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Moloch
(Hebrew Molech, king).
A divinity worshipped by the idolatrous Israelites. The Hebrew
pointing Molech does not represent the original pronunciation of the
name, any more than the Greek vocalization Moloch found in the LXX
and in the Acts (vii, 43). The primitive title of this god was very
probably Melech, "king", the consonants of which came to be combined
through derision with the vowels of the word Bosheth, "shame". As the
word Moloch (A.V. Molech) means king, it is difficult in several
places of the Old Testament to determine whether it should be
considered as the proper name of a deity or as a simple appellative.
The passages of the original text in which the name stands probably
for that of a god are Lev., xviii, 21; xx, 2-5; III (A. V. I) Kings,
xi, 7; IV (II) Kings, xxiii, 10; Is., xxx, 33; lvii, 9; Jer., xxxii,
35. The chief feature of Moloch's worship among the Jews seems to
have been the sacrifice of children, and the usual expression for
describing that sacrifice was "to pass through the fire", a rite
carried out after the victims had been put to death. The special
centre of such atrocities was just outside of Jerusalem, at a place
called Tophet (probably "place of abomination"), in the valley of
Geennom. According to III (I) Kings, xi, 7, Solomon erected "a
temple" for Moloch "on the hill over against Jerusalem", and on this
account he is at times considered as the monarch who introduced the
impious cult into Israel. After the disruption, traces of Moloch
worship appear in both Juda and Israel. The custom of causing one's
children to pass through the fire seems to have been general in the
Northern Kingdom [IV (II) Kings, xvii, 17; Ezech. xxiii, 37], and it
gradually grew in the Southern, encouraged by the royal example of
Achaz (IV Kings, xvi, 3) and Manasses [IV (II) Kings, xvi, 6] till it
became prevalent in the time of the prophet Jeremias (Jerem. xxxii,
35), when King Josias suppressed the worship of Moloch and defiled
Tophet [IV (II) Kings, xxiii, 13 (10)]. It is not improbable that
this worship was revived under Joakim and continued until the
Babylonian Captivity.
On the basis of the Hebrew reading of III (I) Kings, xi, 7, Moloch has often been
identified with Milcom, the national god of the Ammonites, but this identification
cannot be considered as probable: as shown by the Greek
Versions, the original reading of III (I) Kings, xi, 7, was not Molech but Milchom
[cf. also III (I) Kings, xi, 5, 33]; and according to Deut., xii, 29-31; xviii, 9-14,
the passing of children through fire was of Chanaani
te origin [cf. IV (II) Kings, xvi, 3]. Of late, numerous attempts have been made to
prove that in sacrificing their children to Moloch the Israelites simply thought that
they were offering them in holocaust to Yahweh. In
other words, the Melech to whom child-sacrifices were offered was Yahweh under another
name. To uphold this view appeal is made in particular to Jer., vii, 31; xix, 5, and
to Ezech., xx, 25-31. But this position is to say
the least improbable. The texts appealed to may well be understood otherwise, and the
prophets expressly treat the cult of Moloch as foreign and as an apostasy from the
worship of the true God. The offerings by fire, the
probable identity of Moloch with Baal, and the fact that in Assyria and Babylonia
Malik, and at Palmyra Malach-bel, were sun-gods, have suggested to many that Moloch
was a fire- or sun- god.
BAUDISSIN, Jahve et Moloch (Leipzig, 1874); SMITH, Religion of the Semites (London,
1894); SCHULTZ, Old Testament Theology, I (tr., Edinburgh, 1898); LAGRANGE, Etudes sur
les Religions Semitiques (Paris, 1903).
FRANCIS E. GIGOT
Transcribed by Kenneth M. Caldwell
Dedicated to the volunteers of Birthright
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume X
Copyright � 1911 by Robert Appleton Company
Online Edition Copyright � 1999 by Kevin Knight
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