1 Kings 14 24

1 Kings 14:24 kjv

And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

1 Kings 14:24 nkjv

And there were also perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

1 Kings 14:24 niv

There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

1 Kings 14:24 esv

and there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.

1 Kings 14:24 nlt

There were even male and female shrine prostitutes throughout the land. The people imitated the detestable practices of the pagan nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.

1 Kings 14 verses

1 Kings 14 24 Meaning

1 Kings 14:24 states that in Judah, during the reign of King Rehoboam, there were male cult prostitutes who engaged in detestable practices. These actions mirrored the abominations of the Canaanite nations whom the Lord had driven out of the land to make way for the Israelites. This verse highlights the deep moral and religious degradation of Judah, indicating a severe departure from God's covenant and standards of holiness, adopting the very practices for which the original inhabitants were judged.

1 Kings 14 24 Context

1 Kings chapter 14 describes the immediate aftermath of the kingdom's division. Jeroboam rules Israel (the northern kingdom), introducing idolatry at Bethel and Dan, while Rehoboam rules Judah (the southern kingdom) with Jerusalem. Verse 24 is part of a series of condemnations against Rehoboam's reign, immediately following a description of Judah's widespread idolatry, including the erection of high places, sacred pillars (masseboth), and Asherim (1 Kgs 14:23). These actions collectively depict Judah's spiritual apostasy, despite being the location of the Temple and the Davidic dynasty. The verse directly contrasts Judah's practices with God's clear commands to eradicate such evil from the land and warns that they are now adopting the very sins that led to the expulsion of the Canaanites.

1 Kings 14 24 Word analysis

• And there were also: Connects this particular evil with the preceding acts of apostasy in verse 23 (high places, pillars, Asherim), indicating a deeper slide into moral and religious depravity.
• male cult prostitutes:
  • Original Hebrew: קָדֵשׁ (qāḏēš).
  • Root meaning: From qādēš, which generally means "to be holy" or "to be set apart."
  • In this context: The term takes on a tragically inverted meaning, referring to individuals "set apart" for pagan cultic purposes, specifically ritualistic sexual acts within the worship of foreign deities like Baal and Asherah.
  • Significance: These individuals engaged in sacred prostitution as a form of worship, often in fertility cults, believing that these acts would stimulate the gods to ensure agricultural or human fertility. Such practices directly violated Yahweh's commands for purity and holiness among His people (e.g., Deut 23:17-18; Lev 18:22). This specific inclusion indicates that the worship of false gods in Judah was not merely ideological but also manifested in profoundly immoral and sexually deviant rituals, directly contravening God's Law. These acts were often homosexual (Lev 18:22).
• in the land: Refers to the land of Judah, supposedly God's chosen inheritance, emphasizing the pervasive nature of this evil within the covenant community itself, not merely on its fringes or by foreign elements.
• They committed all the abominations:
  • Hebrew: תּוֹעֲבָה (tō‘ēḇāh) – "abomination," "detestable thing."
  • Meaning: This term refers to practices intensely offensive to God's holy character. It frequently encompasses idolatry, occult practices (Deut 18:9-12), and a wide range of sexual immoralities, particularly those described in Leviticus 18, which include incest, bestiality, and homosexual acts. Child sacrifice (Deut 12:31) is also labeled an abomination.
  • Significance: The use of "all" underscores the comprehensive adoption of these wicked practices, indicating that Judah had embraced the full spectrum of Canaanite evils.
• of the nations whom the Lord drove out:
  • Significance: This phrase provides a critical parallel and powerful polemic. The reason God commanded Israel to dispossess the previous inhabitants (Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, etc.) was precisely because of their profound wickedness, especially these "abominations." By imitating them, Judah invited the same divine judgment and risked expulsion from the land themselves (Lev 18:28, Deut 28). This historical and theological reminder underscores the gravity of Judah's sin, highlighting their rejection of the very purpose for which they were established as a holy nation.
• before the people of Israel: Reasserts that these acts of divine judgment against the Canaanites were a known historical fact and a direct warning example to Israel. Their ancestors had witnessed or heard accounts of God's severe wrath against those who committed these very sins, making Judah's present adoption of them an act of conscious and defiant disobedience.

1 Kings 14 24 Bonus section

• The deliberate choice of the term qāḏēš, which comes from the root for "holy," underscores the utter perversion taking place. What was meant to be set apart for God's holy purposes was instead defiled and set apart for sacrilegious acts within false worship. This ironic twisting of a term of holiness accentuates the depths of their depravity.
• The progressive decline of Judah under Rehoboam is evident. Verse 22 notes Judah's "doing what was evil," "provoking" the Lord. Verse 23 details their public acts of idolatry (high places, sacred pillars, Asherim). Then verse 24 adds the presence of cult prostitutes and the full range of abominations. This demonstrates a gradual, but escalating, abandonment of God's ways and a full embrace of Canaanite paganism.
• The continued presence and eventual removal of these cult prostitutes are significant markers in later biblical narratives concerning Judah's kings. For instance, good kings like Asa (1 Kgs 15:12) and Josiah (2 Kgs 23:7) specifically took action to eradicate the qāḏēš, demonstrating the enduring nature of this abominable practice within Judah until righteous reforms were implemented.

1 Kings 14 24 Commentary

1 Kings 14:24 offers a stark indictment of Judah's spiritual state under Rehoboam. Far from remaining distinct as God's holy nation, they openly adopted the most egregious and perverse practices of the pagan nations God had displaced. The presence of male cult prostitutes, qāḏēš, highlights the infiltration of pagan fertility worship—which twisted sexual acts into sacred rituals—directly into the heart of the covenant community. These were not just foreign influences on the borders but ingrained "in the land." The reference to "all the abominations of the nations" draws a terrifying parallel, implying Judah's wholesale embrace of practices like ritual prostitution, child sacrifice, and various forms of sexual perversion. This imitation of the very wickedness for which God executed judgment on the Canaanites signaled Judah's profound covenant unfaithfulness. It reveals a nation not only rejecting God's commands but actively provoking His jealousy and setting themselves up for similar divine discipline, despite their privileged status as the bearers of the temple and the Davidic covenant line.