18:4 He removed the high places. Hezekiah, unlike earlier Judean kings of Judah, reformed the people’s worship by destroying the local shrines (1 Kin. 3:2 note).

pillars . . . Asherah. See notes 1 Kin. 14:15, 23.

the bronze serpent. Originally preserved to commemorate God’s mercy to the Israelites when they were in the wilderness (Num. 21:6–9), this bronze serpent had become in itself an object of worship, hence an idol (cf. John 3:14, 15).