SEV Biblia, Chapter 23:5
Y quitó a los camoreos, que habían puesto los reyes de Judá para que quemasen incienso en los altos en las ciudades de Judá, y en los alrededores de Jerusalén; y asimismo a los que quemaban incienso a Baal, al sol, y a la luna, y a los signos, y a todo el ejército del cielo.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 23:5
Verse 5. The idolatrous priests] µyrmkh hakkemarim. Who these were is not well known. The Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, call them the priests simply, which the kings of Judah had ordained. Probably they were an order made by the idolatrous kings of Judah, and called kemarim, from rmk camar, which signifies to be scorched, shriveled together, made dark, or black, because their business was constantly to attend sacrificial fires, and probably they were black garments; hence the Jews in derision call Christian ministers kemarim, because of their black clothes and garments. Why we should imitate, in our sacerdotal dress, those priests of Baal, is strange to think and hard to tell.
Unto Baal, to the sun] Though Baal was certainly the sun, yet here they are distinguished; Baal being worshipped under different forms and attributes, Baal-peor, Baal-zephon, Baal- zebub, &c.
The planets] twlzm mazzaloth. The Vulgate translates this the twelve signs, i.e., the zodiac. This is as likely as any of the other conjectures which have been published relative to this word. See a similar word Job xxxvii. 9; xxviii. 32.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 5. And he put down the idolatrous priests , etc.] The Cemarim, so called, because they wore black clothes, as Kimchi and others, whereas the priests of the Lord were clothed in white linen, (see Gill on “ Zephaniah 1:4”). whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places, in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem ; for though those high places were destroyed by Hezekiah, they were rebuilt by Manasseh his son, and priests put in them to officiate there, whom Josiah now deposed, ( 2 Kings 21:3), them also that burnt incense unto Baal ; in the same high places; these were the priests, and the others in the preceding clause are thought to be ministers unto them: to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets ; the five planets besides the sun and moon, as Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and Venus; or to the twelve celestial signs in the firmament, as some f263 ; though Theodoret takes it to be a single star, the evening star: and to all the host of heaven ; or even to the host of heaven, all the stars thereof: this part of worship, burning incense , which was peculiar to the most high God, yet was frequently made by idolaters to their deities; and from the word by which it is here and elsewhere expressed may “nectar” be derived, so much spoken of by the Heathen poets as of a sweet smell f265 , and as delicious to their gods; and so Porphyry represents the gods as living on smoke, vapours, and perfumes; and frankincense is said, by Diodorus Siculus f267 , to be most grateful to them, and beloved by them; this therefore is a much better derivation of the word “nectar” than what Suidas gives, that is, as if it was “nectar”, because it makes those young that drink it; or than the account Athenaeus gives of it, that it is a wine in Babylon so called.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 4-14 - What abundance of wickedness in Judah and Jerusalem! One would not have believed it possible, that in Judah, where God was known, in Israel where his name was great, in Salem, in Zion, where his dwelling-plac was, such abominations should be found. Josiah had reigned eightee years, and had himself set the people a good example, and kept u religion according to the Divine law; yet, when he came to search for idolatry, the depth and extent were very great. Both common history and the records of God's word, teach, that all the real godliness of goodness ever found on earth, is derived from the new-creating Spiri of Jesus Christ.
Original Hebrew
והשׁבית 7673 את 853 הכמרים 3649 אשׁר 834 נתנו 5414 מלכי 4428 יהודה 3063 ויקטר 6999 בבמות 1116 בערי 5892 יהודה 3063 ומסבי 4524 ירושׁלם 3389 ואת 853 המקטרים 6999 לבעל 1168 לשׁמשׁ 8121 ולירח 3394 ולמזלות 4208 ולכל 3605 צבא 6635 השׁמים׃ 8064
