2 Chronicles 11:15

And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(15) And he ordained.—And had appointed (1Chronicles 15:16-17; 1Chronicles 22:2).

For the high places.—Bâmôth. (See Note on 1Kings 12:31 seqq.) Such local sanctuaries existed not only at Dan and Bethel, but also in other cities of the northern kingdom. (Comp. 2Kings 17:9.)

And for the devils.—Sĕ‘îrîm, “satyrs” (Isaiah 13:21). Literally, goats. (See Note on Leviticus 17:7.) The phrase indicates a prevalence of debasing idolatry in the time of Jeroboam.

And for the calves.—See Note on 1Kings 12:28. The “calves” represented the God of Israel. It appears therefore that Jeroboam encouraged a system of syncretism, or mixture of worships.

Benson Commentary

2 Chronicles 11:15. For the high places, and for devils — Or, for the high places, both for devils, (the Baals, or false gods, which divers of his people worshipped, whom he encouraged to do so, giving them liberty to do any thing but to serve God at Jerusalem,) and for the calves — So he erected two sorts of high places, some for Baal, and some for the true God, whom he pretended to worship in and by the calves.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

11:13-23 When the priests and Levites came to Jerusalem, the devout, pious Israelites followed them. Such as set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel, left the inheritance of their fathers, and went to Jerusalem, that they might have free access to the altar of God, and be out of the temptation to worship the calves. That is best for us, which is best for our souls; in all our choices, religious advantages must be sought before all outward conveniences. Where God's faithful priests are, his faithful people should be. And when it has been proved that we are willing to renounce our worldly interests, so far as we are called to do so for the sake of Christ and his gospel, we have good evidence that we are truly his disciples. And it is the interest of a nation to protect religion and religious people.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The high places - i. e., the two sanctuaries at Dan and Bethel.

For the devils - literally, "for the goats:" probably the word is used (as in Leviticus 17:7) for objects of idolatrous worship generally.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

15. he ordained him priests—The persons he appointed to the priesthood were low and worthless creatures (1Ki 12:31; 13:33); any were consecrated who brought a bullock and seven rams (2Ch 13:9; Ex 29:37).

for the high places—Those favorite places of religious worship were encouraged throughout the country.

for the devils—a term sometimes used for idols in general (Le 17:7). But here it is applied distinctively to the goat deities, which were probably worshipped chiefly in the northern parts of his kingdom, where the heathen Canaanites still abounded.

for the calves which he had made—figures of the ox gods Apis and Mnevis, with which Jeroboam's residence in Egypt had familiarized him. (See on [432]1Ki 12:26).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Or,

for the high places, both for the devils (i.e. the Baals, or false gods, which divers of his people worshipped, whom he permitted and encouraged to do so, giving them liberty to do any thing but to serve God at Jerusalem)

and for the calves. So he erected two sorts of high places, some for Baal, and some for the true God, whom he pretended and would be thought to worship in and by the calves.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And he ordained him priests for the high places,.... Of such who were not of the tribe of Levi, and family of Aaron; see 1 Kings 12:31.

and for the devils; demons in the shape of goats, as this word signifies, in which form many of the Heathen deities were worshipped; idols of whatsoever kind are so called; for whosoever worships them worships not God, but devils, 1 Corinthians 10:21 the images which Jeroboam set up may be meant, and the next clause may be rendered as explanative of them:

even for the calves which he had made; one of which he set up at Dan, and the other at Bethel, 1 Kings 12:28.

Geneva Study Bible

And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the {d} devils, and for the calves which he had made.

(d) Meaning idols, Isa 44:15.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

15. the devils] R.V. the he-goats (Leviticus 17:7 R.V.). The heathen Arabs believed in the existence of demons (called jinn) having various animal forms and inhabiting deserted places, and this belief was probably shared by the Hebrews. In this verse and in Leviticus 17:7, the writers seem to identify the gods worshipped by the heathen with these jinn. (Cp. W. R. Smith, Religion of the Semites, pp. 120 ff.).

the calves] Not previously mentioned in Chron.; 1 Kings 12:28.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 15. - The high places; i.e. Dan and Bethel (1 Kings 12:28-33). For the devils; i.e. for the "hairy ones" (שְׂעִירִים). Reference is intended to the idolatrous wore ship of the "he-goats" by the Hebrews, after the example of Egypt, and the reference here is either literal or derived (Leviticus 17:7). For the calves (see 1 Kings 12:28). 2 Chronicles 11:15

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

And had ordained him priests for the high places. ויּעמד־לו is a continuation of הזניחם כּי, 2 Chronicles 11:14. בּמות are the places of worship which were erected by Jeroboam for the image-worship, called in 1 Kings 12:31 בּמות בּית; see on that passage. The gods worshipped in these houses in high places the author of the Chronicle calls שׂעירים from their nature, and עגלים from their form. The word שׂעירים is taken from Leviticus 17:7, and signifies demons, so named from the Egyptian idolatry, in which the worship of goats, of Pan (Mendes), who was always represented in the form of a goat, occupied a prominent place; see on Leviticus 17:7. For further details as to the עגלים, see on 1 Kings 12:28.