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Thus, in regard to form - the many sanctuaries in opposition to the one place of worship -
as well as to substance and spirit, there was direct contrariety to the institutions of the Old
Testament. Indeed, it may not be without use here to mark that in the surroundings of
Israel, exclusive unity of worship in one central temple, as against many sanctuaries, was
absolutely necessary if a pure monotheism was to be preserved and the introduction of
heathen rites to be avoided.
But the idolatry introduced by Ahaz was to be carried to all its sequences. A despotic
edict of the king, while at Damascus, in singular contrast to the weakness displayed
towards his foreign enemies, ordered a new altar for the Temple after the pattern sent to
Jerusalem of one, no doubt devoted to an Assyrian deity, which he had seen in Damascus
and approved. He was obeyed by a servile high-priest. When Ahaz returned to his capital
sacrifices were offered by him on the new altar,* probably thankofferings for his safe
arrival.
- It does not, however, necessarily follow that Ahaz himself offered the sacrifices in the
sense of discharging priestly functions although 2 Kings 16:13 seems rather to lead up to
this.
This was only the beginning of other changes. It seems not unlikely that the king
introduced in connection with the new altar the worship of the gods of Damascus (2
Chronicles 28:23, in connection with ver. 24). Certain it is that an exclusive place was
assigned to it. Apparently Urijah, the priest, had originally set it at the rear of the old altar
of burnt-offering, which stood "before the Lord," that is, "before the house," in other
words, fronting the entrance into the sanctuary. But as this would have indicated the
inferiority of the new altar, the king, on his return from Damascus, brought the two altars
into juxtaposition.* In the words of the sacred text (2 Kings 16:14): "And the altar, the
brazen [one]** a which [was] before Jehovah he brought near [placed in juxtaposition],
from before the house [the sanctuary], from between the altar [the new Damascus altar]
and the house of Jehovah, and he put it at the side of the altar [the new Damascus altar],
northwards."
- (...) : "he brought near" (2 Kings 16:14, A.V. 'he brought"), i.e. he brought the one near
to the other.
** The old altar of burnt offering, so called in contradistinction to the "golden altar" of
incense in the Holy Place.
The meaning of this is that the brazen altar, which had hitherto faced the entrance to the
sanctuary, eastwards, was now removed to the north side of the new altar, so that the
latter became the principal, nay, the sole sacrificial altar. Accordingly, by command of
(^)