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 you shall not let any of your children pass through the fire to Molech, neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
Again, you shall say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that gives any of his children unto Molech; he shall surely 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 has given of his children unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. read more. And if the people of the land do in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives of his children unto Molech, and kill him not: Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that play the harlot with him, to commit harlotry after Molech, from among their people.
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
Because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, 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 eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.
And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
And the high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
But you have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch, and Chiun your star god, your images, which you made for yourselves.
And those that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and those that worship and that swear by the LORD, and yet swear by Milcom;
Yea, you took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Rephan, figures which you made to worship them: and I will carry you away 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 you shall not let any of your children pass through the fire to Molech, neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
Again, you shall say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that gives any of his children unto Molech; he shall surely 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 has given of his children unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. read more. And if the people of the land do in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives of his children unto Molech, and kill him not: Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that play the harlot with him, to commit harlotry after Molech, from among their people.
Woe to you, Moab! you are undone, O people of Chemosh: he has given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites.
And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their descendants: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I swore. Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel. read more. And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore unto them: and I will be with you. And it came to pass, when Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, That Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against you. For I know your rebellion, and your stubbornness: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, you have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?
Will you not possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.
And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them to work with saws, and with picks of iron, and with axes of iron, and made them toil at the brick kilns: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there came 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 children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
And the high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the nations which the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto demons, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spoke it, neither came it into my mind:
And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire 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 Ammonites, thus says the LORD; Has Israel no sons? has he no heir? why then does their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?
Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is plundered: cry, you daughters of Rabbah, gird yourselves with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro inside the walls; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.
Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you have borne unto me, and these have you sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this act of your harlotries a small matter,
Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Does he not speak parables?
For when they had slain their children for their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of my house.
The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for its people shall mourn over it, and its idolatrous priests shall wail over it, for its glory has departed from it.
But you have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch, and Chiun your star god, your images, which you made for yourselves.
But you have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch, and Chiun your star god, your images, which you made for yourselves.
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with 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?
I will also stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the idolatrous and pagan priests;
Yea, you took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Rephan, figures which you made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;
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 you shall not let any of your children pass through the fire to Molech, neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
Again, you shall say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that gives any of his children unto Molech; he shall surely 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 has given of his children unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. read more. And if the people of the land do in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives of his children unto Molech, and kill him not: Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that play the harlot with him, to commit harlotry after Molech, from among their people.
You shall not do so unto the LORD your God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hates, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burned in the fire to their gods.
There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or sorcery, or interprets omens, or is a witch,
Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he raised up altars for Baal, and made an idol pole, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshiped all the army of heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. read more. And he built altars for all the army of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he made his son pass through the fire, and practiced soothsaying, and used witchcraft, and dealt with mediums and wizards: he did much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
And shed innocent blood, even 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 Tophet was ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he has made it deep and large: its pyre is fire with much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, does 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 them not, neither came it into my heart.
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 them not, neither came it into my heart. Therefore, behold, the days come, says the LORD, that it shall no more be called Topheth, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Topheth, till there is no room.
They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spoke it, neither came it into my mind:
They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spoke it, neither came it into my mind: Therefore, behold, the days come, says the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.
Therefore, behold, the days come, says the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Topheth, nor The 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 hands of them that seek their lives: and their dead bodies will I give to be food for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. read more. And I will make this city desolate, and a hissing; everyone that passes thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues. 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 distress, with which their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall distress them. Then shall you break the flask in the sight of the men that go with you, And shall say unto them, Thus says the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Topheth, till there be no place to bury. Thus will I do unto this place, says the LORD, and to its inhabitants, and even make this city as Topheth: And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be defiled like the place of Topheth, because of all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods. Then came Jeremiah from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD's house; and said to all the people,
Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you have borne unto me, and these have you sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this act of your harlotries a small matter, That you have slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?
But you have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch, and Chiun your star god, your images, which you made for yourselves.
Yea, you took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Rephan, figures which you made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.