Reference: Moloch
Easton
king, the name of the national god of the Ammonites, to whom children were sacrificed by fire. He was the consuming and destroying and also at the same time the purifying fire. In Am 5:26, "your Moloch" of the Authorized Version is "your king" in the Revised Version (comp. Ac 7:43). Solomon (1Ki 11:7) erected a high place for this idol on the Mount of Olives, and from that time till the days of Josiah his worship continued (2Ki 23:10,13). In the days of Jehoahaz it was partially restored, but after the Captivity wholly disappeared. He is also called Molech (Le 18:21; 20:2-5, etc.), Milcom (1Ki 11:5,33, etc.), and Malcham (Zep 1:5). This god became Chemosh among the Moabites.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And thou shalt not give of thy seed to let them pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah.
Thou shalt say also to the children of Israel, Every one of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, that giveth of his seed unto Molech, shall certainly be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, so as to make my sanctuary unclean, and to profane my holy name. read more. And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from that man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, that they kill him not, then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
And Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, on the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon.
because they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my sight, and my statutes and mine ordinances, as David his father.
And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, that no man might cause his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of your Moloch, and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye had made to yourselves;
and them that bow down to the host of the heavens upon the housetops; and them that bow down to Jehovah, that swear by him, and swear by Malcham;
Yea, ye took up the tent of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, the forms which ye made to do homage to them; and I will transport you beyond Babylon.
Fausets
(Jer 49:1 MOLOCH or melech, "king" of the people. Malcham, Am 5:26, Milcom, 1Ki 11:5,7, though originally the same as Moloch, assumed a modified character in time.) (See MALCHAM; MILCOM.) Ammon's god, related to Moab's god Chemosh. The "fire god", worshipped with human sacrifices, purifications, and ordeals by fire, habitually, as other idols were occasionally; also with mutilation, vows of celibacy and virginity, and devotion of the firstborn. The old Canaanite "Moloch" is always written with the article the Moloch; to him children were sacrificed in Topher in the valley of the children of Hinnom. But Milcom's high place was on the Mount of Olives, and human sacrifices were not offered as they were to Moloch (2Ki 23:10,13.) Josiah defiled the sanctuaries of both. Milcom was related to Chemosh, which is called the god of Ammon in Jg 11:24, though elsewhere the god of Moab (Nu 21:29).
Tophet appears again in Zedekiah's reign as the scene of child immolation to Moloch (Jer 32:35.) God sternly forbade any letting their seed pass through the fire to Moloch (Le 18:21; 20:2-5) on pain of death, which the people should execute; otherwise God Himself would. The passing through the fire may have been sometimes only a fire baptism for purification of the dross of the body; but Ps 106:37-38, shows that often expiatory human sacrifice was perpetrated, "they sacrificed their sons and daughters to "devils" (shedim, "destroyers", as Moloch was), and shed innocent blood ... unto the idols of Canaan" (compare 2Ch 28:3; Jer 19:5). In this respect Moloch answered to Baal the Phoenician sun god, to whom also human burnt offerings were sacrificed; also to Chemosh, to whom Mesha sacrificed his son (2Ki 3:27; Mic 6:7; Eze 16:20; 23:39). Kimchi (on 2Ki 23:10) represents Moloch as a hollow brass humanlike body, with ox's head, and hands stretched forth to receive.
When it was thoroughly heated the priests put the babe into its hands, while "drums" (tophim from whence came Tophet) were beat to drown the infant cries, lest the parent should relent. The image was set within seven chapels: the first was opened to any one offering fine flour; the second to one offering turtle doves or young pigeons; the third to one offering a lamb; the fourth to one offering a ram; the fifth to one offering a calf; the sixth to one offering an ox; the seventh to one offering his son. Compare Am 5:26 margin, sikut of Moloch, "the covert god." Ac 7:43, "the tabernacle of Moloch" (like the sacred tent of the Carthaginians: Diodorus 20:65), the shrine in which the image was concealed; containing also possibly the bones of sacrificed children used for magic. The portable model "tabernacle" (compare Demetrius' silver shrines of Diana, Ac 19:24) was small enough to escape Moses' notice. Amos calls Moloch "your Moloch" I am not your king but he, though ye go through the form of presenting Me offerings.
God similarly complains of their mocking Him with worship, while worshipping idols, Eze 20:49. Moses was aware of their clandestine unfaithfulness in general, while not knowing the particulars (De 31:21-27). The Latin Saturn corresponds; to the Phoenician Saturn relatives were offered in an emergency (Sanchoniathon). So the Carthaginians, when besieged by Agathoeles, sacrificed to him 200 noble children (Diod. Siculus, 20:14) by placing them one by one in his hands in such a manner that each fell into a pit of fire. Moloch's priests took precedence of the princes, "Chemarim" (Jer 49:3; 2Ki 23:5; Ho 10:5; Zep 1:4).(See CHEMARIM.) Hercules' priest, like Moloch himself, was called Melchart, "king of the city." Adrammelech, the Sepharvaite fire god, is related to Moloch. In 2Sa 12:31 for the Hebrew margin reading malbeen, "brick-kiln," the Hebrew text has Malkeen, "David led through Malkan," i.e. through the place where the Ammonites had burned their children to Moloch. He made their sin their mode of punishment; as they had done to the children, so he did to them.
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And thou shalt not give of thy seed to let them pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah.
Thou shalt say also to the children of Israel, Every one of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, that giveth of his seed unto Molech, shall certainly be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, so as to make my sanctuary unclean, and to profane my holy name. read more. And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from that man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, that they kill him not, then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, people of Chemosh: He gave his sons that had escaped, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon the king of the Amorites.
And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles have befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed; for I know their imagination which they are forming already this day, before I bring them into the land which I have sworn unto them. And Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel. read more. And Jehovah commanded Joshua the son of Nun, and said, Be strong and courageous; for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I have sworn unto them; and I will be with thee. And it came to pass, when Moses had ended writing the words of this law in a book, until their conclusion, that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it at the side of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee; for I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck. Lo, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against Jehovah; and how much more after my death!
Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? And all that the LORD our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess.
And he brought out the people that were in it, and put them under the saw, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkilns. And so did he to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
And Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, on the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon.
And he took his eldest son, that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him up for a burnt-offering upon the wall. And there was great wrath against Israel; and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.
And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, that no man might cause his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, that no man might cause his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
and he burned incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burned his sons in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that Jehovah had dispossessed from before the children of Israel.
And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto demons, And shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood.
and they have built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons in the fire as burnt-offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it up into my mind:
and they have built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause to pass through the fire their sons and their daughters unto Molech: which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
Concerning the children of Ammon. Thus saith Jehovah: Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? Why is Malcam heir of Gad, and his people dwell in the cities thereof?
Howl, Heshbon! for Ai is laid waste; cry, daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth, lament and run to and fro within the enclosures: for Malcam shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together.
And thou didst take thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hadst borne unto me, and these didst thou sacrifice unto them, to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,
And I said, Ah, Lord Jehovah! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?
For when they had slaughtered their children unto their idols, they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and behold, thus have they done in the midst of my house.
The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calf of Beth-aven; for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the idolatrous priests thereof shall tremble for it, for its glory, because it is departed from it.
Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of your Moloch, and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye had made to yourselves;
Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of your Moloch, and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye had made to yourselves;
Will Jehovah take pleasure in thousands of rams, in ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
And I will stretch forth my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, the name of the Chemarim with the priests;
Yea, ye took up the tent of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, the forms which ye made to do homage to them; and I will transport you beyond Babylon.
For a certain man by name Demetrius, a silver-beater, making silver temples of Artemis, brought no small gain to the artisans;
Hastings
Morish
Mo'loch
See MOLECH
Smith
Mo'loch.
The same as Molech. MOLECH
See Molech
Watsons
MOLOCH, ????, signifies king. Moloch, Molech, Milcom, or Melchom, was a god of the Ammonites. The word Moloch signifies "king," and Melchom signifies "their king." Moses in several places forbids the Israelites, under the penalty of death, to dedicate their children to Moloch, by making them pass through the fire in honour of that god, Le 18:21; 20:2-5. God himself threatens to pour out his wrath against such offenders. There is great probability that the Hebrews were addicted to the worship of this deity, even before their coming out of Egypt; since the Prophet Am 5:26, and after him St. Stephen, reproach them with having carried in the wilderness the tabernacle of their god Moloch, Ac 7:43. Solomon built a temple to Moloch upon the Mount of Olives, 1Ki 11:7; and Manasseh a long time after imitated his impiety, making his son pass through the fire in honour of Moloch, 2Ki 21:3-6. It was chiefly in the valley of Tophet and Hinnom, east of Jerusalem, that this idolatrous worship was paid, Jer 19:5-6, &c. Some are of opinion that they contented themselves with making their children leap over a fire sacred to Moloch, by which they consecrated them to some false deity: and by this lustration purified them; this being a usual ceremony among the Heathens on other occasions. Some believe that they made them pass through two fires opposite to each other, for the same purpose. But the word ?????, "to cause to pass through," and the, phrase "to cause to pass through the fire," are used in respect to human sacrifices in De 12:31; 18:10; 2Ki 16:3; 21:6; 2Ch 28:3; 33:6. These words are not to be considered as meaning in these instances literally to pass through, and that alone. They are rather synonymous with ????, to burn, and ???, to immolate, with which they are interchanged, as may be seen by an examination of Jer 7:31; 19:5; Eze 16:20-21; Ps 106:38. In the later periods of the Jewish kingdom, this idol was erected in the valley south of Jerusalem, namely, in the valley of Hinnom, and in the part of that valley called Tophet, ???, so named from the drums ???? ???, which were beaten to prevent the groans and cries of children sacrificed from being heard, Jer 7:31-32; 19:6-14; Isa 30:33; 2Ki 23:10. The place was so abhorrent to the minds of the more recent Jews, that they applied the name ge hinnom or gehenna to the place of torments in a future life. The word gehenna is used in this way, namely, for the place of punishment beyond the grave, very frequently in oriental writers, as far as India. There are various sentiments about the relation that Moloch had to the other Pagan divinities. Some believe that Moloch was the same as Saturn, to whom it is well known that human sacrifices were offered; others think it was the same with Mercury; others, Venus; others, Mars, or Mithra. Calmet has endeavoured to prove that Moloch signified the sun, or the king of heaven.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And thou shalt not give of thy seed to let them pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah.
Thou shalt say also to the children of Israel, Every one of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, that giveth of his seed unto Molech, shall certainly be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, so as to make my sanctuary unclean, and to profane my holy name. read more. And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from that man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, that they kill him not, then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
Thou shalt not do so to Jehovah thy God; for every thing that is abomination to Jehovah, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters have they burned in the fire to their gods.
There shall not be found among you he that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, that useth divination, that useth auguries, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer,
Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, on the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon.
And he built again the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars to Baal and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of Jehovah, of which Jehovah had said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. read more. And he built altars to all the host of heaven in both courts of the house of Jehovah. And he caused his son to pass through the fire, and used magic and divination, and appointed necromancers and soothsayers: he wrought evil beyond measure in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.
And shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood.
For Topheth is prepared of old; for the king also it is prepared: he hath made it deep and large; its pile is fire and much wood; the breath of Jehovah, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.
And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded not, neither did it come up into my mind.
And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded not, neither did it come up into my mind. Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith Jehovah, when it shall no more be said, Topheth, and Valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter; for they shall bury in Topheth, till there be no place.
and they have built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons in the fire as burnt-offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it up into my mind:
and they have built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons in the fire as burnt-offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it up into my mind: therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that this place shall no more be called Topheth, nor Valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter.
therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that this place shall no more be called Topheth, nor Valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter. And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of them that seek their life, and their carcases will I give as food to the fowl of the heavens and to the beasts of the earth. read more. And I will make this city an astonishment and a hissing; every one that passeth by shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof. And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat everyone the flesh of his friend, in the siege and in the straitness wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them. And thou shalt break the flagon in the sight of the men that go with thee, and shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again. And they shall bury in Topheth, till there be no place to bury. Thus will I do unto this place, saith Jehovah, and to the inhabitants thereof, and make this city as Topheth. And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be as the place of Topheth, defiled, all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of the heavens, and have poured out drink-offerings unto other gods. And Jeremiah came from Topheth, whither Jehovah had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of Jehovah's house, and said to all the people,
And thou didst take thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hadst borne unto me, and these didst thou sacrifice unto them, to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter, that thou didst slay my children and give them up in passing them over to them?
Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of your Moloch, and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye had made to yourselves;
Yea, ye took up the tent of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, the forms which ye made to do homage to them; and I will transport you beyond Babylon.