2 Chronicles 15:16Also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
The setting
Jerusalem, ~895 BC. King Asa faces his hardest decision — his own grandmother Maacah has been promoting Asherah worship. He strips her of royal status and destroys her idol...
The emotion here: sobered by recording a king's painful but necessary choice to oppose his own family for faithfulness
The original word
miphletzeth (מִפְלֶצֶת) — a horrifying abomination, something that causes trembling and revulsion
Why it matters
Asherah poles were often phallic symbols representing a Canaanite fertility goddess — this was sexual idolatry
Read with care
What most readers miss in 2 Chronicles 15:16
Burning it 'at the brook' was significant — the Kidron Valley was where ritual unclean things were destroyed
Common misconceptionPeople think this was cruel to an elderly woman, but Maacah wasn't just practicing private religion — she was using royal influence to corrupt the nation's worship.
The thread continues
Verses that echo 2 Chronicles 15:16
Bible Genome reading
2 Chronicles 15:16 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
2 Chronicles 15:16 comes from the book of 2 Chronicles, written during the Divided Kingdom period. These words are attributed to Narrator. The dominant emotion in this verse is deciding, with a comfort power of 30% and a tone that is commanding. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include religious reform, family conflict. Notable phrases: removed from being queen; abominable image; cut down.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same deciding
“"You shall have no other gods before me.”
— Deuteronomy 5:7
“"You shall not murder.”
— Exodus 20:13
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
— Matthew 23:12
“For God didn't give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.”
— 2 Timothy 1:7
“But Peter said, "Silver and gold have I none, but what I have, that I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!"”
— Acts 3:6
Your reflection
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