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Molech

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

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Concordances
Nave Topical Bible
• Molech
Thompson Chain Reference
• Molech
Treasury of Biblical Knowledge
• Hezekiah; Passed Through Fire: & Molech
Dictionaries
American Tract Society
• Molech, Moloch, or Milcom
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
• Molech
Baker's Evangelical Dictionary
• Molech, Moloch
Holman Bible Dictionary
• Molech
Hitchcock Bible Names
• Molech
Hastings' BibleDictionary
• Molech, Moloch
Morrish Bible Dictionary
• Molech
Hawker's Poor Man's Dictionary
• Molech
People's Bible Dictionary
• Molech
Smith Bible Dictionary
• Molech
Webster Dictionary
• Molech
Encyclopedias
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
• Molech; Moloch
McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia
• Molech
The Jewish Encyclopedia
• Moloch (Molech)
Lexicons
• מֹלֶךְ

Molech (or Milcom) was the national god of the Ammonites, whose land bordered Israel’s territory east of Jordan. A well known feature of the worship of Molech was the sacrifice of children by fire, a practice that in Israel carried the death penalty (Leviticus 18:21; Leviticus 20:2-5; 2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 32:35).

When Solomon married an Ammonite wife, he built a shrine for Molech, though there is no record of his using it to offer child sacrifices. The shrine was not destroyed till the reign of Josiah, three hundred years later (1 Kings 11:5; 1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 23:10; 2 Kings 23:13).

In spite of the penalties and warnings, there were many occasions throughout Israel’s history when people were guilty of offering child sacrifices (Judges 10:6; Judges 11:30-31; Judges 11:39; 2 Kings 17:17; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chronicles 28:1-3; Psalms 106:38; Jeremiah 7:31; Ezekiel 16:21; Ezekiel 20:31; Ezekiel 23:39). There is no record of child sacrifices by the Israelites after the Babylonian captivity.