Public Domain.

Historical Context

This verse is found in the book of 1 Kings. Understanding the historical and cultural background helps illuminate its meaning for the original audience and for us today.

Theological Significance

1 Kings 14:23 contributes to our understanding of God's character and His relationship with humanity. Consider how this verse connects to the broader themes of Scripture.