And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them.

2 KINGS 10:26KJV
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2 Kings 10:26 (KJV)

What does 2 Kings 10:26 mean?

2 Kings 10:26 describes how the people took the idols from the temple of Baal and burned them. This verse shows a deliberate act of destroying objects used for Baal worship as part of a larger effort to remove this form of idolatry from Israel.

In the story, Jehu is leading a campaign to eliminate Baal worship after becoming king of Israel. The verse comes right after Jehu’s men enter the temple of Baal, and it highlights their action of removing the "images"—statues or objects representing Baal—from the temple and burning them outside. This act is part of Jehu’s attempt to turn Israel away from Baal and back to the worship of the LORD.

The Hebrew behind 2 Kings 10:26

  • "forth" (יָצָא, yatsa'): This word means to bring out or lead out. Here, it emphasizes the physical removal of the idols from the temple, not just their destruction inside.
  • "images" (מַצֵּבָה, matsebah): This term often refers to standing stones or carved objects set up as symbols of worship. In this context, it points to the physical representations of Baal that were central to the temple's rituals.
  • "house" (בַּיִת, bayit): This is the common word for "house" or "temple." Here, it specifically means the temple dedicated to Baal, showing that these images were not just anywhere but at the heart of Baal worship.
  • "Baal" (בַּעַל, Ba‘al): This is the name of the Canaanite god that many Israelites had begun to worship, which was strongly opposed in Israel’s religious tradition.
  • "burned" (שָׂרַף, saraph): This word means to burn or destroy by fire. Burning the images was a way to completely remove their influence and make a public statement against Baal worship.

Why 2 Kings 10:26 matters

  • This verse clears up that Jehu’s reforms were not just about killing Baal’s priests but also about removing the physical objects of worship, showing a thorough rejection of Baal.
  • The detail about burning the images highlights the seriousness of the effort—these were not simply hidden or put away but publicly destroyed.
  • Understanding this verse helps make sense of the wider passage, where Jehu’s actions mark a turning point in Israel’s history, as he tries to restore worship of the LORD by erasing Baal worship from the land.

Where else these words appear

“images” Hebrew H4676 · used in 31 verses

  • Genesis 28:18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
  • Exodus 34:13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:
  • 2 Kings 23:14 And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.

“Baal” Hebrew H1168 · used in 68 verses

  • Judges 2:11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
  • 1 Kings 19:18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
  • 2 Chronicles 23:17 Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

“burned” Hebrew H8313 · used in 107 verses

  • Genesis 11:3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
  • Joshua 7:15 And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.
  • Psalms 46:9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.