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2 Chronicles 11 · a question people ask

What were the "male goat" idols?

In the text

The chapter says only that Jeroboam "appointed priests for the high places, for the male goat and calf idols which he had made" (11:15). In Hebrew male goat there is se'irim, the plural of sa'ir (tap male goat). The law uses the same word: "They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat idols" (Leviticus 17:7). 1 Kings tells only of the calves, "two calves of gold" (1 Kings 12:28), and Abijah later speaks of "the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods" (13:8). Neither book describes the goat idols, and these notes don't guess what they were.

The verses

“He himself appointed priests for the high places, for the male goat and calf idols which he had made.”
2 Chronicles 11:15 · World English Bible
“They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat idols, after which they play the prostitute. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.’”
Leviticus 17:7 · World English Bible
“So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look and behold your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt!””
1 Kings 12:28 · World English Bible
““Now you intend to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David. You are a great multitude, and the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods are with you.”
2 Chronicles 13:8 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 2 Chronicles 11

2 Chronicles 11: Set their hearts to seek

2 Chronicles tells what 1 Kings doesn't: when Jeroboam cast off the Levites, they "left their pasture lands and their possessions" for Judah (11:14), and after them came people "out of all the tribes of Israel" who set their hearts to seek the LORD (11:16). The kingdom had split in two, but seeking the LORD still brought people from every tribe to Jerusalem.

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions