"The High Places Which Are in Front of Jerusalem" (2 Kings 23:13): A Proposed Identification

Recent excavations conducted at two sites - Mordot Amona, situated about 750 m north of Ramat Rahel, and Armon ha-Natziv, located south of ancient Jerusalem - shed new light on Josiah's cult reform. This article postulates that the former was the site of the "high places" located "in front of Jerusalem," as mentioned in 2 Kgs 23:13-14. The excavations at Mordot Arnona disclosed the radical nature of Josiah's cult reform. Among the measures taken to eradicate the foreign cults are the razing to the ground of the temple, the breakage and discard of all its cult objects and vessels, and the deliberate removal of its prime architectural elements to the neighboring site at Armon ha-Natziv. The authenticity of this episode, as indicated on the ground, suggests that many other details related to the account of Josiah's cult reform, including those that many scholars doubt their validity, are genuine historical memories of Josiah's reform.