2Ki 23:4-6 | TNotes | STEP | 23:4 remove ... all the articles: Josiah eliminated from the Temple detestable items associated with pagan worship. • terraces of the Kidron Valley: This area, near the Valley of Ben-Hinnom where the loathsome Molech rituals of child sacrifice had been carried out, became a place where ashes and dead bodies were taken (Jer 26:23 ). • Taking the ashes away to Bethel , where Jeroboam had erected one of his cult altars (1 Kgs 12:28-29 ), would defile the site forever.

bJer 26:23►

c1 Kgs 12:28-29►

d23:5-7►

e1 Kgs 14:24►

‏ 2 Kings 23:4-6

23:4 ^a remove ... all the articles: Josiah eliminated from the Temple detestable items associated with pagan worship.

• terraces of the Kidron Valley: This area, near the Valley of Ben-Hinnom where the loathsome Molech rituals of child sacrifice had been carried out, became a place where ashes and dead bodies were taken (Jer 26:23 ^b).

• Taking the ashes away to Bethel, where Jeroboam had erected one of his cult altars (1 Kgs 12:28-29 ^c), would defile the site forever.
Summary for 2Kgs 23:5-7: 23:5-7 ^d Josiah stopped the idolatrous priests from officiating over pagan rituals. He also demolished the living quarters of the cult prostitutes. Manasseh and Amon apparently had allowed the prostitution carried over from Canaanite practices (see 1 Kgs 14:24 ^e; 15:12 ^f; 22:46 ^g) to be practiced within the Temple itself.