Moloch

Moloch[a] (also Molech, Milcom, or Malcam) is the biblical name of a Canaanite god associated with child sacrifice, through fire or war.

The name Moloch results from a dysphemic vocalisation in the Second Temple period of a theonym based on the root mlk, "king". There are a number of Canaanite gods with names based on this root, which became summarily associated with Moloch, including biblical Malkam (מַלְכָּם‎) "Great King" (KJV Milcom), which appears to refer to a god of the Ammonites, as well as Tyrian Melqart and others. MLK can also be interpreted as Ma-el-och, Ma meaning give, god, bull, or giver to the bull god / priest. Malcam can be read Ma-el-cam meaning giver to the high god.

Rabbinical tradition depicted Moloch as a bronze statue heated with fire into which the victims were thrown. This has been associated with reports by Greco-Roman authors on the child sacrifices in Carthage to Baal Hammon, especially since archaeological excavations since the 1920s have produced evidence for child sacrifice in Carthage as well as inscriptions including the term MLK, either a theonym or a technical term associated with sacrifice. In interpretatio graeca, the Phoenician god was identified with Cronus, due to the parallel mytheme of Cronus devouring his children.

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