See also:

• MOLOCH, or MOLECH (in Hebrew, with the doubtful exception of i Kings xi. 7, always " the Molech ")

MOLOCH, or MOLECH (in See also:

• HEBREW

Hebrew, with the doubtful exception of i See also:

• KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF

Kings xi. 7, always " the Molech ")  , the name or See also:

• TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title of the divinity which the men of See also:

• JUDAH

Judah in the last ages of the See also:

• KINGDOM

kingdom were wont to propitiate by the See also:

• SACRIFICE (from Lat. sacrificium; sacer, holy, and facere, to make)

sacrifice of their own See also:

• CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO

children . According to the See also:

• HEBREW

Hebrew consonants it might simply be read " the See also:

• KING
• KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
• KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
• KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
• KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
• KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
• KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
• KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
• KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
• KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
• KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
• KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)

king " (See also:

• MEEK, FIELDING BRADFORD (1817—1876)

meek), an appellation for the supreme deity of a Semitic See also:

• STATE
• STATE, GREAT OFFICERS OF

state or tribe . The traditional See also:

• PRONUNCIATION (Lat. pronuntiatio, from pronuntiare, proclaim, announce, pronounce)

pronunciation (MoXb ), which goes back as far as the See also:

• SEPTUAGINT, THE (Gr. of 0', Lat. LXX.)

Septuagint version of See also:

• KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF

Kings, probably means that the old See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form was perverted by giving it the vowels of bosheth " shame," the contemptuous name for See also:

• BAAL

Baal (q.v.) . In r Kings xi . 7 (see above) it is the name of the See also:

• GOD

god of the See also:

• AMMONITES

Ammonites, elsewhere called Milcom or Malcam; but it appears from 2 Kings See also:

• XXIII

xxiii . 10, 13 that the See also:

• WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

worship of Milcom at the See also:

• SHRINE (Lat. scrinium, a case or chest for books, hence a casket; from scribere, to write, Fr. ecrin, Ital. scrigno)

shrine set up by See also:

• SOLOMON, ODES OF
• SOLOMON, PSALMS OF

Solomon was distinct from Molech worship, and the See also:

• TEXT (Lat. textum, woven fabric, from texere, to weave)

text should probably therefore be emended to the longer form (so the Septuagint) . The phrase employed in speaking of these sacrifices is that of See also:

• DEDICATION (Lat. dedicatio, from dedicare, to proclaim, to announce)

dedication—" to make one's son or daughter pass through (or by means of) See also:

• FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire to (the) Molech " (2 Kings xxiii. ro; but elsewhere without the words " through fire " Lev. xviii . 21); and it appears from Jer. vii . 31, xix . 5; Ezek. xvi . 20 seq., that this phrase denotes a human See also:

• HOLOCAUST (Gr. b'orcavcrov, or okbeavrov, wholly burnt)

holocaust,' and not, as some-times has been thought, a See also:

• MERE
• MERE, ADALBERT (1838-1909)

mere See also:

• CONSECRATION (Lat. consecrallo, from con and sacrare, " to make sacred ")

consecration to Molech by passing through or between fires, as in the See also:

• ROMAN

Roman Palilia and similar See also:

• RITES

rites elsewhere (on which see Frazer, See also:

• GOLDEN

Golden Bough, 2nd ed., ii . 4o sqq., 237 sqq.) .

Human sacrifice was See also:

• COMMON

common in Semitic heathenism, and at least the See also:

• IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea of such sacrifices was In 2 Chron. See also:

• XXVIII

xxviii . 3 (parallel to 2 Kings xvi . 3) a single See also:

• LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

letter is transposed in the phrase, changing the sense from " caused to pass through the fire " to " caused to See also:

• BURN, RICHARD (1709-1785)

burn with fire." Geiger (Urschrift and Uebersetzung, p . 305) very unnecessarily supposed that this was everywhere the See also:

• ORIGINAL

original See also:

• READING

reading, and that it had been changed to soften the enormity ascribed to the See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient See also:

• HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO THE

Hebrews . The phrase " to give one's See also:

• SEED (from the root seen in Lat. serere, to sow)

seed to Molech " (Lev. xx . 2 seq.), and the fact that these victims were (like other sacrifices) regarded as See also:

• FOOD
• FOOD (like the verb " to feed," from a Teutonic root, whence O. Eng. foda; cf. " fodder "; connected with Gr. lrareicOae, to feed)

food for the deity (Ezek. xvi . 20) explain and justify the common reading.not unknown to See also:

• ISRAEL (Hebrew for " God strives " or " rules "; see Gen. xxxii. 28; and the allusion in Hosea xii. 4)

Israel from See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early times (see See also:

• ISAAC (Hebrew for " he laughs," on explanatory references to the name, see ABRAHAM)

ISAAC; See also:

• JEPHTHAH

JEPHTHAH).2 We learn from 2 Kings iii . 27 that the piacular sacrifice of his son and See also:

• HEIR (Lat. heres, from a root meaning to grasp, seen in heres or erus, master of a house, Gr. xeip, hand, Sans. hat ana, hand)

heir was the last offering which the king of See also:

• MOAB

Moab made to deliver his See also:

• COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country . Even the Hebrew historian ascribes to this See also:

• ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act the effect of rousing divine indignation against the invading See also:

• HOST

host of Israel; it would not, therefore, be surprising if under the miseries brought on See also:

• PALESTINE

Palestine by the westward See also:

• MARCH
• MARCH (1) (from Fr. marcher, to walk; the earliest sense in French appears to be " to trample," and the origin has usually been found in the Lat. marcus, hammer; Low Lat. marcare, to hammer; hence to beat the road with the regular tread of a soldier: cf.
• MARCH, AUZIAS (c. "1395-1458)
• MARCH, EARLS OF
• MARCH, FRANCIS ANDREW (1825– )

march of the See also:

• ASSYRIAN

Assyrian See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power, the idea of the sacrifice of one's own son, as the most powerful of atoning rites, should have taken hold of those kings of Judah (See also:

• AHAZ (Heb. for "[Yahweh] holds ")

Ahaz and See also:

• MANASSEH (7th cent. B.C.)
• MANASSEH (apparently Hebrew for " he who causes to for-get," but see H. W. Hogg, Encyc. Bib., s.v.); in the Bible, a tribe of Israel, the elder but less important of the "sons" of Joseph. Its seat lay to the north of Ephraim, but its boundaries can scarce

Manasseh, 2 Kings xvi . 3, xxi . 6) who were otherwise prone, in their hopelessness of help from the old See also:

• RELIGION
• RELIGION, FOLKLORE, CUSTOM

religion (Isa. vii . 12), to seek to See also:

• STRANGE, SIR ROBERT (1721-1792)

strange peoples and their rites .

Ahaz's sacrifice of his son (which indeed rests on a somewhat See also:

• LATE

late authority) was apparently an isolated act of despair, since human sacrifices are not among the corruptions of the popular religion spoken of by See also:

• ISAIAH
• ISAIAH, ASCENSION OF

Isaiah and See also:

• MICAH
• MICAH (r )

Micah . In the 7th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, however, when the old worship had sustained See also:

• RUDE, FRANCOIS (1784–1855)

rude shocks, and all religion was transformed into servile fear (Mic. vi. r seq.), the example of Manasseh did not stand alone, and See also:

• JEREMIAH

Jeremiah and See also:

• EZEKIEL (SKpm', " God strengthens" or " God is strong "; Sept. 'IE'EKL?)X; Vulg. Ezechiel)

Ezekiel made frequent and indignant reference to the " high places " for the sacrifice of children by their parents which See also:

• ROSE
• ROSE (Rosa)
• ROSE, GEORGE (1744-1818)
• ROSE, HUGH JAMES (1795—1838)
• ROSE, WILLIAM STEWART (1775-1843)

rose beneath the very walls of the See also:

• TEMPLE
• TEMPLE, FREDERICK (1821-1902)
• TEMPLE, RICHARD
• TEMPLE, SIR RICHARD, BART
• TEMPLE, SIR WILLIAM, BART

temple from the gloomy See also:

• RAVINE

ravine of Hinnom or See also:

• TOPHET, or TOPHETH (nsnn)

Tophet ? (Jer. vii . 31, xix., xxiii . 35; Ezek. xvi. r8 sqq., xxiii . 37) . The children apparently were not burned alive; they were slain and burned like any other holocaust (Ezek. loc. cit.; Isa. lvii . 5), their See also:

• BLOOD

blood was See also:

• SHED

shed at the See also:

• SANCTUARY (from the late Lat. sanctuarium, a sacred place)

sanctuary (Jer. xix . 4; Ps. cvi . 38) . Thus the late Rabbinical picture of the See also:

• CALF
• CALF, THE GOLDEN

calf-headed brazen See also:

• IMAGE (Lat. imago, perhaps from the same root as imitari, copy, imitate)

image of Molech within which children were burned alive is pure See also:

• FABLE (Fr. fable, Lat. fabula)

fable, and with it falls the favourite comparison between Molech and the Carthaginian idol from whose brazen arms children were rolled into an See also:

• ABYSS (Gr. as, privative, ,6u6QOs, bottom)

abyss of fire, and whom Diodorus (xix . 14) naturally identifies with the See also:

• CHILD
• CHILD, FRANCIS JAMES (1825-1896)
• CHILD, L
• CHILD, LYDIA MARIA (1802-1880)
• CHILD, SIR FRANCIS (1642-1713)
• CHILD, SIR JOHN (d. 1690)
• CHILD, SIR JOSIAH (163o - 1699)

child-eater Kronos, thus leading many moderns to make Molech the See also:

• PLANET (Gr. ssXavirrns, a wanderer)

planet See also:

• SATURN
• SATURN [SATURNUS]

Saturn .

It is with these sacrifices that the name of " the Molech is always connected; sometimes " the Baal " (See also:

• LORD
• LORD (O. Eng. hldford, i.e. hldfweard, the warder or keeper of bread, hlIf, loaf; the word is not represented in any other Teutonic language)
• LORD, JOHN (1810-1894)

lord) appears as a synonym . At the same See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time, the horrid See also:

• RITUAL (from Lat. ritus, a custom, especially a religious rite or custom)

ritual was so closely associated with Yahweh worship (Ezek. xxiii . 39) that Jeremiah more than once finds it necessary to protest that it is not of Yahweh's institution (vii . 3i, xix . 5) . So too it is the idea of sacrificing the firstborn to Yahweh that is discussed and rejected in Micah vi . It is indeed See also:

• PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain that such a sacrifice—for we have here to do, not with human victims in See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general, but with the sacrifice of the dearest earthly thing—could only be paid to the supreme deity; and Manasseh and his See also:

• PEOPLE

people never ceased to acknowledge Yahweh as the God of Israel . Thus the way in which Jeremiah (Jer. xix . 5) and the legislation of See also:

• LEVITICUS

Leviticus (xviii . 21, xx . 2–5) and the author of Kings, seem to See also:

• MARK
• MARK, CARL (1858– )
• MARK, GOSPEL OF ST
• MARK, ST

mark out the Molech or Baal as a false god, distinct from Yahweh, is precisely parallel to the way in which See also:

• HOSEA

Hosea speaks of the golden calves or Baalim . In each See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case the people thought themselves to be worshipping Yahweh under the title of Molech or Baal; but the See also:

• PROPHET (Irpo4i ri7s)

prophet refuses to admit that this is so, because the worship itself is an See also:

• APOSTASY (aaoafiavis, in classical Greek a defection or revolt from a military commander)

apostasy to heathenism .

See also:

• NOTE
• NOTE (Lat. nota, mark, sign, from noscere, to know)

Note, also, the attitude of Ezekiel in xx . 25 seq., 31, references which cannot be explained away . Although the See also:

• MOTIVE (from Lat. movere, to move)

motive came from within, the form taken by the cult has appeared to many to be of non-Israelite origin . Babylonia and See also:

• ASSYRIA

Assyria, however, seem to be out of the question: malik, " arbiter, decider," is there an epithet of various gods, and as an appellative means " See also:

• PRINCE
• PRINCE (Lat. princeps, from primus capio, " I am the first to take "; Ital. principe, Fr. prince)

prince " and not king; further, little 2 In Hos. xiii . 2, the See also:

• INTERPRETATION (from Lat. interpretari, to expound, explain, inter pres, an agent, go-between, interpreter; inter, between, and the root pret-, possibly connected with that seen either in Greek 4 p4'ew, to speak, or irpa-rrecv, to do)

interpretation " they that sacrifice men " is improbable, and 2 Kings xvii . 17 and Lev. xviii., xx. are of too late date by themselves to prove the immolation of children to See also:

• MOLOCH, or MOLECH (in Hebrew, with the doubtful exception of i Kings xi. 7, always " the Molech ")

Moloch in old Israel . The " See also:

• BAN

ban " (:in), which was a religious See also:

• EXECUTION (from Lat. ex-sequor, exsecutus, follow or carry out)

execution of criminals or enemies, was common to Israel with its See also:

• HEATHEN

heathen neighbours (cf. the inscription of Mesha), but lacked the distinctive See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character of a sacrifice in which the victim is the food of the deity, conveyed to him through fire . ' The See also:

• ETYMOLOGY (Gr. grvµos, true, and X6yos, "account)

etymology of the word Tophet is obscure; it is possibly of Aramaic origin and means" fire-See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place," cf. tophteh, " pyre," (Isa. See also:

• XXX

xxx . 33) . The vocalization is artificial, the Masoretes having given it the vowel-points of bosheth . See W . R .

See also:

• SMITH
• SMITH, ADAM (1723–1790)
• SMITH, ALEXANDER (183o-1867)
• SMITH, ANDREW JACKSON (1815-1897)
• SMITH, CHARLES EMORY (1842–1908)
• SMITH, CHARLES FERGUSON (1807–1862)
• SMITH, CHARLOTTE (1749-1806)
• SMITH, COLVIN (1795—1875)
• SMITH, EDMUND KIRBY (1824-1893)
• SMITH, G
• SMITH, GEORGE (1789-1846)
• SMITH, GEORGE (184o-1876)
• SMITH, GEORGE ADAM (1856- )
• SMITH, GERRIT (1797–1874)
• SMITH, GOLDWIN (1823-191o)
• SMITH, HENRY BOYNTON (1815-1877)
• SMITH, HENRY JOHN STEPHEN (1826-1883)
• SMITH, HENRY PRESERVED (1847– )
• SMITH, JAMES (1775–1839)
• SMITH, JOHN (1579-1631)
• SMITH, JOHN RAPHAEL (1752–1812)
• SMITH, JOSEPH, JR
• SMITH, MORGAN LEWIS (1822–1874)
• SMITH, RICHARD BAIRD (1818-1861)
• SMITH, ROBERT (1689-1768)
• SMITH, SIR HENRY GEORGE WAKELYN
• SMITH, SIR THOMAS (1513-1577)
• SMITH, SIR WILLIAM (1813-1893)
• SMITH, SIR WILLIAM SIDNEY (1764-1840)
• SMITH, SYDNEY (1771-1845)
• SMITH, THOMAS SOUTHWOOD (1788-1861)
• SMITH, WILLIAM (1769-1839)
• SMITH, WILLIAM (c. 1730-1819)
• SMITH, WILLIAM (fl. 1596)
• SMITH, WILLIAM FARRAR (1824—1903)
• SMITH, WILLIAM HENRY (1808—1872)
• SMITH, WILLIAM HENRY (1825—1891)
• SMITH, WILLIAM ROBERTSON (1846-'894)

Smith, Religion of the Semites, 2nd ed., 377 . See also:

• EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence for the prevalence of human sacrifice has as yet been found in those lands (A . Jeremias, Das Alte Test. See also:

• IM(K2+a2+h2—2 ah cos 0)

im Lichte d. See also:

• ALTEN, SIR CHARLES [Karl] (1764–1840)

alten Orients, end ed., p . 454) . Among the Canaanite See also:

• BRANCH (from the Fr. branche, late Lat. branca, an animal's paw)

branch, the king-god is more prominent, and apart from the Ammonite variant Milcom, numerous names compounded with See also:

• MILK (0. Eng. meoluc; from a common Indo-European root, cf. Lat. mulgere, Gr. ?t dXyetv)

Milk- are found on Phoenician See also:

• INSCRIPTIONS (from Lat. inscribere, to write upon)

inscriptions and among western Semites mentioned in See also:

• CUNEIFORM (from Lat. cuneus, a wedge)

cuneiform literature (H . Zimmern, Keilinschr. u. das Alte Test., 3rd ed. pp . 470 sqq.) . It is true that child-sacrifice in connexion with fire prevailed among the Phoenicians, and, accqrding to the Greeks, the deity honoured with these grisly rites was Kronos (identified with the Phoenician El, " God ") . On the other See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand, the seat of the cult appears to have been at See also:

• JERUSALEM (Heb. ^S0-r, Yerushalaim, pronounced as a dual)
• JERUSALEM, SYNOD OF (1672)

Jerusalem, and the See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period during which it flourished does not favour any strong Phoenician See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence . Again, the form of the word Tophet and Ahaz's association with See also:

• DAMASCUS

Damascus might point to an Aramaean origin for the cult; but it would not be safe to support this view by the statements and names in 2 Kings xvii . 31 . On the whole, the biblical tradition that the Molech-cult was Canaanite and indigenous (Deut. xii .

29 sqq., xviii . 9 seq.) holds the ground . There was a tendency in time of misfortune to revert to earlier rites (illustrated in some ancient See also:

• MOURNING (from the verb " to mourn," to be sorrowful, 0. Eng. murnan; cf. O.H.G. mornen, Goth. maurnan, to be anxious, O.N. morna, to pine away; by some referred to root seen in Gr. jdptpva, sorrow, by others to root mer-, to die)

mourning customs), and it may have been some old disused practice revived under the pressure of See also:

• NATIONAL

national See also:

• DISTRESS

distress . See, generally, G . F . See also:

• MOORE, A
• MOORE, ALBERT JOSEPH (1841–1893)
• MOORE, EDWARD (1712–1757)
• MOORE, GEORGE (1853– )
• MOORE, GEORGE FOOT (1851– )
• MOORE, HENRY (1831–1895)
• MOORE, JOHN (1729-1802)
• MOORE, SIR JOHN (1761-1809)
• MOORE, THOMAS (1779-1852)

Moore, Ency . Bib., s.v . ; See also:

• LAGRANGE, JOSEPH LOUIS (1736-1813)

Lagrange, Etudes sur See also:

• LES

les religions semitiques 2nd ed. pp . 99—109; B . See also:

• STADE
• STADE, BERNHARD (1848–1906)

Stade, Bib . Theol. d . Alt .

Test. i . 232 seq., 244 seq.; J . G . Frazer, See also:

• ADONIS

Adonis, &c., and ed. pp . 144 seq . 401 sqq ; and J . A . See also:

• MONTGOMERY
• MONTGOMERY ( Tre' Faldwyn)
• MONTGOMERY, GABRIEL, SEIGNEUR DE LORGES, COMTE DE (c. 1530-1574)
• MONTGOMERY, JAMES (1771-1854)
• MONTGOMERY, ROBERT (1807-1855)

Montgomery, Journ . Bib . Lit., 1908, 1 . 40 sqq . On archaeological evidence for human sacrifice from Palestinian See also:

• SOIL

soil, see H .

See also:

• VINCENT (or VINCENTIUS), ST
• VINCENT, GEORGE (1796-1831?)
• VINCENT, MARY ANN (1818-1887)

Vincent, See also:

• CANAAN, CANAANITES

Canaan d'aprbs l'exploration recente, pp . 50, 116, 189 sqq . (W . R . S . ; S . A .