Who were the "sodomites" mentioned in this verse?

The KJV term "sodomites" translates the Hebrew word qādēš (or qedesha for females), which literally means "holy one" or "consecrated one." However, in this context, it refers to cult prostitutes – individuals, typically male, who were consecrated for ritual sexual acts within pagan religious rituals, often associated with fertility cults like Baal or Asherah worship. These practices were an abomination to the LORD and strictly forbidden in Israelite law (Deuteronomy 23:17-18).

What is "the grove" that women wove hangings for?

"The grove" refers to an Asherah pole or image, which was a cultic symbol representing the Canaanite goddess Asherah. Asherah was often worshipped as the consort of Baal, and her cult involved fertility rites, which frequently included ritual prostitution. The worship of Asherah was strictly forbidden by God in the Mosaic Law (Exodus 34:13), yet it had become deeply entrenched in Judah, even to the point of women weaving cultic textiles for it right by the Temple.

Why were these pagan practices allowed to be "by the house of the LORD"?

The presence of these abhorrent practices so close to the Jerusalem Temple highlights the extreme spiritual degradation and syncretism that had permeated Judah, particularly during the reigns of Josiah's predecessors, Manasseh and Amon. Manasseh, in particular, was notorious for introducing and promoting widespread idolatry, even building altars to Baal and Asherah within the Temple courts themselves (2 Kings 21:3-7). This proximity symbolized the nation's profound spiritual compromise and disregard for God's holiness, allowing the profane to brazenly encroach upon the sacred. Josiah's reforms were a direct and forceful response to this desecration.

23:6 23:6

2 Kings 23:7

23:8 23:8

Bible Versions

And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that [were] by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove.

And he brake down {H5422} the houses {H1004} of the sodomites {H6945}, that were by the house {H1004} of the LORD {H3068}, where the women {H802} wove {H707} hangings {H1004} for the grove {H842}.

He smashed the houses of the cult prostitutes that were in the house of ADONAI, where the women also wove garments for the asherah.

He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes that were in the house of the LORD, where the women had woven tapestries for Asherah.

And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were in the house of Jehovah, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.

Note: Commentary is generated by AI with a directive for Biblical fidelity. Always rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

Verse Lookup

Cross-References

1 Kings 15:12

And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
Ezekiel 16:16

And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: [the like things] shall not come, neither shall it be [so].
1 Kings 14:24

And there were also sodomites in the land: [and] they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
Exodus 35:25

And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, [both] of blue, and of purple, [and] of scarlet, and of fine linen.
Exodus 35:26

And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' [hair].
Ezekiel 8:14

Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S house which [was] toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
Romans 1:26

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

Bible Versions

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