Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:
Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations ... served their gods. This divine command was founded on the tendencies of human nature; because, to remove out of sight everything that had been associated with idolatry, that it might never be spoken of, and no vestige of it remain, was the only effectual way to keep the Israelites from temptations to it.
It is observable that Moses does not make any mention of temples, because such buildings were not in existence at that early period. The "places" chosen as the scene of pagan worship were situated either on the summit of a lofty mountain, or on some artificial mound, or in a grove planted with green trees, such as oaks, white poplars, and elms-probably terebinths (Isaiah 57:5-7; Hosea 4:13: cf. 1 Kings 14:23; 2 Kings 17:10-11; Ezekiel 20:28). The reason for the selection of such sites was both to secure retirement and to direct the attention upward to heaven; and the 'place' was nothing else than a consecrated enclosure, or at most a canopy or screen from the weather, though they were often prostituted to the horridly cruel and licentious rites that characterized the worship of the Syrian goddess Astarte.