Their groves - Render their idols of wood: and see the Deuteronomy 7:5 note.

Ye shall overthrow their altars - Where unholy sacrifices have been offered; and break their pillars, probably meaning statues and representations of their gods cut out of stone; and burn their groves, such as those about the temple of Ashtaroth, the Canaanitish Venus, whose impure rites were practiced in different parts of the enclosures or groves round her temples; and ye shall hew down the graven images, probably implying all images carved out of wood; and destroy the names of them, which were no doubt at first graven on the stones, and carved on the trees, and then applied to the surrounding districts. In various instances the names of whole mountains, valleys, and districts were borrowed from the gods worshipped there.

And you shall overthrow their altars,.... Which were of stone, as Jarchi observes; whereas the altar ordered to be made by the Lord, before the altar of burnt offering in the tabernacle was made, was of earth, Exodus 20:24 these were to be demolished, lest the Israelites should be tempted to make use of them; and besides, the Lord would not have any remains of idolatry in the land where his tabernacle and worship were, as being abominable to him:

and break down their pillars; or statues erected to the honour of their idols; according to Jarchi it was a single stone hewed out at first for the basis of a statue (y); perhaps such as were called Baetulia, in imitation of the stone Jacob set up for a pillar at Bethel, Genesis 28:18.

and burn their groves with fire; which were planted about their temples, and under which also their idols were placed, and where they privately committed the most abominable lewdness under the notion of religion. The Targum of Jonathan renders the word "abominations", meaning idols; and so Jarchi interprets it by a tree that is worshipped; See Gill on Deuteronomy 7:5.

and you shall hew down the graven images of their gods; which were made of wood:

and destroy the names of them out of the place; by never making any mention of them in common discourse, and by changing the names of places called from them; and especially by destroying all the relics of them, and whatever appertained to them, which might lead to the mention of them; see Hosea 2:17.

(y) Misn. Avodah Zarah, c. 3. sect. 7.

Beside the place of worship, they were also to destroy all the idols of the Canaanitish worship, as had already been commanded in Deuteronomy 7:5, and to blot out even their names, i.e., every trace of their existence (cf. Deuteronomy 7:24).

And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their {b} groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.

(b) In which they sacrificed to their idols.

12:3 Pillars - Upon which their images were set. Names - That is, all the memorials of them, and the very names given to the places from the idols.

overthrow: Heb. break down

3. And ye shall overthrow their altars-piles of turf or small stones.

and break their pillars-Before the art of sculpture was known, the statues of idols were only rude blocks of colored stones.

12:1-4 Moses comes to the statutes he had to give in charge to Israel; and begins with such as relate to the worship of God. The Israelites are charged not to bring the rites and usages of idolaters into the worship of God; not under colour of making it better. We cannot serve God and mammon; nor worship the true God and idols; nor depend upon Christ Jesus and upon superstitious or self-righteous confidences.