Moloch or Molech

מֹלֶךְ

Meaning “King”

By Charles Foster – Illustrators of the 1897 Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us , Public Domain, Link

The worship of Moloch or Molech, which was practiced at a special site (outside the walls of Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלַם‎
Transliteration: yᵊrûšālam – Pronunciation: yer-oo-shaw-lah’-im – proper locative noun meaning “teaching of peace” or possession of peace – also called the city of David and Zion – the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split For more info click here in the valley of Hinnom) called Topheth, became firmly established in the time of the King Manassehמְנַשֶּׁה
/məˈnæsə/; Mənaššé, “Forgetter”; Greek: Μανασσῆς Manasses; The eldest son of Joseph and progenitor of the tribe of Manasseh, the tribe descended from Manasseh, the territory occupied by the tribe of Manasseh, son of king Hezekiah of Judah and himself king of Judah; he was the immediate and direct cause for the exile, a descendant of Pahath-moab who put away a foreign wife in the time of Ezra, a descendant of Hashum who put away a foreign wife in the time of Ezra. For more info click here, his son Amon, and at the beginning of Josiah’sיֹאשִׁיָּה
Transliteration: yō’šîyâ – Pronunciation: yo-shee-yaw’ – proper masculine noun Meaning “who Yahweh heals” For more info on the word click here reign. It seems to been completely eradicated by Josiah within the frame work of his reform actives (II Kings 23:10) Jeremiah’sיִרְמְיָהוּ
Transliteration: yirmᵊyâ – Pronunciation: yir-meh-yaw’ – proper masculine noun Meaning “whom Yahweh has appointed”or “Yah will rise”, the major prophet, son of Hilkiah of the priestly family in Anathoth; author of the prophetic book bearing his name. Also the name of eight or nine Israelites: For more info on the word click here references to this worship ( Jer 7:31; 19:1ff:; 32:35) apply to the days of Manassehמְנַשֶּׁה
/məˈnæsə/; Mənaššé, “Forgetter”; Greek: Μανασσῆς Manasses; The eldest son of Joseph and progenitor of the tribe of Manasseh, the tribe descended from Manasseh, the territory occupied by the tribe of Manasseh, son of king Hezekiah of Judah and himself king of Judah; he was the immediate and direct cause for the exile, a descendant of Pahath-moab who put away a foreign wife in the time of Ezra, a descendant of Hashum who put away a foreign wife in the time of Ezra. For more info click here and of Josiahיֹאשִׁיָּה
Transliteration: yō’šîyâ – Pronunciation: yo-shee-yaw’ – proper masculine noun Meaning “who Yahweh heals” For more info on the word click here before the reform (see Kaufman Y. Toledot, 3 (1960), 382-90)

Traditionally, the name Moloch or Molech has been understood as referring to a Canaanite god. 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. This second position has grown increasingly popular, but it remains contested. Among proponents of this second position, controversy continues as to whether the sacrifices were offered to YAHWEH יְהֹוָה‎
Hebrew Yəhōwā, one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton יהוה‎ (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. It is considered one of the seven names of God in Judaism and a form of God’s name in Christianity. Covenant making covenant keeping GOD. For more info click here or another deity, and whether they were a native Israelite religious custom or a Phoenician import.

The word Moloch (מלך) occurs eight times in the Masoretic Text, the standard Hebrew text of the Bible. Five of these are in Leviticus, with one in 1st Kings, one in 2nd Kings and another in The Book of Jeremiah. Seven instances include the Hebrew definite article ha- (‘the’) or have a prepositional form indicating the presence of the definite article. All of these texts condemn Israelites who engage in practices associated with Moloch, and most associate Moloch with the use of children as offerings.

• Leviticus repeatedly forbids the practice of offering children to Moloch  Leviticus 18:21
• The majority of the Leviticus references come from a single passage of four lines (See:  Leviticus 20:2–5)
• In 1 Kings, Solomon is portrayed as introducing the cult of Moloch to Jerusalem 1st Kings 11:7
  
• In 2 Kings, Moloch is associated with  Tophet (or Topheth)תֹּפֶת
  is a location in Jerusalem in the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna), where worshipers engaged in a ritual involving “passing a child through the fire”, most likely child sacrifice. Traditionally, the sacrifices have been ascribed to a god named Moloch. The Bible condemns and forbids these sacrifices, and the tophet is eventually destroyed by king Josiah, although mentions by the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah suggest that the practices associated with the tophet may have persisted For more info click here in the valley of Gehenna when it is destroyed by king Josiahיֹאשִׁיָּה
  Transliteration: yō’šîyâ – Pronunciation: yo-shee-yaw’ – proper masculine noun Meaning “who Yahweh heals” For more info on the word click here   in 2nd Kings 23:10
• Lastly, the prophet Jeremiahיִרְמְיָהוּ
  Transliteration: yirmᵊyâ – Pronunciation: yir-meh-yaw’ – proper masculine noun Meaning “whom Yahweh has appointed”or “Yah will rise”, the major prophet, son of Hilkiah of the priestly family in Anathoth; author of the prophetic book bearing his name. Also the name of eight or nine Israelites: For more info on the word click here condemns practices associated with Moloch as showing infidelity to YAHWEH יְהֹוָה‎
  Hebrew Yəhōwā, one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton יהוה‎ (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. It is considered one of the seven names of God in Judaism and a form of God’s name in Christianity. Covenant making covenant keeping GOD. For more info click here  Jeremiah 32:35

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