2 Kings 18:4

Removed the high places. Until this time the high places had not been fully removed since Judah had existed as a nation. Hezekiah had seen what disobedience had brought to Israel, and was determined that his nation should not suffer a similar fate. He loved God and determined to do all in his power to cleanse the country of every form of idolatry. The high places, though forbidden by the law, were used by many of the people as favorite centers of worship (1 Kings 3:2; 14:23; 22:43; 2 Kings 12:3; 14:4; 15:4, 35). Up to the time of Hezekiah they had been tolerated by the kings of Judah and no doubt by this time they were accepted as an established part of the national religion.

Brake the images. These measures were taken after the cleansing of the Temple and the holding of the Passover in the first year of Hezekiah’s reign (2 Chron. 29:3, 17; 30:1, 15; 31:1).

Brass serpent. See Num. 21:6-9. This is the first reference to this serpent after the time of Moses. Some think that it was kept in the tabernacle as long as that existed and was transferred to the Temple at the time of Solomon, but of this there is no proof. By this time, however, it was regarded as a sacred relic, and was thought to possess virtue in itself. By burning incense before it, the people were giving to this serpent of brass the veneration that should have been accorded to God alone.

He called. One of the editions of the LXX, also the Syriac and the Targums read, “they called.”

Nehushtan. Probably “bronze god,” from the same root as the Heb. nechosheth, “bronze.” Others derive Nehushtan from nachas, “serpent.”