And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathanmelech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
He took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun. Amount the people who anciently worshipped the sun, horses were usually dedicated to that divinity, from the supposed idea that the sun himself was drawn in a chariot by horses. In some cases these horses were sacrificed; but more commonly they were employed either in the sacred processions to carry the images of the sun, or for the worshippers to ride in every morning to welcome his rise. This form of superstition prevailed in Asia long before the Persian domination (Layard, 'Nineveh and its Remains,' 2:, p. 365; see also Drew, 'Scripture Lands,' p. 196, note; Barclay, p. 99). It seems that the idolatrous kings, Ahaz, Manasseh, and Amon, or their great officers, proceeded on these horses early on each day, from the east gate of the temple, to salute and worship the sun at his appearing above the horizon.