And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.

2 KINGS 17:16KJV
Know the Bible

2 Kings 17:16 (KJV)

What does 2 Kings 17:16 mean?

2 Kings 17:16 describes how the people of Israel abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God and turned to idol worship, making metal images of two calves, setting up a sacred pole or grove, worshipping the stars and heavenly bodies, and serving the god Baal. The verse lists the specific ways Israel rejected their covenant with God and embraced practices from surrounding nations.

This verse is part of a historical account explaining why the northern kingdom of Israel fell to Assyria. The writer is summarizing Israel’s repeated disobedience and idolatry, showing that the people deliberately chose to forsake the LORD (the God who brought them out of Egypt) and instead followed forbidden religious customs. The details highlight the seriousness and variety of their unfaithfulness.

The Hebrew behind 2 Kings 17:16

  • "left" (עָזַב, azav): This word means to abandon or forsake. Here, it emphasizes a complete turning away from God’s commandments, not just neglect but an intentional rejection.
  • "images" (מַסֵּכָה, massekhah): This refers to cast metal idols, specifically the two calves. The use of this word points to a deliberate act of creating physical objects for worship, which was strictly forbidden in Israel’s law.
  • "grove" (אֲשֵׁרָה, asherah): This term often means a wooden pole or object associated with the worship of the goddess Asherah. It signals that Israel was adopting Canaanite religious practices.
  • "host" (צָבָא, tsava’): This word means army or host, and here it refers to the “host of heaven”—the sun, moon, and stars. The verse notes that Israel was worshipping celestial bodies, a practice common in neighboring cultures but condemned in Israelite law.

Why 2 Kings 17:16 matters

  • This verse clarifies that Israel’s downfall was not due to a single act but a pattern of abandoning God’s ways for a variety of idolatries, showing a deep and repeated rejection.
  • The mention of specific idols and practices (calves, Asherah, worship of the stars, Baal) connects Israel’s actions to the broader context of ancient Near Eastern religions, helping readers see how Israel was influenced by its neighbors.
  • The verse serves as a summary statement in the narrative, explaining the theological reason for Israel’s exile and loss of their land, which is a major theme in the surrounding chapters.

Where else these words appear

“images” Hebrew H4541 · used in 28 verses

  • Exodus 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
  • Judges 17:4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.
  • Psalms 106:19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.

“calves” Hebrew H5695 · used in 35 verses

  • Exodus 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
  • 1 Samuel 28:24 And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof:
  • Isaiah 27:10 Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.

“grove” Hebrew H842 · used in 40 verses

  • Exodus 34:13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:
  • 1 Kings 18:19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.
  • 2 Chronicles 17:6 And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah.

“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.