To such lengths had the daughter of Jezebel gone that under her dominance an actual temple for Baal had been established in or near Jerusalem. The purpose, of course, was to have it take the place of the Temple of God. This pagan temple was now completely demolished.

 Heb. ṣalmim. Not the same word translated “images” in ch. 10:26. The ṣalmim were images made in the likeness of the gods themselves.

 Evidently the house of God had been sadly neglected and even abused during the reign of Athaliah and perhaps that of her predecessor. Some have suggested that Athaliah may have established the house of Baal within the very precincts of the house of God, possibly in the outer court. Certain parts of the Temple and the accompanying buildings may even have been demolished to provide materials for the building of the temple of Baal. At least there were “breaches” that needed extensive repairs (ch. 12:5-12). A building so well constructed as the Temple would not have gone to pieces so quickly simply as a result of the natural processes of deterioration. According to 2 Chron. 24:7 the “sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord did they bestow upon Baalim.” After the destruction of the house of Baal, officers were appointed whose duties were probably to supervise the reestablishment of the services of the Lord in the Temple, and to see to it that there would be no future desecration of the Temple precincts by sympathizers with the old regime (see 2 Chron. 23:19).