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A [[high place]] ([[Hebrew]] ''bamah'', plural ''bamot''<ref name=Brit1911>Authors unknown, "[http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/High_Place Entry for High Place]," ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 1911. Retrieved April 18, 2007, from [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Main_Page LoveToKnow 1911] (a site that reproduces the 1911 ''Britannica'', now in the [[public domain]]).</ref>) was a site, at the top of any high hill, that served usually as a place of worship of the [[Canaan]]ite gods [[Baal]] and [[Asherah]].<ref name=Holman>Chad Brand, Charles Draper, Archie England, ''et al.'', eds. ''The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary''. Nashville, Tennessee: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003, ISBN 0805428364, pp. 761-2</ref><ref name=Brit2007>Authors unknown. "[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9040403 Entry for High Place]." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2007, from ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online.''</ref>
== Conventions of the High Place ==
A typical high place would have:
# An altar to [[Baal]],<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=21|verses=3|version=NASB}} {{Bible ref|book=II_Chronicles|chap=14|verses=3|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Brit1911/><ref name=Holman/><ref name=Brit2007/>
# A stone pillar representing Baal and dedicated to him,<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=3|verses=2|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Brit1911/><ref name=Holman/><ref name=Brit2007/>
# A carved or ''engraved'' wooden pole (called a ''grove'' in the [[King James Version]]) dedicated to [[Asherah]],<ref name=Brit1911/><ref name=Holman/><ref name=Brit2007/>
# Any of a number of other idols,<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=17|verses=29|version=NASB}} {{Bible ref|book=II_Chronicles|chap=33|verses=19|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Holman/><ref name=Brit2007/> and
# At least one building,<ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Kings|chap=12|verses=31|version=NASB}}</ref><ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Kings|chap=13|verses=32|version=NASB}}</ref><ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Kings|chap=16|verses=32-33|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Brit1911/><ref name=Holman/> which might have served as a hall for pagan feasts.<ref name=Brit1911/>
At a minimum, people burnt incense at a high place<ref name=Brit2007/>--but sometimes they held animal or even human sacrifices, and specifically of children.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=7|verses=31|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Holman/>
== Archaeological Evidence ==
[[Archaeology|Archaeologists]] have discovered multiple high-place remnants. The oldest known "high place" was at [[Megiddo]].<ref name=Brit2007/> The Megiddo ''bamah'' is dated at 2500 BC,<ref name=Brit2007/> which would place it shortly after the [[Great Flood]] if a "Long Sojourn in [[Egypt]]" is assumed. The assumptions behind this date are not available. Still, this high place would probably date back to the time of [[Abraham]].
== Worship at High Places ==
Most worship at high places was of pagan gods, especially before the invasion of [[Canaan]] by the nation of [[Israel]].<ref name=Brit2007/> Two historical exceptions existed: in the period between the destruction of [[Shiloh]] and the building of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]], Judge [[Samuel]] worshiped [[God]] Himself at a high place,<ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Samuel|chap=9|verses=12-25|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Holman/> and David and Solomon worshipped at a [[Tabernacle]] re-pitched on a high place.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Chronicles|chap=16|verses=1-4,37-40|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Holman/> But once the Tabernacle and/or the Temple were in place, worship of [[God]] at high places was against [[God]]'s will.<ref name=JE>Authors unknown. "[http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/bc.htm Entry for Bamah/Bamot]." ''[[Judaism]] 101: A Glossary of Basic Jewish Terms and Concepts'', Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. Retrieved April 18, 2007</ref>
That aside, God had specifically enjoined the Israelites from worshiping even Him at any high places,<ref name=Brit2007/> and even directed them to remove all high places as they took possession of the land.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Deuteronomy|chap=7|verses=5|version=NASB}}</ref> They did not do this, and because of this they were tempted continually by the largely sensual worship of the Canaanite gods and often yielded to that temptation. Indeed, King [[Solomon]] built many high places himself to accommodate the belief systems of many of his foreign wives.<ref name=Holman/> In addition, King [[Jeroboam I]] of the [[Northern Kingdom]] set up golden calves, one at each of two high places in his kingdom, as the centerpiece of an alternative religious system that he invented to stop people from going up to [[Jerusalem]] to worship [[God]].<ref name=Holman/> Those high places would not be removed before the [[Fall of Samaria]] more than two centuries (two and a half centuries according to [[James Ussher]]) later.
Part of the evaluation of all the kings of the [[Southern Kingdom]] was whether they did anything about the high places.<ref name=JE/> Only three kings receive credit for removing them completely; these were [[Jehoshaphat]] and the two great reformers, [[Hezekiah]] and [[Josiah]].<ref name=Brit1911/> Jehoshaphat's role in removing high places receives little notice among commentators today, and yet the Bible says that Jehoshaphat removed the high places during his reign, a thing which only two other Kings of the [[Southern Kingdom]] managed to do. Josiah's thoroughgoing removal of high places is, of course, associated with the finding, during his reign, of the "book of the Law in the house of the LORD"<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Chronicles|chap=34|verses=14-19|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Brit2007/>
== Famous High Places in OT Times ==
Perhaps the most famous of all high places was on [[Mount Carmel]], the site of a [[Elijah#The Mount Carmel Demonstration|famous demonstration]] of [[God]]'s power by the prophet [[Elijah]].<ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Kings|chap=18|verses=18-45|version=NASB}}</ref>
== The High Place as a Metaphor ==
Today many prominent [[Christian]] leaders denounce as "high places" any doctrines that, they say, come not from the [[Bible]] but from another source, and especially doctrines that, they charge, others have inserted into the Bible. This would certainly include the paying of any sort of homage to a [[God-substitute]] figure in popular culture, including [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial "visitors"]] to [[earth]].
The accuracy or applicability of this epithet to any particular doctrine is beyond the scope of this article. What is relevant here is that those who call any particular doctrine a "high place" mean to imply that the inventor and/or holder(s) of that doctrine are trying to avoid an uncomfortable truth or truths about the Bible or about themselves. They also mean to imply that the doctrine itself is distracting to proper worship, devotion, and Bible study.
Ironically, the Hebrew word ''bamah'' translated "high place" is very close to the [[Greek]] word ''bema'', which means "judgment seat" and is the term used for a court held by a [[Rome|Roman]] magistrate and also for the Judgment Seat of [[Jesus|Christ]], before which all believers will one day stand.
== References ==
<references/>
== See Also ==
* [[Baal]]
* [[Elijah]]
* [[Hezekiah]]
* [[Manasseh King of Judah]]
* [[Josiah]]
[[Category:Bible]]
[[Category:Bible study]]
[[Category:Israel]]
[[Category:History]]
== Conventions of the High Place ==
A typical high place would have:
# An altar to [[Baal]],<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=21|verses=3|version=NASB}} {{Bible ref|book=II_Chronicles|chap=14|verses=3|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Brit1911/><ref name=Holman/><ref name=Brit2007/>
# A stone pillar representing Baal and dedicated to him,<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=3|verses=2|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Brit1911/><ref name=Holman/><ref name=Brit2007/>
# A carved or ''engraved'' wooden pole (called a ''grove'' in the [[King James Version]]) dedicated to [[Asherah]],<ref name=Brit1911/><ref name=Holman/><ref name=Brit2007/>
# Any of a number of other idols,<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Kings|chap=17|verses=29|version=NASB}} {{Bible ref|book=II_Chronicles|chap=33|verses=19|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Holman/><ref name=Brit2007/> and
# At least one building,<ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Kings|chap=12|verses=31|version=NASB}}</ref><ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Kings|chap=13|verses=32|version=NASB}}</ref><ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Kings|chap=16|verses=32-33|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Brit1911/><ref name=Holman/> which might have served as a hall for pagan feasts.<ref name=Brit1911/>
At a minimum, people burnt incense at a high place<ref name=Brit2007/>--but sometimes they held animal or even human sacrifices, and specifically of children.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Jeremiah|chap=7|verses=31|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Holman/>
== Archaeological Evidence ==
[[Archaeology|Archaeologists]] have discovered multiple high-place remnants. The oldest known "high place" was at [[Megiddo]].<ref name=Brit2007/> The Megiddo ''bamah'' is dated at 2500 BC,<ref name=Brit2007/> which would place it shortly after the [[Great Flood]] if a "Long Sojourn in [[Egypt]]" is assumed. The assumptions behind this date are not available. Still, this high place would probably date back to the time of [[Abraham]].
== Worship at High Places ==
Most worship at high places was of pagan gods, especially before the invasion of [[Canaan]] by the nation of [[Israel]].<ref name=Brit2007/> Two historical exceptions existed: in the period between the destruction of [[Shiloh]] and the building of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]], Judge [[Samuel]] worshiped [[God]] Himself at a high place,<ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Samuel|chap=9|verses=12-25|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Holman/> and David and Solomon worshipped at a [[Tabernacle]] re-pitched on a high place.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Chronicles|chap=16|verses=1-4,37-40|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Holman/> But once the Tabernacle and/or the Temple were in place, worship of [[God]] at high places was against [[God]]'s will.<ref name=JE>Authors unknown. "[http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/bc.htm Entry for Bamah/Bamot]." ''[[Judaism]] 101: A Glossary of Basic Jewish Terms and Concepts'', Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. Retrieved April 18, 2007</ref>
That aside, God had specifically enjoined the Israelites from worshiping even Him at any high places,<ref name=Brit2007/> and even directed them to remove all high places as they took possession of the land.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Deuteronomy|chap=7|verses=5|version=NASB}}</ref> They did not do this, and because of this they were tempted continually by the largely sensual worship of the Canaanite gods and often yielded to that temptation. Indeed, King [[Solomon]] built many high places himself to accommodate the belief systems of many of his foreign wives.<ref name=Holman/> In addition, King [[Jeroboam I]] of the [[Northern Kingdom]] set up golden calves, one at each of two high places in his kingdom, as the centerpiece of an alternative religious system that he invented to stop people from going up to [[Jerusalem]] to worship [[God]].<ref name=Holman/> Those high places would not be removed before the [[Fall of Samaria]] more than two centuries (two and a half centuries according to [[James Ussher]]) later.
Part of the evaluation of all the kings of the [[Southern Kingdom]] was whether they did anything about the high places.<ref name=JE/> Only three kings receive credit for removing them completely; these were [[Jehoshaphat]] and the two great reformers, [[Hezekiah]] and [[Josiah]].<ref name=Brit1911/> Jehoshaphat's role in removing high places receives little notice among commentators today, and yet the Bible says that Jehoshaphat removed the high places during his reign, a thing which only two other Kings of the [[Southern Kingdom]] managed to do. Josiah's thoroughgoing removal of high places is, of course, associated with the finding, during his reign, of the "book of the Law in the house of the LORD"<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Chronicles|chap=34|verses=14-19|version=NASB}}</ref><ref name=Brit2007/>
== Famous High Places in OT Times ==
Perhaps the most famous of all high places was on [[Mount Carmel]], the site of a [[Elijah#The Mount Carmel Demonstration|famous demonstration]] of [[God]]'s power by the prophet [[Elijah]].<ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Kings|chap=18|verses=18-45|version=NASB}}</ref>
== The High Place as a Metaphor ==
Today many prominent [[Christian]] leaders denounce as "high places" any doctrines that, they say, come not from the [[Bible]] but from another source, and especially doctrines that, they charge, others have inserted into the Bible. This would certainly include the paying of any sort of homage to a [[God-substitute]] figure in popular culture, including [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial "visitors"]] to [[earth]].
The accuracy or applicability of this epithet to any particular doctrine is beyond the scope of this article. What is relevant here is that those who call any particular doctrine a "high place" mean to imply that the inventor and/or holder(s) of that doctrine are trying to avoid an uncomfortable truth or truths about the Bible or about themselves. They also mean to imply that the doctrine itself is distracting to proper worship, devotion, and Bible study.
Ironically, the Hebrew word ''bamah'' translated "high place" is very close to the [[Greek]] word ''bema'', which means "judgment seat" and is the term used for a court held by a [[Rome|Roman]] magistrate and also for the Judgment Seat of [[Jesus|Christ]], before which all believers will one day stand.
== References ==
<references/>
== See Also ==
* [[Baal]]
* [[Elijah]]
* [[Hezekiah]]
* [[Manasseh King of Judah]]
* [[Josiah]]
[[Category:Bible]]
[[Category:Bible study]]
[[Category:Israel]]
[[Category:History]]