He brought out the image of Asherah from the house of the LORD, outside Jerusalem, to the Kidron Valley, burned it at the Kidron Valley, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the graves of the common people — the Asherah image—the object Manasseh had erected within the temple itself—is removed and desecrated. The detailed destruction formula—burned, ground to powder, scattered over graves—indicates ritualistic desecration intended to render the object forever impure and inefficacious. Scattering ashes over graves emphasizes contact with death impurity, making the Asherah ritually abhorrent.

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