Moloch
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 Amos 5:26, “your Moloch” of the Authorized Version is “your king” in the Revised Version (comp. Acts 7:43). Solomon (1 Kgs 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 (2 Kgs 23:10, 2 Kgs 23:13). In the days of Jehoahaz it was partially restored, but after the Captivity wholly disappeared. He is also called Molech (Lev 18:21; Lev 20:2–5, etc.), Milcom (1 Kgs 11:5, 1 Kgs 11:33, etc.), and Malcham (Zeph 1:5). This god became Chemosh among the Moabites.
Named in the Bible
2 verses
- Amos 5:26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.
- Acts 7:43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), by Matthew George Easton.
