Biblical References to Molech – the Owl ‘god’Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. (Leviticus 18:21) Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him. I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people; for by giving his children to Molech, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. (Leviticus 20:2,3) So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done. On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. (1 Kings 11:6,7) He (Josiah) desecrated Topheth, which was in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, so no one could use it to sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire to Molech. (2 Kings 23:10) The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done…. They set up their abominable idols in the house that bears my Name and defiled it. They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech, though I never commanded, nor did it enter my mind, that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin. (Jeremiah 32:32-35) Last modified November 4, 2005 |