Under many of the later kings of Judah apostasy was carried to an astonishing extent. Not content with a single kind of idolatry, they borrowed the abominations of all the nations around. It is scarcely possible to ascertain the dates and occa sions of the various introductions of pagan religions or practices, but some main particulars may be reasonably inferred. It is, however, observable that Baal-worship after its great overthrow never seems to have risen to any prominence in Judah, and that star-worship appears to have been the chief form of idolatry during the subsequent period. It might be supposed that Solomon's high places were the origin of this various idolatry, but much of it is unmentioned before the time of the later kings of Judah. Were the supposed later idolatry alone spoken of in the writings of the prophets, we might conjecture that it was earlier practised, but in the historical books it is only noticed in the later period.
Ahaz seems to have been, before Manasseh, the chief innovator who led Judah astray. Amaziah had, indeed, after a successful campaign in Edom, brought the gods of the children of Seir,' appa rently here the Edomites, and worshipped them (2 Chron. xxv. 14, 15) ; but it is probable that this idolatry was abolished by Uzzialt : the mention of it is important, as indicating that Arab paganism was at least once introduced ointo Judah. Ahaz ordered a fresh altar to be made, after the pattern of some idol-altar at Damascus, and to be placed in the temple, and offered upon it, otherwise also usurping the priestly office (2 Kings xvi. to-16). He introduced the worship of the gods of Damas cus, raised altars throughout Jerusalem, idol high places in every city of Judah, made his son pass through the fire, and closed the tetnple (2 Chron. xxviii. 22-25 ; 2 Kings xvi. 3, 4).
Under the subsequent kings there were two great reforms ; and between them a long period, which appears to have been mainly of apostasy. Hezekialt suppressed idolatry, which did not break out afresh during his reign. Manasseh introduced Baal-worship again, caused his son or children to pass through the fire, used witchcraft, and set up an idol and altars for the host of heaven in the temple itself (2 Kings xxi. 3-7; Chron. xxxiii. 3-7), Manasseh's repentance did not lead to an effectual removal of idolatry, and Amon returned to his father's sins. But Josiah set himself to over throw false worship throughout his dominions, and by defiling the idol altars prevented their after-use. The main va.rieties of the idolatry of this period .we now notice.
a. Sun-worship, though mentioned with other kinds of high nature-worship, as in the enumeration of those suppressed by Josiah, seems to have been practised alone as well as with the a doration of other heavenly bodies. In Ezekiel's remarkable vision of the idolatries of Jerusalem, he saw about four and twenty men between the porch and the altar of the temple, with their backs to the temple and their faces to the east, worshipping the sun (Ezek. viii. 16). Josiah had before this taken
away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the LORD,' and had burned the chariots of the sun with fire' (2 Kings xxiii. II). The same part of the temple is perhaps here meant. There is nothing to show whether these were irnag,es or living horses. The horse was sacred to the sun among the Carthaginians, but the worship of the visible sun instead of an image looks rather like a Persian or an Arab custom.
b. In the account of Josiah's reform we rcad of the abolition of the worship of Baal, the sun, the moon, Mazzaloth, also called Mazzaroth (Job xxxviii. 32), which we bold to be the mansions of the moon [AsTRoNcmY], and all the host of heaven (2 Kings xxiii. 5). Manasseh is related to have served 'all the host of heaven' (xxi. 3). Jeremiah speaks of the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah,' as to be defiled, 'because of all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink-offering,s unto other gods' (Jer. xix. 13). In this prophet's time the people of Judah and Jerusalem, among other abomina tions, made cakes for the queen of heaven,' or the worship of heaven ;' a different form justifying the latter reading. The usual reading is nm5n, queen,' which the LXX. once follows, the Vulg. always ; some copies give ri;t4p, wor ship,' that is a deity or goddess.' The former reading seems preferable, and the context in two passages in Jeremiah shows that an abstract sense is not admissible (xliv. 17, 18, 19, 25). In Egypt, the remnant that fled after the murder of Gedaliah were warned by this prophet to abandon those idolatrous practices for which their country and cities had bcen desolated. The men, conscious that their wives had burned incense to false gods in F.gypt, declared that they would certainly burn incense and pour out drink-offerings to thc queen of heaven, as they, their fathers, their kings, and their princes had done in a time of plenty, assert ing that since they had left off these practices they had been constuned by the sword and by famine: for this a fresh doom was pronounced upon them (xliv.) It is very difficult to conjecture tvhat god dess can be here meant : Ashtoreth would suit, but is neve/ mentioned interchangeably; the moon must be rejected for the same reason.—Here we certainly see a strong resemblance to Arab ido latry, which was wholly composed of cosmic wor ship and of fetishism, and in which the mansions of the moon were reverenced on account of their connection with seasons of rain. This system of cosmic worship may have been introduced from the Nabathans or Edomites of Petra, front the Sabians, or from other Arabs or Chaldmans.