Commentaries:
Barnes' Notes
He removed the high places - This religious reformation was effected in a violent and tumultuous manner (marginal reference). The "high places," though forbidden in the Law (Deuteronomy 12:2-4, Deuteronomy 12:11-14; compare Leviticus 26:30), had practically received the sanction of Samuel I Samuel 7:10; I Samuel 9:12-14, David II Samuel 15:32, Solomon I Kings 3:4, and others, and had long been the favorite resorts of the mass of the people (see I Kings 3:2 note). They were the rural centers for the worship of Yahweh, standing in the place of the later synagogue;, and had hitherto been winked at, or rather regarded as legitimate, even by the best kings. Hezekiah' s desecration of these time-honored sanctuaries must have been a rude shock to the feelings of numbers; and indications of the popular discontent may be traced in the appeal of Rab-shakeh II Kings 18:22, and in the strength of the reaction under Manasseh II Kings 21:2-9; II Chronicles 33:3-17.
The brasen serpent - See the marginal reference. Its history from the time when it was set up to the date of Hezekiah' s reformation is a blank. The present passage favors the supposition that it had been brought by Solomon from Gibeon and placed in the temple, for it implies a long continued worship of the serpent by the Israelites generally, and not a mere recent worship of it by the Jews.
And he called it Nehushtan - Rather, "And it was called Nehushtan." The people called it, not "the serpent" ׁ nāchâsh , but "the brass," or "the brass thing" ׁ ne chûshtān . Probably they did not like to call it "the serpent," on account of the dark associations which were attached to that reptile (Genesis 3:1-15; Isaiah 27:1; Psalms 91:13; etc.).
Other Barnes' Notes entries containing 2 Kings 18:4:
Exodus 34:12-27
Leviticus 26:3-45
2 Kings 12:3
2 Kings 18:22
2 Kings 20:3
2 Chronicles 31:1
2 Chronicles 33:17
Isaiah 32:1
Isaiah 36:7
Isaiah 38:3
Jeremiah 11:13
DISCLAIMER: Church of the Great God (CGG) provides these resources to aid the individual in studying the Bible. However, it is up to the individual to "prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21). The content of these resources does not necessarily reflect the views of CGG. They are provided for information purposes only.
