They set up for themselves pillars and sacred poles on every high hill and under every green tree — the physical apparatus of Canaanite worship—pillars (מַצֵּבוֹת, *matzebot*, stone monuments to deities) and sacred poles (אֲשֵׁרִים, *asherim*, wooden representations of the goddess Asherah)—became ubiquitous throughout Israel. The phrase "on every high hill and under every green tree" indicates landscape-embedded idolatry: worship locations were dispersed throughout the geography rather than centralized in the temple. This landscape-based religious transformation represents the complete supplanting of Yahweh-worship by Canaanite fertility cults.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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