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Moloch, Molech, or Molek [a] is a word which appears in the Hebrew Bible several times, primarily in the Book of Leviticus. The Bible strongly condemns practices that are associated with Moloch, which are heavily implied to include child sacrifice. [2] Traditionally, the name Moloch has been understood as referring to a Canaanite god. [3]
''Offering to Molech'' in Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us, by Charles Foster, 1897.The drawing is a typical depiction of child sacrifice. Child sacrifice is the ritualistic killing of children in order to please or appease a deity, supernatural beings, or sacred social order, tribal, group or national loyalties in order to achieve a desired result.
In later Christian tradition, Moloch was often described as a demon. Moloch is depicted in John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost as one of the greatest warriors of the rebel angels, vengeful and militant. In the 19th century, "Moloch" came to be used allegorically for any idol or cause requiring excessive sacrifice. [1]
It is thus unclear whether the false worship of the "Baʿalim" being decried [75] is the worship of a new idol or rites and teachings placing Yahweh as a mere local god within a larger pantheon. The Hebrew Scriptures record the worship of Baʿal threatening Israel from the time of the Judges until the monarchy . [ 79 ]
In the Masoretic Text, the name Milcom occurs three times, in each case in a list of foreign deities whose worship is offensive to Yahweh, the god of the Israelites. [3] It is mentioned at 1 Kings 11:5 as "Milcom the detestation of the Ammonites", at 1 Kings 11:33 as "Milcom the god of the children of Ammon", and at 2 Kings 23:13 as "Milcom the ...
So zealous was he in his worship of the foreign gods, he is said to have participated in the sacrificial cult of Moloch which consisted of sacrificing young children or passing them through fire (2 Kings 21:6) [19] His reign may be described as reactionary in relation to his father's, and Kings suggests that he may have executed supporters of ...
The meaning of his first name "Baal" is identified as one of the Phoenician deities covered under the name of Baal. [4] However, the meaning of his second name "Hammon" is a syncretic association with Amun, the god of ancient Libya [5] whose temple was in Siwa Oasis where the only oracle of Amun remained in that part of the Libyan Desert all throughout the ages [6] this connection to Amun ...
In pre-Islamic Arabia, while there were a number of faiths with a noteworthy presence—including Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Mandaeism—the dominant religious practice was that of Arab polytheism, which was based on the veneration of various deities and spirits, such as the god Hubal and the goddesses al-Lāt, al-‘Uzzā, and Manāt.