Exodus 34:13
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Rather, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and chop down their Asherah poles.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
God having in the foregoing chapter intimated to Moses his reconciliation to Israel, here gives proofs of it, proceeding to settle his covenant and communion with them. Four instances of the return of his favour we have in this chapter: - I. The orders he gives to Moses to come up to the mount, the next morning, and bring two tables of stone with him (Exo 34:1-4). II. His meeting him there, and the proclamation of his name (Exo 34:5-9). III. The instructions he gave him there, and his converse with him for forty days together, without intermission (v. 10-28). IV. The honour he put upon him when he sent him down with his face shining (Exo 34:29-35). In all this God dealt with Moses as a public person, and mediator between him and Israel, and a type of the great Mediator.
Open source ↗34:13 Asherah was a Canaanite fertility goddess who would continue to be a temptation throughout Israel’s history (see, e.g., Judg 6:25; 1 Kgs 14:15; 2 Kgs 23:15). • The poles seem to have been fertility symbols.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
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He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.
You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces.
Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.
Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole next to the altar you will build for the LORD your God,
and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done?
When all this had ended, the Israelites in attendance went out to the cities of Judah and broke up the sacred pillars, chopped down the Asherah poles, and tore down the high places and altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the Israelites returned to their cities, each to his own property.
On that very night the LORD said to Gideon, “Take your father’s young bull and a second bull seven years old, tear down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.
He smashed the sacred pillars to pieces, cut down the Asherah poles, and covered the sites with human bones.