Molech

AI summary: Molech matters because the cross references present him as one of the most severe examples of how idolatry deforms human life and worship. The laws of Leviticus, the condemnations of Kings, and Jeremiah's denunciations all treat Molech worship as an abomination, especially because it demands children as offerings. His cult becomes a sign of how far covenant people can fall when they adopt surrounding religious practices. Taken together, the material presents Molech as a symbol of destructive false worship that the biblical text rejects in the strongest possible terms.¹

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 Kings 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 Kings 23:10, 13). In the days of Jehoahaz it was partially restored, but after the Captivity wholly disappeared. He is also called Molech (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5, etc.), Milcom (1 Kings 11:5, 33, etc.), and Malcham (Zeph. 1:5). This god became Chemosh among the Moabites. ³