Misinterpretations of II Kings 23:13 often portray Solomon as wholly corrupt from the start, ignoring his earlier God-given wisdom and temple-building faithfulness, or misconstrue Josiah's defilement as a blanket endorsement for modern iconoclasm and religious violence against non-Christian sites without regard for biblical context of Israel's covenantal theocracy; others erroneously view the 'abominations' solely through a cultural lens, missing their theological emphasis on Yahweh's uniqueness, or assume these shrines remained dominant until Josiah, overlooking persistent prophetic condemnations of ongoing idolatry throughout Judah's monarchy.
II Kings 23:13
King James Version (1769)
13 And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
In II Kings 23:13, King Josiah continues his sweeping religious reforms by defiling the idolatrous high places east of Jerusalem on the Mount of Corruption, sites originally built by Solomon for foreign gods like Ashtoreth of the Sidonians, Chemosh of the Moabites, and Milcom of the Ammonites; this act underscores Josiah's uncompromising commitment to restoring exclusive worship of Yahweh, highlighting the destructive legacy of Solomon's later apostasy and fulfilling Deuteronomy's mandate to eradicate pagan altars as part of covenant renewal.