Editing Moloch

{{short description|Term which is used for a Canaanite deity or a form of sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible}}
{{About|the term in the Hebrew Bible|other uses}}
[[File:Foster Bible Pictures 0074-1 Offering to Molech.jpg|thumb|<nowiki>''Offering to Molech''</nowiki> in ''Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us'', by Charles Foster, 1897. The drawing is typical of Moloch depictions in nineteenth-century illustrations.{{sfn|Soltes|2021}}]]
'''Moloch''', '''Molech''', or '''Molek'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|oʊ|l|ɒ|k}}; {{Langx|hbo|מֹלֶךְ}} ''Mōleḵ'', properly הַמֹּלֶךְ‎, ''hamMōleḵ'' "the Moloch"; {{langx|grc|Μόλοχ}}; {{langx|la|Moloch}}}} is a word which appears in the [[Hebrew Bible]] several times, primarily in the [[Book of Leviticus]].  The Greek [[Septuagint]] translates many of these instances as "their king", but maintains the word or name ''Moloch'' in others, including one additional time in the [[Book of Amos]] where the Hebrew text does not attest the name. The [[Bible]] strongly condemns practices that are associated with Moloch, which are heavily implied to include [[child sacrifice]].{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|pp=134-144}}

Traditionally, the name ''Moloch'' has been understood as referring to a [[Ancient Canaanite religion#Deities|Canaanite god]].{{sfn|Day|2000|p=209}} However, since 1935, scholars have speculated that Moloch refers to the sacrifice ''itself'', since the Hebrew word ''mlk'' is identical in spelling to a term that means "sacrifice" in the closely related [[Punic language]].{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=144}} This second position has grown increasingly popular, but it remains contested.{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=147}} Among proponents of this second position, controversy continues as to whether the sacrifices were offered to [[Yahweh]] or another deity, and whether they were a native Israelite religious custom or a [[Phoenicia]]n import.{{sfn|Xella|2013|p=265}}

Since the [[Middle Ages|medieval period]], Moloch has often been portrayed as a bull-headed idol with outstretched hands over a fire; this depiction takes the brief mentions of Moloch in the Bible and combines them with various sources, including ancient accounts of [[Tophet#Carthage and the western Mediterranean|Carthaginian child sacrifice]] and the legend of the [[Minotaur]].{{sfn|Rundin|2004|pp=429-439}}

Beginning in the [[modern era]], "Moloch" has been figuratively used in reference to a power which demands a dire sacrifice.{{sfn|Boysen|Ruwe|2021}} A god Moloch appears in various works of literature and film, such as [[John Milton]]'s ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' (1667), [[Gustave Flaubert]]'s ''[[Salammbô]]'' (1862), [[Gabriele D'Annunzio]]'s ''[[Cabiria]]'' (1914), [[Fritz Lang]]'s ''[[Metropolis (1927 film)|Metropolis]]'' (1927), and [[Allen Ginsberg]]'s "[[Howl (poem)|Howl]]" (1955).

==Etymology==
[[File:Valley of Hinom PA180093.JPG|thumb|Tombs in the [[Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna)|Valley of Hinnom]], the location of the [[tophet]], just outside the city of ancient Jerusalem, where Moloch rituals were performed according to [[2 Kings]] 23:10.{{sfn|Day|2000|p=212}}]]
The etymology of Moloch is uncertain: a derivation from the root {{lang|he|mlk}}, which means "to rule" is "widely recognized".{{sfn|Schmidt|2021}} Since it was first proposed by [[Abraham Geiger]] in 1857, some scholars have argued that the word "Moloch" has been altered by using the vowels of {{lang|he|bōšet}} "shame".{{sfn|Day|2000|p=128}} Other scholars have argued that the name is a [[Qal (linguistics)|''qal'' participle]] from the same verb.{{sfn|Heider|1999|p=581}} R. M. Kerr criticizes both theories by noting that the name of no other god appears to have been formed from a ''qal'' participle, and that Geiger's proposal is "an out-of-date theory which has never received any factual support".{{sfn|Kerr|2018|p=67}} Paul Mosca, Professor Emeritus at the [[University of British Columbia]], similarly argued that "the theory that a form {{lang|he|molek}} would immediately suggest to the reader or hearer the word {{lang|he|boset}} (rather than {{lang|he|qodes}} or {{lang|he|ohel}}) is the product of nineteenth century ingenuity, not of Massoretic{{sic}} or pre-Massoretic tendentiousness".{{sfn|Mosca|1975|p=127}}

Scholars who do not believe that Moloch represents a deity instead compare the name to inscriptions in the closely related [[Punic (language)|Punic language]] where the word {{lang|xpu|mlk}} ({{lang|xpu|molk}} or {{lang|xpu|mulk}}) refers to a type of sacrifice, a connection first proposed by [[Otto Eissfeldt]] (1935).{{sfn|Heider|1999|pp=581–582}} Eissfeldt himself, following [[Jean-Baptiste Chabot]], connected Punic {{lang|xpu|mlk}} and ''Moloch'' to a [[Syriac language|Syriac]] verb {{lang|syc|mlk}} meaning "to promise", a theory also supported as "the least problematic solution" by Heath Dewrell (2017).{{sfn|Dewrell|2017|pp=127-128}} Eissfeldt's proposed meaning included both the act and the object of sacrifice.{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=144}} Scholars such as W. von Soden argue that the term is a [[nominalization|nominalized]] causative form of the verb {{lang|he|ylk/wlk}}, meaning "to offer", "present", and thus means "the act of presenting" or "thing presented".{{sfn|Holm|2005|p=7134}} Kerr instead derives both the Punic and Hebrew word from the verb {{lang|he|mlk}}, which he proposes meant "to own", "to possess" in [[Proto-Semitic]], only later coming to mean "to rule"; the meaning of Moloch would thus originally have been "present", "gift", and later come to mean "sacrifice".{{sfn|Kerr|2018}}

The spelling "Moloch" follows the Greek [[Septuagint]] and the Latin [[Vulgate]]; the spelling "Molech" or "Molek" follows the [[Tiberian vocalization]] of Hebrew, with "Molech" used in the English [[King James Bible]].{{sfn|Dewrell|2017|p=4}}

==Biblical attestations==
===Masoretic text===
{{See also|Textual variants in the Book of Leviticus#Leviticus 18}}
The word ''Moloch'' (מלך) occurs eight times in the [[Masoretic text]], [[Hebrew Bible|the standard Hebrew text of the Bible]]. Five of these are in [[Leviticus]], with one in [[1 Kings]], one in [[2 Kings]] and another in [[The Book of Jeremiah]]. Seven instances include the Hebrew [[definite article]] {{lang|he|ha-}} ('the') or have a prepositional form indicating the presence of the definite article.{{sfn|Schmidt|2021}} All of these texts condemn Israelites who engage in practices associated with Moloch, and most associate Moloch with the use of children as offerings.{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|pp=143–144}}

Leviticus repeatedly forbids the practice of offering children to Moloch:

{{blockquote|And thou shalt not give any of thy seed to set them apart to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the {{LORD}}.|{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|18:21|he}}}}

The majority of the Leviticus references come from a single passage of four lines:{{sfn|Heider|1999|p=583}}

{{blockquote|Moreover, thou shalt say to the children of Israel: Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall [[stoning|stone him with stones]]. I also will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people, because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile My sanctuary, and to profane My holy name. And if the people of the land do at all hide their eyes from that man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and put him not to death; then I will set My face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go astray after him, to go astray after Molech, from among their people.|{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|20:2-5|he}}}}

In 1 Kings, Solomon is portrayed as introducing the cult of Moloch to Jerusalem:
{{blockquote|Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the detestation of Moab, in the mount that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestation of the children of Ammon.|{{Bibleverse|1 Kings|11:7}}}}
This is the sole instance of the name Moloch occurring without the definite article in the Masoretic text: it may offer a historical origin of the Moloch cult in the Bible,{{sfn|Schmidt|2021}} or it may be a mistake for [[Milcom]], the [[Ammon]]ite god (thus the reading in some manuscripts of the [[#Septugaint and New Testament|Septuagint]]).{{sfn|Heider|1999|p=581}}{{sfn|Schmidt|2021}}

In 2 Kings, Moloch is associated with the [[tophet]] in the valley of [[Gehenna]] when it is destroyed by king [[Josiah]]:

{{blockquote|And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.|{{Bibleverse|2 Kings|23:10|he}}}}

The same activity of causing children "to pass over the fire" is mentioned, without reference to Moloch, in numerous other verses of the Bible, such as in Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 12:31, 18:10), 2 Kings (2 Kings 16:3; 17:17; 17:31; 21:6), 2 Chronicles (2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6), the Book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 7:31, 19:5) and the Book of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 16:21; 20:26, 31; 23:37).{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=140}}

Lastly, the prophet [[Jeremiah]] condemns practices associated with Moloch as showing infidelity to [[Yahweh]]:{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=143}}

{{blockquote|And they built the [[high place]]s of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to set apart their sons and their daughters unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into My mind, that they should do this abomination; to cause Judah to sin.|{{Bibleverse|Jeremiah|32:35}}}}

Given the name's similarity to the Hebrew word {{Transliteration|hbo|melek}} "king", scholars have also searched the Masoretic text to find instances of {{Transliteration|hbo|melek}} that may be mistakes for Moloch. Most scholars consider only one instance as likely a mistake, in Isaiah:{{sfn|Heider|1999|p=585}}
{{blockquote|For a hearth is ordered of old; yea, for the king [{{Transliteration|hbo|melek}}] it is prepared, deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the {{LORD}}, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.|{{Bibleverse|Isaiah|30:33|he}}}}

===Septuagint and New Testament===
The standard text of the [[Septuagint]], the Greek version of the Old Testament, contains the name "Moloch" (Μολόχ) at 2 Kings 23:10 and Jeremiah 30:35, as in the Masoretic text, but without an article.{{sfn|Schmidt|2021}} Moreover, the Septuagint uses the name Moloch in [[Book of Amos|Amos]] where it is not found in the Masoretic text:
{{blockquote|You even took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Raiphan, models of them which you made for yourselves.|Amos 5:26,{{sfn|Pietersma|Wright|2014|p=793}} cf. Masoretic {{Bibleverse|Amos|5:26|he}}}}
Additionally, some Greek manuscripts of [[Book of Zephaniah|Zephaniah]] 1:5 contain the name "Moloch" or "Milcom" rather than the Masoretic text's "their king," the reading also found in the standard Septuagint. Many English translations follow one or the other of these variants, reading either "Moloch" or "Milcom".{{sfn|Werse|2018|p=505}} However, instead of "Moloch", the [[Septuagint]] translates the instances of Moloch in Leviticus as "ruler" ({{lang|grc|[[wikt:ἄρχων|ἄρχων]]}}), and as "king" ({{lang|grc|[[wikt:βασιλεύς|βασιλεύς]]}}) at 1 Kings 11:7.{{sfn|Heider|1999|p=581}}{{efn|The [[Lucian of Antioch|Lucian recension]] of the Septuagint contains the name "Milcom" at 1 Kings 11:7.{{sfn|Schmidt|2021}}}}

The Greek version of Amos with Moloch is quoted in the [[New Testament]] and accounts for the one occurrence of Moloch there ([[Book of Acts|Acts]] 7:43).{{sfn|Heider|1999|p=581}}

==Theories==
===As a deity===
[[File:Idol Moloch.jpg|thumb|Artist's view of a sacrifice to Moloch in ''Bible Pictures with brief descriptions'' by Charles Foster, 1897]]
Before 1935, all scholars held that Moloch was a pagan deity,{{sfn|Day|2000|p=209}} to whom child sacrifice was offered at the Jerusalem [[tophet]].{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=144}} Some modern scholars have proposed that Moloch may be the same god as Milcom, [[Adad-Milki]], or an epithet for [[Baal]].{{sfn|Day|2000|p=213}}

G. C. Heider and John Day connect Moloch with a deity ''Mlk'' attested at [[Ugarit]] and ''Malik'' attested in [[Mesopotamia]] and proposes that he was a god of the [[underworld]], as in Mesopotamia ''Malik'' is twice equated with the underworld god [[Nergal]]. Day also notes that Isaiah seems to associate Moloch with [[Sheol]].{{sfn|Day|2000|pp=213–215}} The Ugaritic deity ''Mlk'' also appears to be associated with the underworld,{{sfn|Heider|1999|p=583}} and the similarly named [[Phoenician religion|Phoenician]] god [[Melqart]] (literally "king of the city") could have underworld associations if "city" is understood to mean "underworld", as proposed by [[William F. Albright]].{{sfn|Heider|1999|p=583}} Heider also argued that there was also an [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] term {{lang|akk|maliku}} referring to the shades of the dead.{{sfn|Holm|2005|p=7134}}{{sfn|Dewrell|2017|pp=28–29}}

The notion that Moloch is the name of a deity has been challenged for several reasons. Moloch is rarely mentioned in the Bible, is not mentioned at all outside of it, and connections to other deities with similar names are uncertain.{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=144}} Moreover, it is possible that some of the supposed deities named ''Mlk'' are epithets for another god, given that ''mlk'' can also mean "king".{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=146}} The Israelite rite conforms, on the other hand, to the Punic {{lang|xpu|mlk}} rite in that both involved the sacrifice of children.{{sfn|Dewrell|2017|p=35}} None of the proposed gods Moloch could be identified with are associated with human sacrifice, the god ''Mlk'' of Ugarit appears to have only received animal sacrifice, and the {{lang|xpu|mlk}} sacrifice is never offered to a god named ''Mlk'' but rather to another deity.{{sfn|Holm|2005|p=7134}}

Brian Schmidt argues that the use of Moloch without an article at 1 Kings 11:7 and the use of Moloch as a proper name without an article in the Septuagint may indicate that there was a tradition of a god Moloch when the Bible was originally composed. However, this god may have only existed in the imagination of the composers of the Bible rather than in historical reality.{{sfn|Schmidt|2021}}

===As a form of sacrifice===
[[File:Stèles tophet Carthage.jpg|thumb|[[Stele|Stelas]] from the [[Tophet]] in [[Carthage]], where {{lang|xpu|mlk}} sacrifices or rituals are attested via inscription.]]
In 1935, [[Otto Eissfeldt]] proposed, on the basis of [[Punic (language)|Punic inscriptions]], that Moloch was a form of sacrifice rather than a deity.{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=144}} Punic inscriptions commonly associate the word {{lang|xpu|mlk}} with three other words: {{lang|xpu|ʾmr}} (lamb), {{lang|xpu|bʿl}} (citizen) and {{lang|xpu|ʾdm}} (human being). {{lang|xpu|bʿl}} and {{lang|xpu|ʾdm}} never occur in the same description and appear to be interchangeable.{{sfn|Xella|2013|p=269}} Other words that sometimes occur are {{lang|he|bšr}} (flesh).{{sfn|Holm|2005|p=7134}} When put together with {{lang|xpu|mlk}}, these words indicate a "{{lang|xpu|mlk}}-sacrifice consisting of...".{{sfn|Xella|2013|p=269}} The Biblical term {{lang|he|lammolekh}} would thus be translated not as "to Moloch", as normally translated, but as "as a molk-sacrifice", a meaning consistent with uses of the Hebrew preposition {{lang|he|la}} elsewhere.{{sfn|Reynolds|2007|pp=144-145}} Bennie Reynolds further argues that Jeremiah's use of ''Moloch'' in conjunction with [[Baal]] in Jer 32:35 is parallel to his use of "burnt offering" and Baal in Jeremiah 19:4–5.{{sfn|Reynolds|2007|pp=445-446}}

The view that Moloch refers to a type of sacrifice was challenged by John Day and George Heider in the 1980s.{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|pp=144-145}} Day and Heider argued that it was unlikely that biblical commentators had misunderstood an earlier term for a sacrifice as a deity and that Leviticus 20:5's mention of "whoring after Moloch" necessarily implied that Moloch was a god.{{sfn|Day|2000|pp=209-210}}{{sfn|Heider |1999 |pp=582-583}} Day and Heider nevertheless accepted that ''mlk'' was a sacrificial term in Punic, but argue that it did not originate in Phoenicia and that it was not brought back to Phoenicia by the Punic diaspora. More recently, Anthony Frendo argues that the Hebrew equivalent to Punic {{lang|xpu|ylk}} (the root of Punic {{lang|xpu|mlk}}) is the verb {{lang|he|‘br}} "to pass over"; in Frendo's view, this means that the Hebrew Moloch is not derived from the same root as Punic {{lang|xpu|mlk}}.{{sfn|Frendo|2016|p=349}}

Since Day's and Heider's objections, a growing number of scholars have come to believe that Moloch refers to the ''mulk'' sacrifice rather than a deity.{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=147}} [[Francesca Stavrakopoulou]] argues that "because both Heider and Day accept Eissfeldt's interpretation of Phoenician-Punic {{lang|xpu|mlk}} as a sacrificial term, their positions are at once compromised by the possibility that biblical {{lang|he|mōlekh}} could well function in a similar way as a technical term for a type of sacrifice".{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=145}} She further argues that "whoring after Moloch" does not need to imply a deity as {{lang|xpu|mlk}} refers to both the act of sacrificing and the thing sacrificed, allowing an interpretation of "whor[ing] after the mlk-offering".{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=145}} Heath Dewrell argues that the translation of Leviticus 20:5 in the [[Septuagint]], which substitutes {{langx|el|ἄρχοντας}} "[[archon]]s, princes" for ''Moloch'', implies that the biblical [[urtext (biblical studies)|urtext]] did not include the phrase "whoring after Moloch".{{sfn|Dewrell|2017|pp=30-35}} Bennie Reynolds further notes that at least one inscription from [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] does appear to mention {{lang|xpu|mlk}} sacrifice (''RES'' 367); therefore Day and Heider are incorrect that the practice is unattested in Canaan (Phoenicia). Reynolds also argues for further parallels.{{sfn|Reynolds|2007|pp=146-150}} However, Dewrell argues that the inscription is probably a modern forgery based on the unusual layout of the text and linguistic abnormalities, among other reasons.{{sfn|Dewrell|2016|pp=496-499}}

Among scholars who believe that Moloch refers to a form of sacrifice, debate remains as to whether the Israelite ''mlk'' sacrifices were offered to Yahweh or another deity.{{sfn|Xella|2013|p=265}} Armin Lange suggests that the [[Binding of Isaac]] represents a ''mlk''-sacrifice to Yahweh in which the child is finally substituted with a sheep, noting that Isaac was meant to be a burnt offering.{{sfn|Lange|2007|p=127}} This opinion is shared by Stavrakopoulou, who also points to the sacrifice of [[Jephthah]] of his daughter as a burnt offering.{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=140}} Frendo, while he argues that ''Moloch'' refers to a god, accepts Stavrakopoulou's argument that the sacrifices in the tophet were originally to Yahweh.{{sfn|Frendo|2016|pp=363–364}} Dewrell argues that although {{lang|xpu|mlk}} sacrifices were offered to Yahweh, they were distinct from other forms of human or child sacrifice found in the Bible (such as that of Jephthah) and were a foreign custom imported by the Israelites from the Phoenicians during the reign of [[Ahaz]].{{sfn|Dewrell|2017|pp=144–146}}

===As a divine title===
{{see also|Malik#Etymology}}
Because the name "Moloch" is almost always accompanied by the definite article in Hebrew, it is possible that it is a title meaning "the king", as it is sometimes translated in the [[#Septuagint and New Testament|Septuagint]].{{sfn|Schmidt|2021}} In the twentieth century, the philosopher [[Martin Buber]] proposed that "Moloch" referred to "Melekh Yahweh".{{sfn|Dewrell|2017|p=7}} A similar view was later expressed by T. Römer (1999).{{sfn|Dewrell|2017|p=20}} Brian Schmidt, however, argues that the mention of Baal in Jeremiah 32:35 suggests that "the ruler" could have instead referred to Baal.{{sfn|Schmidt|2021}}

===As a rite of passage===
A minority of scholars,{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=140}} mainly scholars of [[Punic]] studies,{{sfn|Xella|2013|p=265}} has argued that the ceremonies to Moloch are in fact a non-lethal dedication ceremony rather than a sacrifice. These theories are partially supported by commentary in the [[Talmud]] and among early Jewish commentators of the Bible.{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=140}} Rejecting such arguments, Paolo Xella and Francesca Stavrakopoulou note that the Bible explicitly connects the ritual to Moloch at the tophet with the verbs indicating slaughter, killing in sacrifice, deities "eating" the children, and [[holocaust (sacrifice)|holocaust]].{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2013|p=140}} Xella also refers to Carthaginian and Phoenician child sacrifice found referenced in Greco-Roman sources.{{sfn|Xella|2013|pp=265–266}}

==Religious interpretation==
===In Judaism===
[[File:Moloch the god.gif|thumb|right|{{lang|de|Der Götze Moloch mit 7 Räumen oder Capellen}}; "The idol Moloch with seven chambers or chapels" in {{lang|de|Die Alten Jüdischen Heiligthümer}}, by [[Johann Lund]], early eighteenth century. The illustration contains elements derived from the medieval rabbinical tradition.{{sfn|Soltes|2021}}|388x388px]]
The oldest classical rabbinical texts, the [[mishnah]] (3rd century CE) and [[Talmud]] (200s CE) include the Leviticus prohibitions of giving one's seed to Moloch, but do not clearly describe what this might have historically entailed.{{sfn|Lockshin|2021}} Early [[midrash]] regarded the prohibition to giving one's seed to Moloch at Leviticus 21:18 as no longer applicable in a literal sense. The [[Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael]] explains that Moloch refers to any foreign religion, while [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] in the [[Babylonian Talmud]] explains that Moloch refers to the gentiles.{{sfn|Kasher|1988|p=566}} Likewise, the [[Late Antiquity|late antique]] [[Targum Neofiti]] and the [[Targum Pseudo-Jonathan]], interpret the verse to mean a Jewish man having sex with a gentile.{{sfn|Kugel|2012|p=261}} The earlier [[Book of Jubilees]] (2nd century BCE) shows that this reinterpretation was known already during the [[Second Temple Period]]; Jubilees uses the story of [[Dinah]] to show that marrying one's daughter to a gentile was also forbidden (Jubilees 30:10).{{sfn|Kugel|2012|pp=261-262}} Such non-literal interpretations are condemned in the Mishnah (Megilla 4:9).{{sfn|Lockshin|2021}}

Medieval rabbis argued about whether the prohibition of giving to Moloch referred to sacrifice or something else. For instance, [[Menachem Meiri]] (1249–1315) argued that "giving one's seed unto Moloch" referred to an initiation rite and not a form of idolatry or sacrifice.{{sfn|Lockshin|2021}} Other rabbis disagreed. The 8th or 9th-century midrash [[Tanḥuma#Tanḥuma B, or Yelammedenu|Tanḥuma B]], gives a detailed description of Moloch worship in which the Moloch idol has the face of a calf and offerings are placed in its outstretched hands to be burned.{{sfn|Lockshin|2021}} This portrayal has no basis in the Bible or Talmud and probably derives from sources such as [[Diodorus Siculus]] on Carthaginian child sacrifice as well as various other classical portrayals of gruesome sacrifice.{{sfn|Rundin|2004|p=430}}{{sfn|Moore|1897|p=162}} The rabbis [[Rashi]] (1040–1105) and [[Joseph ben Isaac Bekhor Shor]] (12th century) may rely on Tanḥuma B when they provide their own description of Moloch sacrifices in their commentaries.{{sfn|Lockshin|2021}} The medieval rabbinical tradition also associated Moloch with other similarly named deities mentioned in the Bible such as [[Milcom]], [[Adrammelek]], and [[Anammelech]].{{sfn|Heider|1985|p=2}}

===In Christianity===
The [[Church Fathers]] only discuss Moloch occasionally,{{sfn|Heider|1985|p=2}} mostly in commentaries on the [[Book of Amos]] or the [[Acts of the Apostles]] (where [[Saint Stephen|Stephen]] summarizes the Old Testament before being martyred). Early Christian commentators mostly either used Moloch to show the sinfulness of the Jews or to exhort Christians to morality.{{sfn|Gemeinhardt|2021}} Discussion of Moloch is also rare during the medieval period, and was mostly limited to providing descriptions of what the commentators believed Moloch sacrifice entailed.{{sfn|Benjamin|2021}} Such descriptions, as found in [[Nicholas of Lyra]] (1270–1349), derive from the rabbinical tradition.{{sfn|Moore|1897|p=161}}

During the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]], on the other hand, protestant commentators such as [[John Calvin]] and [[Martin Luther]] used Moloch as a warning against falling into idolatry and to disparage Catholic practices.{{sfn|Benjamin|2021}} [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] understand Moloch as a god of worship of the state, following ideas first expressed by Scottish minister [[Alexander Hislop]] (1807–1865).{{sfn|Chryssides|2021}}

==In art and culture==
{{Main|Moloch in literature and popular culture}}

===In art===
[[File:Onthemorningthomas5.jpg|thumb| ''[[William Blake's illustrations of On the Morning of Christ's Nativity|The Flight of Moloch]]'', by [[William Blake]], 1809. The work illustrates a scene from [[John Milton]]'s "[[On the Morning of Christ's Nativity]]". ]]
Images of Moloch did not grow popular until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when Western culture began to experience a fascination with demons.{{sfn|Soltes|2021}} These images tend to portray Moloch as a bull- or lion-headed humanoid idol, sometimes with wings, with arms outstretched over a fire, onto which the sacrificial child is placed.{{sfn|Rundin|2004|pp=429–439}}{{sfn|Soltes|2021}} This portrayal can be traced to medieval Jewish commentaries such as that by [[Rashi]], which connected the biblical Moloch with depictions of [[Ancient Carthage|Carthaginian]] sacrifice to [[Cronus]] ([[Baal Hammon]]) found in sources such as [[Diodorus]], with George Foot Moore suggesting that the bull's head may derive from the mythological [[Minotaur]].{{sfn|Moore|1897|p=165}} John S. Rundin suggests that further sources for the image are the legend of [[Talos]] and the [[brazen bull]] built for king [[Phalaris]] of the Greek city of [[Agrigento|Acragas]] on [[Sicily]]. He notes that both legends, as well as that of the Minotaur, have potential associations with Semitic child sacrifice.{{sfn|Rundin|2004|pp=430–432}}

In contrast, [[William Blake]] portrayed Moloch as an entirely humanoid idol with a winged demon soaring above in his "Flight of Moloch" one of his [[William Blake's illustrations of On the Morning of Christ's Nativity|illustrations of Milton's poem "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity"]].{{sfn|Soltes|2021}}

===In literature===
[[File:Georges-Antoine Rochegrosse - Moloch.jpg|thumb|Illustration of the interior of the temple of Moloch from [[Gustav Flaubert]]'s ''[[Salammbô]]'' by [[Georges-Antoine Rochegrosse]] (c. 1900).]]
Moloch appears as a child-eating fallen angel in [[John Milton]]'s epic poem ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' (1667). He is described as "horrid king besmeared with blood / Of human sacrifice, and parents’ tears" (1:392–393) and leads the procession of rebel angels.{{sfn|Urban|2021}} Later, Moloch is the first speaker at the council of hell and advocates for open war against heaven.{{sfn|Dewrell|2017|p=5}} Milton's description of Moloch is one of the most influential for modern conceptions of this demon or deity.{{sfn|Dewrell|2017|p=4}} Milton also mentions Moloch in his poem "[[On the Morning of Christ's Nativity]]", where he flees from his grisly altars.{{sfn|Urban|2021}} Similar portrayals of Moloch as in ''Paradise Lost'' can be found in [[Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock]]'s epic poem ''[[Der Messias (Klopstock)|Messias]]'' (1748–1773),{{sfn|Boysen|Ruwe|2021}} and in [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]]'s poem ''The Dawn'', where Moloch represents the [[Barbarian|barbarism]] of past ages.{{sfn|Dewrell|2017|p=5}}

In [[Gustave Flaubert]]'s ''[[Salammbô]]'', a [[historical fiction|historical novel]] about [[Carthage]] published in 1862, Moloch is a Carthaginian god who embodies the male principle and the destructive power of the sun.{{sfn|Kropp|2001|p=183}} Additionally, Moloch is portrayed as the husband of the Carthaginian goddess [[Tanit]].{{sfn|Bart|1984|p=314}} Sacrifices to Moloch are described at length in chapter 13.{{sfn|Urban|2021}} The sacrifices are portrayed in an [[orientalism|orientalist]] and exoticized fashion, with children sacrificed in increasing numbers to burning furnaces found in the statue of the god.{{sfn|Dewrell|2017|p=10}} Flaubert defended his portrayal against criticism by saying it was based on the description of Carthaginian child sacrifice found in [[Diodorus Siculus]].{{sfn|Kropp|2001|p=183}}

From the nineteenth century onward, Moloch has often been used in literature as a metaphor for some form of social, economic or military oppression, as in [[Charles Dickens]]' novella ''[[The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain|The Haunted Man]]'' (1848), [[Alexander Kuprin]]'s novel ''[[Moloch (Kuprin)|Moloch]]'' (1896), and [[Allen Ginsberg]]'s long poem ''[[Howl (poem)|Howl]]'' (1956), where Moloch symbolizes American capitalism.{{sfn|Urban|2021}}

Moloch is also often used to describe something that debases society and feeds on its children, as in [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]]'s long poem ''Peter Bell the Third'' (1839), [[Herman Melville]]'s poem ''The March into Virginia'' (1866) about the [[American Civil War]], and [[Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr.]]'s poem ''Moloch'' (1921) about the [[First World War]].{{sfn|Urban|2021}}

===As social or political allegory===
[[File:Museo nazionale del Cinema - Cabiria (Turin) crop.jpg|thumb|Moloch statue from [[Giovanni Pastrone]]'s ''[[Cabiria]]'' (1914), [[National Museum of Cinema]] (Turin)]]

In modern times, a metaphorical meaning of Moloch as a destructive force or system that demands sacrifice, particularly of children, has become common. Beginning with [[Samuel Laing (science writer)|Samuel Laing]]'s ''National Distress'' (1844), the modern city is often described as a Moloch, an idea found also in [[Karl Marx]]; additionally, war often comes to be described as Moloch.{{sfn|Boysen|Ruwe|2021}}

The [[Munich Cosmic Circle]] (c. 1900) used Moloch to describe a person operating under cold [[rationalism]], something they viewed as causing the degeneration of Western civilization.{{sfn|Becking|2014}} Conservative Christians often rhetorically equate [[abortion]] with the sacrifice of children to Moloch.{{sfn|Chryssides|2021}} [[Bertrand Russell]], on the other hand, used Moloch to describe a kind of cruel, primitive religion in ''A Freeman's Worship'' (1923); he then used it to attack religion more generally.{{sfn|Becking|2014}}

=== In film and television ===
{{see also|Moloch (disambiguation)|Moloch in popular culture}}
[[File:Cabiria 002, tempio di Moloch.png|thumb|The entrance to the Temple of Moloch in Carthage in ''[[Cabiria]]'' (1914).]]
The 1914 Italian film ''[[Cabiria]]'' is set in Carthage and is loosely based on Flaubert's ''Salammbô''.{{sfn|Dorgerloh|2013|p=231–232}} The film features a bronzed, full-three dimensional statue of Moloch which is today kept in [[National Museum of Cinema]] in [[Turin]], Italy.{{sfn|Soltes|2021}} The titular female slave Cabiria is saved from the priests of Moloch just before she was to be sacrificed to the idol during the night.{{sfn|Dorgerloh|2013|p=237}} The depiction of the sacrifices to Moloch are based on Flaubert's descriptions, while the entrance of Moloch's temple is modeled on a [[hellmouth]]. ''Cabiria's'' depiction of the temple and statue of Moloch would go on to influence other filmic depictions of Moloch, such as that in [[Fritz Lang]]'s ''[[Metropolis (1927 film)|Metropolis]]'' (1927), in which it is workers rather than children who are sacrificed, and [[Sergio Leone]]'s ''[[The Colossus of Rhodes (film)|The Colossus of Rhodes]]'' (1961).{{sfn|Dorgerloh|2013|p=239}}

Moloch has continued to be used as a name for horrific figures who are depicted as connected to the demon or god but often bear little resemblance to the traditional image. This includes television appearances in ''[[Stargate SG1]]'' as an alien villain, in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', ''[[Supernatural (American TV series)|Supernatural]]'', and ''[[Sleepy Hollow (TV series)|Sleepy Hollow]].{{sfn|Soltes|2021}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Mythology|Asia}}
* [[Idolatry]]
* [[Lamia]]
* [[Laon (deity)|Laon]]

==References==
'''Informational notes'''
{{notelist}}

'''Citations'''
{{Reflist|20em}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin|20em}}
*{{cite journal |last=Bart |first=B. F. |title=Male Hysteria in "Salammbô |journal=Nineteenth-Century French Studies |volume=12 |issue=3 |year=1984 |pages=313–321 |jstor=23536541}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Becking |first=Bob |title=Moloch |encyclopedia=The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Cinematic Monsters (Online) |editor-last=Weinstock |editor-first=Jeffrey Andrew |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2014 }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Benjamin |first1=Katie |title=Molech, Moloch: III Christianity B Medieval Christianity and Reformation Era |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception |volume=19: Midrash and Aggada – Mourning |editor-last1=Furrey |editor-first1=Constance M. |editor-last2=Matz |editor-first2=Brian |display-editors=1 |year=2021 |publisher=de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-031336-9 |doi=10.1515/ebr.molechmoloch|s2cid=245085818 }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Boysen |first1=Knud Henryk |last2=Ruwe |first2=Andreas |title=Molech, Moloch: Christian: C Modern Europe and America |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception |volume=19: Midrash and Aggada – Mourning |editor-last1=Furrey |editor-first1=Constance M. |editor-last2=Matz |editor-first2=Brian |display-editors=1 |year=2021 |publisher=de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-031336-9 |doi=10.1515/ebr.molechmoloch|s2cid=245085818 }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Chryssides |first1=George D. |title=Molech, Moloch: Christian: D New Christian Churches and Movements |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception |volume=19: Midrash and Aggada – Mourning |editor-last1=Furrey |editor-first1=Constance M. |editor-last2=Matz |editor-first2=Brian |display-editors=1 |year=2021 |publisher=de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-031336-9 |doi=10.1515/ebr.molechmoloch|s2cid=245085818 }}
*{{cite book|last=Day |first=John |title=Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan |publisher=Sheffield Academic Press |year=2000 |isbn=1-85075-986-3}}
*{{cite journal |title=A 'Molek' Inscription from the Levant? |journal=Revue Biblique |last=Dewrell |first=Heath D. |issue=4 |volume=123 |pages=481–505 |doi=10.2143/RBI.123.4.3180790 |year=2016 |jstor=44809366}}
*{{cite book|last=Dewrell |first=Heath D. |title=Child sacrifice in ancient Israel |publisher=Eisenbrauns |year=2017 |isbn=978-1575064949 }}
*{{cite book |last=Dorgerloh |first=Annette |chapter=Competing ancient worlds in early historical film: the example of ''Cabiria'' (1914) |title=The Ancient World in Silent Cinema |pages=229–246 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |editor-last1=Michelakis |editor-first1=Pantellis |editor-last2=Wyke |editor-first2=Maria |year=2013 |doi=10.1017/CBO9781139060073.015 |isbn=9781139060073 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Frendo |first=Anthony J. |title=Burning Issues: ''MLK'' Revisited |journal=Journal of Semitic Studies |volume=61 |issue=2 |year=2016 |pages=347–364 |doi=10.1093/jss/fgw020 }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Gemeinhardt |first1=Peter |title=Molech, Moloch: III Christianity A Patristics and Orthodox Churches |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception |volume=19: Midrash and Aggada – Mourning |editor-last1=Furrey |editor-first1=Constance M. |editor-last2=Matz |editor-first2=Brian |display-editors=1 |year=2021 |publisher=de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-031336-9 |doi=10.1515/ebr.molechmoloch|s2cid=245085818 }}
*{{cite book|last=Heider |first=G. C. |title=The Cult of Molek: A Reassessment |year=1985 |publisher=JSOT Press |isbn=1850750181 }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Heider |first=G. C. |title=Moloch |encyclopedia=Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible |editor-last1=Toorn |editor-first1=Karel van der |editor-last2=Becking |editor-first2=Bob |editor-last3=Horst |editor-first3=Pieter W. van der |year=1999 |edition=2 |publisher=Brill |pages=581–585 |url=https://www.academia.edu/30069945 |doi=10.1163/2589-7802_DDDO_DDDO_Molech}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Holm |first=Tawny L. |title= Phoenician Religion [Further Considerations] |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Religion |edition=2 |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Lindsay |volume=10 |year=2005 |pages= 7134–7135|publisher=Macmillan Reference }}
*{{cite book |last=Kasher |first=Rimon |chapter=The Interpretation of Scripture in Rabbinic Literature  |title=The Literature of the Jewish People in the Period of the Second Temple and the Talmud, Volume 1 Mikra |year=1988 |publisher=Brill |editor-last1=Mulder |editor-first1=Martin-Jan |pages=547–594 |doi=10.1163/9789004275102_016 |isbn=9789004275102 }}
*{{cite book|last=Kerr|first=R.M. |chapter=In Search of the Historical Moloch |title="His Word Soars Above Him" Biblical and North-West Semitic Studies Presented to Professor Charles R. Krahmalkov |editor-last1=Kerr |editor-first1=R.M. |editor-last2=Schmitz |editor-first2=Philip C. |editor-last3=Miller |editor-first3=Robert |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/35722413 |publisher=Ann Arbor |year=2018 |pages=59–80}}
*{{cite journal |last=Kropp |first=Sonja Dams |title=PLASTICITY ANIMATED: FROM MOLOCH'S STATUE TO "SALAMMBÔ'S TEXT" |journal=Romance Notes |volume=41 |issue=2 |year=2001 |pages=183–190 |jstor=43802763}}
*{{cite book |last=Kugel |first=James L. |title=A Walk through ''Jubilees'': Studies in the ''Book of Jubilees'' and the World of its Creation |publisher=Brill |year=2012}}
*{{cite book|last=Lange |first=Armin |chapter="They Burn Their Sons and Daughters— That Was No Command of Mine" (Jer 7:31): Child Sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible and in the Deuteronomistic Jeremiah Redaction|title=Human sacrifice in Jewish and Christian tradition |editor-last1=Finsterbusch |editor-first1=Karin |editor-last2=Lange |editor-first2=Armin |editor-last3=Römheld |editor-first3=Diethold |year=2007 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-9004150850 |pages=109–132}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Lockshin |first1=Martin |title=Molech, Moloch: II Judaism |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception |volume=19: Midrash and Aggada – Mourning |editor-last1=Furrey |editor-first1=Constance M. |editor-last2=Matz |editor-first2=Brian |display-editors=1 |year=2021 |publisher=de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-031336-9 |doi=10.1515/ebr.molechmoloch|s2cid=245085818 }}
*{{cite thesis |last=Mosca |first=Paul |title=Child Sacrifice in Canaanite and Israelite Religion |publisher=Harvard University |year=1975 |url=https://www.academia.edu/37152834 }}
*{{cite journal|last=Moore |first=George Foot |author-link=George Foot Moore |title=Biblical Notes |journal=Journal of Biblical Literature |year=1897 |volume=16 |issue=1/2 |pages=155–165 |doi=10.2307/3268874 |jstor=3268874}}
*{{cite web |editor-last1= Pietersma |editor-first1=Albert |editor-link1=Albert Pietersma |editor-last2=Wright |editor-first2=Benjamin |title= New English Translation of the Septuagint: Electronic Version |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/ |year=2014 }}
*{{cite book|last=Reynolds |first=Bennie H. |chapter=Molek: Dead or Alive? The Meaning and Derivation of mlk and מלך|title=Human sacrifice in Jewish and Christian tradition |editor-last1=Finsterbusch |editor-first1=Karin |editor-last2=Lange |editor-first2=Armin |editor-last3=Römheld |editor-first3=Diethold |year=2007 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-9004150850 |pages=133–150}}
*{{cite journal |last=Rundin|first=John S. |title=Pozo Moro, Child Sacrifice, and the Greek Legendary Tradition |journal=Journal of Biblical Literature |volume=123 |issue=3 |year=2004 |pages=425–447 |doi=10.2307/3268041 |jstor=3268041 }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Reich |first=Bo |title=Gehenna |encyclopedia=The Oxford Companion to the Bible  |editor-last1=Metzger |editor-first1=Bruce M. |editor-last2=Coogan |editor-first2=Michael D. |year=1993 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=	9780199891023 }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Schmidt |first=Brian B. |title=Molech, Moloch: I Hebrew Bible/Old Testament |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception |volume=19: Midrash and Aggada – Mourning |editor-last1=Furrey |editor-first1=Constance M. |editor-last2=Matz |editor-first2=Brian |display-editors=1 |year=2021 |publisher=de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-031336-9 |doi=10.1515/ebr.molechmoloch|s2cid=245085818 }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Soltes |first1=Ori Z.  |title=Molech, Moloch: V Visual Arts and Film |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception |volume=19: Midrash and Aggada – Mourning |editor-last1=Furrey |editor-first1=Constance M. |editor-last2=Matz |editor-first2=Brian |display-editors=1 |year=2021 |publisher=de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-031336-9 |doi=10.1515/ebr.molechmoloch|s2cid=245085818 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Stavrakopoulou |first=Francesca |author-link=Francesca Stavrakopoulou |title=The Jerusalem Tophet Ideological Dispute and Religious Transformation |journal= Studi Epigrafici e Linguistici |year=2013 |volume=30 |pages=137–158 |url=https://www.academia.edu/7656412 }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Urban |first1=David V.  |title=Molech, Moloch: IV Literature |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception |volume=19: Midrash and Aggada – Mourning |editor-last1=Furrey |editor-first1=Constance M. |editor-last2=Matz |editor-first2=Brian |display-editors=1 |year=2021 |publisher=de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-031336-9 |doi=10.1515/ebr.molechmoloch|s2cid=245085818 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Werse |first=Nicholas R. |title=Of Gods and Kings: The Case for Reading "Milcom" in Zephaniah 1:5bβ |journal=Vetus Testamentum |year=2018 |volume=68 |issue=3 |pages=503–513 |doi=10.1163/15685330-12341328}}
*{{cite book|last=Xella|first=P. |chapter="Tophet": an Overall Interpretation |editor-last=Xella |editor-first=P. |title=The Tophet in the Ancient Mediterranean |publisher=Essedue |year=2013 |pages=259–281 |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/8556951 }}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Moloch}}
*{{wiktionary inline|Moloch}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Moloch| ]]
[[Category:Book of Leviticus]]
[[Category:Child sacrifice]]
[[Category:Deities in the Hebrew Bible]]
[[Category:Evil gods]]
[[Category:Phoenician mythology]]
[[Category:Middle Eastern mythology]]
[[Category:West Semitic gods]]
[[Category:Gehenna]]
[[Category:Minotaur]]
[[Category:Baal]]
[[Category:Yahweh]]
[[Category:Human sacrifice in folklore and mythology]]
[[Category:Judaism-related controversies]]
[[Category:Canaanite religion]]