Exo 34:13, Deu 12:3, 16:21 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 13. Ye shall destroy their images ] See the subjects of this and all the following verses, to , treated at large in the notes on "Ex 23:24" .

‏ Exodus 34:13

Verse 13. Ye shall destroy their images] See the subjects of this and all the following verses, to Ex 34:28, treated at large in the notes on "Ex 23:24".

‏ Deuteronomy 12:3

Verse 3. Ye shall overthrow their altars] Where unholy sacrifices have been offered; and break their pillars, probably meaning statues and representations of their gods cut out of stone; and burn their groves, such as those about the temple of Ashtaroth, the Canaanitish Venus, whose impure rites were practised in different parts of the inclosures or groves round her temples; and ye shall hew down the graven images, probably implying all images carved out of wood; and destroy the names of them, which were no doubt at first graven on the stones, and carved on the trees, and then applied to the surrounding districts. In various instances the names of whole mountains, valleys, and districts were borrowed from the gods worshipped there.

‏ Deuteronomy 16:21

Verse 21. Thou shalt not plant thee a grove, &c.] We have already seen that groves were planted about idol temples for the purpose of the obscene worship performed in them. (See Clarke on De 12:3.) On this account God would have no groves or thickets about his altar, that there might be no room for suspicion that any thing contrary to the strictest purity was transacted there. Every part of the Divine worship was publicly performed, for the purpose of general edification.