And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.

2 KINGS 23:6KJV
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2 Kings 23:6 (KJV)

What does 2 Kings 23:6 mean?

2 Kings 23:6 describes how King Josiah removed an object called "the grove" from the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, took it outside the city to the Kidron Valley, burned it, crushed it into powder, and scattered the remains on the graves of common people. This action was part of Josiah’s efforts to get rid of idol worship and restore proper worship of God.

The verse takes place during King Josiah’s religious reforms in Judah. Josiah is personally overseeing the removal of objects used for worshipping other gods from the temple, which had been corrupted over time. The “grove” refers to an image or symbol associated with the goddess Asherah, and destroying it so thoroughly shows Josiah’s determination to eliminate all traces of idol worship from the land.

The Hebrew behind 2 Kings 23:6

  • "grove" (אֲשֵׁרָה, ʾăshērāh): This word refers to a wooden idol or a sacred pole representing the Canaanite goddess Asherah. Its presence in the temple shows how far idol worship had entered Israel’s religious life, and its destruction is a key part of Josiah’s reforms.
  • "house" (בַּיִת, bayit): This is the Hebrew word for "house," here meaning the temple, the central place of worship for the LORD (יהוה, YHWH). The fact that the Asherah image was inside the temple highlights the seriousness of the corruption Josiah was addressing.
  • "burned" (שָׂרַף, saraph): This word means to burn or destroy by fire. Burning the Asherah image was a way to make sure it could never be used again.
  • "powder" (עָפָר, ʿāphār): This means dust or fine powder. Josiah did not just burn the idol; he ground it to dust, showing complete destruction.

Why 2 Kings 23:6 matters

  • The verse clears up that Josiah’s reforms were not just about removing idols but about destroying them completely, so they could not be restored or reused.
  • It emphasizes how deeply idol worship had penetrated, even into the temple itself, and how determined Josiah was to restore true worship.
  • The scattering of the idol’s remains on graves may have been meant to defile the idol further, making it unfit for any future use, and to show contempt for the false worship it represented.

Where else these words appear

“Kidron” Hebrew H6939 · used in 10 verses

  • 2 Samuel 15:23 And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.
  • 2 Kings 23:4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.
  • 2 Chronicles 29:16 And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron.

“small” Hebrew H1854 · used in 12 verses

  • Exodus 30:36 And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.
  • 2 Samuel 22:43 Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.
  • 2 Chronicles 34:7 And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

“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.

“graves” Hebrew H6913 · used in 62 verses

  • Genesis 23:4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
  • 1 Kings 13:31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:
  • Job 17:1 My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me.