John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 2. Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods , etc.] The temples erected for the worship of them by the Canaanites, of which there were many, as appears by the various names of places given them from the temples in them, as Bethshemesh, Bethbaalmeon, Bethpeor, and others: upon the high mountains and upon the hills : which they chose to worship on, being nearer the heavens, and which they thought most acceptable to their gods; and some of them had their names from hence, as Baalpeor, in like manner as Jupiter Olympius was called by the Greeks; (see Jeremiah 2:20 3:6), and under every green tree ; which being shady and solitary, and pleasant to the sight, they fancied their gods delighted in, and this notion prevailed among other nations; and there is scarcely any deity but what had some tree or another devoted to it; as the oak to Jupiter, the laurel to Apollo, the ivy to Bacchus, the olive to Minerva, the myrtle to Venus, etc. (see Jeremiah 2:20 3:6).
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-4 - Moses comes to the statutes he had to give in charge to Israel; an begins with such as relate to the worship of God. The Israelites ar charged not to bring the rites and usages of idolaters into the worshi of God; not under colour of making it better. We cannot serve God an mammon; nor worship the true God and idols; nor depend upon Chris Jesus and upon superstitious or self-righteous confidences.
Original Hebrew אבד6 תאבדון6 את853 כל3605 המקמות4725 אשׁר834 עבדו5647 שׁם8033 הגוים1471 אשׁר834 אתם859 ירשׁים3423 אתם853 את853 אלהיהם430 על5921 ההרים2022 הרמים7311 ועל5921 הגבעות1389 ותחת8478 כל3605 עץ6086 רענן׃7488
