Actually, the name Moloch is unknown outside the Bible. As for the idea that children were sacrificed to him (whoever he was supposed to be), many scholars consider this a blood libel, like the claims made in Medieval Europe that the Jews sacrificed children, or the "abominable practices" attributed to Christians by Tacitus.
Which doesn't actually answer my question.
Also, we do find child-sacrifice in the Bible.
Eze 20:25 Wherefore - I (YHVH) - gave them also statutes
that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;
Eze 20:26 And - I - polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to
pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I
am the LORD.
Exodus 22: 29 –Thou shalt not delay TO OFFER the FIRST of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors:
THE FIRSTBORN OF THY SONS SHALT THOU GIVE UNTO ME.
Leviticus 27: 28, 29 Notwithstanding
NO devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the Lord of all that he hath,
BOTH OF MAN and beast, and of the field of his possession,
shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the Lord.
29 –
None devoted, which shall be devoted of men shall be redeemed;
BUT SHALL SURELY BE PUT TO DEATH.
"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 … "
"…
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."- Catholic Encyclopedia
This was interesting - "
Moloch (Masoretic מֹלֶךְ
mōlek, Greek Μολώχ) is the Biblical name of a Canaanite god or possibly an ancient form of propitiatory child sacrifice by parents as sacrifice for the deity."
"In 1841, both Georg Friedrich Daumer and Friedrich Wilhelm Ghillany published influential works on the topic.
[18] These authors came to the conclusion that the Biblical text reflect an original identity of Molek and Yahweh, and that the cult of Yahweh grew out of that of Molek by the abolishing of human sacrifice. The authors find numerous instances of vestigial references to human sacrifice, most notably the law that all firstborns must be "consecrated" or "given" to Yahweh (Exodus 13:2, 22:28)."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moloch
That last is interesting because there are a couple of Tanakh verses that say they knew YHVH by other names.
Gen 3:15
And Elohiym continued, saying to Moses: You shall
say this to the sons of Israel, YHVH, the Elohiym of your fathers, the Elohiym of Abraham, the Elohiym of Isaac, and the Elohiym of Jacob, has sent me to you.
This is My name forever, and this is how I should be remembered from generation to generation.
Exo 6:3 And I appeared unto
Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by God Almighty,
but by my name YHVH was I not known to them.
And of course Abraham goes to sacrifice Isaac on an alter of fire. (Genesis 22)
I've said before, - that I think these verses show a change from child-sacrifice.
And we have had several discussions here about the Hebrew actually being Nomadic Canaanites - from whence comes the child-sacrifice.
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