2 Kings 13:6

2Ki 13:6 Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, [but] walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.)

Ver. 6. Nevertheless they departed not.] Though first plagued, and then saved, yet they remained irreclaimable.

And there remained the grove.] Ahab’s grove. {1Ki 16:33} Ballism, therefore, was not utterly abolished by Jehu.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13:6 Despite God’s rescue, Israel continued to sin, eventually resulting in the fall of the northern kingdom (17:21-23; 1 Kgs 14:15-16). • This Asherah pole (a Canaanite fertility symbol erected by Ahab, 1 Kgs 16:33) had apparently been spared in Jehu’s purge of Baal worship (2 Kgs 10:26-29).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Wherein they did commit their idolatry, and which the Lord had commanded to be destroyed, Deut. 16:21.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

there remained the grove--Asherah--the idol set up by Ahab (Kg1 16:33), which ought to have been demolished (Deu 7:5).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 6. The grove also in Samaria] Asherah, or Astarte, remained in Samaria, and there was she worshipped, with all her abominable rites.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(6) Nevertheless they departed not.—The restoration of Divine favour did not issue in the abolition of the irregular worship introduced by Jeroboam I. as the state religion of the northern kingdom. This is written, of course, from the point of view of the Judæan editor of Kings, who lived long after the events of which he is writing in the period of the exile. It does not appear from the history of Elijah and Elisha, incorporated in his work, that either of those great prophets ever protested against the worship established at Bethel and Dan.

The house of Jeroboam—Some MSS., the Syriac, Targum, and Arabic omit “house.” But the specification of the dynasty is here very appropriate.

But walked therein.—Rather, therein they walked; the reading of the LXX. (Alex.),Vulg., and Targum being probably correct. It is the conduct of the nation that is being described.

And there remained the grove also in Samaria.—Rather, and moreover the Asherah stood (i.e., was set up) in Samaria. The Asherah was the sacred tree, so often depicted in Assyrian art. It symbolised the productive principle of nature, and was sacred to Ashtoreth. With the return of peace, and the renewal of prosperity, luxury also soon reappeared, and the idolatry that specially countenanced it lifted up its head again. (See the Note on 2Ki_17:16.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. and there remained the grove [R.V. Ashêrah] also in Samaria] On Ashêrah, by which is probably meant a wooden image of a goddess worshipped with similar rites to those of the god Baal, see note on 1Ki_14:15. Jehu had not eliminated all that belonged to the Tyrian idolatry, and his successors were no more earnest to do so than himself.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Nevertheless, they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin, but walked therein,.... Continued to worship the calves still, which was an instance of great ingratitude; the Syriac and Arabic versions read, "he departed not"; Jehoahaz the king:

and there remained the grove in Samaria; which Ahab made there, Kg1 16:33, neither Jehu nor his son had it cut down, though Baal was destroyed.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

But walked therein - Rather, “he walked therein,” meaning Joash, the “saviour” of the preceding verse.

There remained the grove also in Samaria - It seems strange that Jehu had not destroyed this when he put down the worship of Baal 2Ki 10:26-28. Perhaps the “grove” or “Asherah” worship was too closely connected with the old worship in high places to be set aside with the same ease as the rites newly introduced from Phoenicia.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

A grove, dedicated to the worship of idols. (Challoner) --- Hebrew, "and the Ascera (grove of Astarte) was standing even in Samaria." That impure worship had gained ground again, after Jehu was dead.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Which Ahab had planted for the worship of Baal, 1Ki 16:32, and which should have been destroyed, Deu 7:5.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. The grove — Rather, the Asherah, the great statue erected to this goddess in Samaria. See notes on 1Ki_14:15; 1Ki_15:13.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin. "The house of Jeroboam" is an unusual expression in this connection, and is scarcely appropriate, since every "house" had acted in the same way, Some manuscripts omit the word, and it is wanting in the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic versions. Thenius would cancel it. But walked therein; literally, he walked. But here again a corruption may be suspected. Instead of we should read Wklj which lost its final letter in consequence of the vau that immediately followed it. And there remained the grove also in Samaria. "The grove in Samaria" was that idolatrous emblem which Ahab had set up at Jezebel"s suggestion, (1Ki_16:33) the nature of which has been much disputed. Some think that it was "an image of Astarte" (see "Homiletic Commentary" on 1 Kings, p. 374); but more probably it was a mere emblem, analogous to the Assyrian "sacred tree." Its material may sometimes have been wood, but was perhaps more usually metal. The mistranslation "grove" originated with the Septuagint translators, who uniformly rendered hrcea by alsov.

It is surprising that Jehu did not destroy the asherah together with the other idolatrous erections of Ahab in Samaria; (2Ki_10:26-28) but, for some reason or other, it seems to have been spared, and to have been still standing. So long as it stood, even if it did not attract the religious regards of any, it would be a standing dishonor to God, and would so increase the sin of the nation. Hence its mention in this passage.

The persistency of evil.

"There remained the grove." One would have thought that, in such a reformation as that of Jehu, (2Ki_10:15-28) there would have been a clean sweep, or, at any rate, that Ahab"s pot idolatries (1Ki_16:33) would have gone. But no! evil is terribly persistent. "The evil that men do lives after them," and not in men"s recollections only, but in fact. No reformation ever sweeps away at once all that it was intended to sweep away. "The grove remains." How many heathen superstitious survived the supersession of heathenism by Christianity! How many iniquitous laws continue in all countries after every attempt that is made to reform the laws! How many abuses remain after each removal of abuses I The result is partly through the fault of the reformers, who are careless about doing their work thoroughly, and cease their efforts while much still remains to be done; but it is also caused in part by the tenacity of life which the things that need to be swept away possess in themselves. And, as evil is thus persistent in communities, so is it also in the character of individuals. Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret. A man makes a great effort at self-reformation, changes his rules of conduct, his habits, the whole method of his life, as he thinks; but in some corner there still lurks a remnant of the old leaven, which shortly reasserts itself, and too often leavens the whole mass with its corrupting influence. The lesson to be learnt is watchfulness and perseverance. By care, by consideration, and by constant effort, the persistency of evil may be met and counteracted. God"s Holy Spirit is always ready to assist our endeavors; and, whether in a community or in an individual, continued effort, divinely aided, will prevail at last.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The grove - Which Ahab had planted for the worship of Baal, and which should have been destroyed, Deut. vii, 5.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam

To stop sinning is spoken of as if they departed from the sins. This can be stated in positive form. AT: "Israel did not stop doing the same sins as Jeroboam had done" or "Israel continued to commit the same sins as Jeroboam had committed" (See: Metaphor)

house of Jeroboam

"the family of Jeroboam"

had destroyed them

"had defeated the army of Jehoahaz"

made them like the chaff at threshing time

The Aramean army had so severely defeated the army of Israel that what remained was so worthless that it is compared to wheat chaff that the laborers walk on at harvest time. AT: "had crushed them as workers crush chaff under their feet at harvest time" (See: Simile)

translationWords

Jeroboam

Asherah

horseman

chariot

chaff

thresh

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.