2 Kings 23:18

2Ki 23:18. He said, Let no man move his bones — It is pertinently observed by Joh. Wolfius, that if pious persons, in those days, had had the same opinion about relics which has long been prevalent in the Church of Rome, the king would not have ordered his bones to remain quiet and undisturbed, but would have put them into golden boxes, and carried them to Jerusalem, to be there regarded with religious, if not idolatrous veneration by the people.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Meaning, the Prophet which came after him, and caused him to eat contrary to the commandment of the Lord, which were both two buried in one grave, 1 Kings 13:31.

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

Verse 18. The prophet that came out of Samaria] 1Kg 13:32.

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

(18) Let him alone.—Or, Let him rest.

So they let his bones alone.—A different verb. And they suffered his bones to escape, scil., disturbance.

With the bones of the prophet . . .—See 1Ki_13:31-32.

That came out of Samaria.—This simply designates the old prophet who deceived the Judæan man of God, as a citizen of the Northern kingdom, which was called Samaria, after its capital.

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

18. Let him alone] R.V. Let him be. The verb translated ‘let alone’, in a later clause of the verse is not the same as this. Hence the change in the English.

that came out of Samaria] i.e. The prophet of Bethel, for that place belonged to what was afterwards known as the kingdom of Samaria. The word ‘Samaria’ is used here in accordance with the language of Josiah’s day. Samaria did not exist in Jeroboam’s time, the city which ultimately gave name to the district having only been built in the reign of Omri (1Ki_16:24).

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.

And all the houses also of the high places,.... The temples of the idols there, and the houses for the priests to dwell in:

that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord to anger, Josiah took away; particularly in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, unto Naphtali, Ch2 34:6 the Israelites that remained there acknowledging Josiah as their king; and perhaps, after the defeat of Sennacherib, many of the cities of Israel might put themselves under the protection of Hezekiah, and especially upon the destruction of the Assyrian empire; and Manasseh, with his liberty, might have his kingdom enlarged by the king of Babylon; and which being continued and increased in the times of Josiah, might be the reason of his opposing the king of Egypt in favour of the king of Babylon:

and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel; defiled them, and broke down the altars in them.

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

Samaria. It seems this word has been inserted instead of Juda, as it is certain the prophet came thence, ver. 17., and 3 Kings xiii. 32. (Calmet) --- But thus both prophets would be identified. It would rather appear that the seducing prophet, who resided at Bethel, is here said to have come out of Samaria, though that place was not raised to the dignity of a royal city (Haydock) till 50 years afterwards. (Calmet) --- There might be a town there long before; and, at any rate, he belonged to the kingdom to Jeroboam, or of Samaria. (Haydock) --- His faith in the prophet’s prediction was, perhaps, thus rewarded, (Menochius) as his bones were left unmolested, on account of their being buried in the same sepulchre with the man of God. (Haydock)

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 were now mixed together.

Samaria; the place of his birth or former abode, though now he were in Beth-el, 1Ki 13:11.

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

18. They let his bones alone — Literally, let them escape; that is, from the desecration which the bones of others in the neighbouring sepulchres suffered.

Out of Samaria — Out of the country of Samaria, in contrast with the phrase from Judah, in the previous verse.

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

And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. Josiah remembered the circumstances when they were recalled to him, and, in order to show honor to the "man of God", (1Ki 13., passim) commanded that his tomb should be undisturbed. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria; i.e. with the bones of the Israelite prophet, who had taken care to be buried with him. The reference is to 1Ki_13:31.

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