Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Moloch |
MolochNoun1. A tyrannical power to be propitiated by human subservience or sacrifice: "the great Moloch of war"; "duty has become the Moloch of modern life"- Norman Douglas. 2. God of the Ammonites and Phoenicians to whom parents sacrificed their children. 3. Any lizard of the genus Moloch. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "Moloch" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1629. (references) |
Note: Moloch \Mo"loch\, noun. [Heb. molek king.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Bible | Moloch king, the name of the national god of the Ammonites, to whom children were sacrificed by fire. He was the consuming and destroying and also at the same time the purifying fire. In Amos 5:26, "your Moloch" of the Authorized Version is "your king" in the Revised Version (comp. Acts 7:43). Solomon (1 Kings 11:7) erected a high place for this idol on the Mount of Olives, and from that time till the days of Josiah his worship continued (2 Kings 23:10, 13). In the days of Jehoahaz it was partially restored, but after the Captivity wholly disappeared. He is also called Molech (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5, etc.), Milcom (1 Kings 11:5, 33, etc.), and Malcham (Zeph. 1:5). This god became Chemosh among the Moabites. Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary. |
Literature | Moloch Any influence which demands from us the sacrifice of what we hold most dear. Thus, war is a Moloch, king mob is a Moloch, the guillotine was the Moloch of the French Revolution, etc. The allusion is to the god of the Ammonites, to whom children were "made to pass through the fire" in sacrifice. Milton says he was "worshipped in Rabba, in Argob, and Basan, to the stream of utmost Arnon." (Paradise Lost, book i. 392-398.). Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Moloch the God Baal, the Bull of the Sun, was widely worshipped in the ancient Near East and wherever Carthaginian culture extended. Baal Moloch was conceived under the form of a calf or an ox or depicted as a man with the head of a bull.
The name 'Moloch'
'Hadad', 'Baal' or simply 'the King' identified the god within his cult. The name Moloch is not the name he was known by among his worshippers, but a Hebrew translation. The written form Moloch (in the Septuagint Greek translation of the Old Testament), or Molech (Hebrew), is specifically Melech or ‘king’, tranformed by reading it with the vowels of bosheth or ‘shameful thing’. In a similar way Beelzebub was transformed by vowel substitutions into the Lord of the Flies.He is sometimes also called Milcom in the Old Testament.
Moloch cult
Among the rituals in the worship of Moloch was the 'taking up of the tabernacle' of Moloch, in which the god's image, under a portable canopy, was paraded. This was a widespread practice, in Babylon and elsewhere, wherever the spirit of a god was felt to reside in the deity's image or idol. It was also customary to consecrate chariots and horses to Moloch.Child sacrifice
Religious infanticide historically was widespread among the peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean region, but in the cult of Moloch is the best known. In many instances the bodies of children were burnt as sacrifices.In the kingdom of Judah, children were wont to be sacrificed to Moloch in a valley of the sons of Hinnom, which received also the name of the Valley of Tophet.
A detailed, late description of Moloch's image says that it was hollow, and was provided with seven receptacles, in which were deposited the different offerings of the worshippers. Into the first was put an offering of fine flour; in the second an offering of turtle doves; into the third a sheep; into the fourth a ram; into the fifth a calf; into the sixth an ox; and into the seventh a child, which was consumed in the image.
Talmudic tradition asserts the image of Moloch to have been made of brass, and to have been represented sitting on a brazen throne, adorned with a royal crown, having the head of a calf, and his arms extended to receive his youthful victims.
Extent of the Moloch cult
The god Baal variously named, sometimes with combined forms, was widely worshipped in the ancient near east.The Phoenicians of Tyre extended the worship of Baal/Moloch in the particular Tyrian manifestation Baal Melkart, ('the Baal (king) of the city') to Phoenician colonies around the Mediterranean, the greatest of which was Carthage in North Africa.
Moloch was worshiped among the Sepharvites as Adrammelech and Anammelech, and by the Moabites and Ammonites.
In Minoan Crete, the Minotaur, the monstrous bull-headed creature at the center of the Labyrinth that consumed sacrificed youths, and which was overcome by Theseus, should perhaps be connected with Moloch.
Moloch, 'the king' was even worshiped by the Hebrews, until the destruction of all the idols by Josiah in 622/21 BCE. Solomon built an altar to Molech, and Manasseh sacrificed his son, by making him “pass through the fire,” as did King Ahaz. Not every combined form of melech ('king') in a name links an individual with Moloch, however (cf Abimelech).
The strenuous energy that had to be put into the interdiction of child sacrifice that had been practiced among the earliest Israelites is reflected in the episode of Abraham and Isaac in the Book of Genesis. The gruesome rites associated with Moloch are again expressly forbidden under pain of death in Leviticus xx. 2: “Again, 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 any of his seed unto Moloch, he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.” In various other passages of the Law of Moses, the Israelites were forbidden to dedicate their children to Moloch, by causing them to “pass through the fire,” an expression the precise meaning of which is mooted by scholars.
It is plain from various passages of the prophets, that the sacrifices of children among the Jews before captivity, which are commonly known as sacrifices to Moloch, were not presented at the temple, but consumed outside the city at Tophet in the ravine below the temple.
Jeremiah 7:31, “And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.” And Jeremiah 19:5, “They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I commanded them not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind.”
From Isaiah it appears that Tophet means a pyre, such as is prepared for a king. Later, however, the name Tophet was construed to refer to the sounds of the drums and cymbals that accompanied the sacrifice of children. Compare the role of the Korybantes in Crete, shaking their spears and clashing their shields, drowning out the cries of the infant Zeus when his cannibal father sought him out, aiming to consume him— like a Moloch.
External link
Instead of legs his statues had a construction similar to a dome (on which the body was surmounted) with fire always lit, into which children were sacrificed. The arms of the statue had a mechanism that, when the child was put on the god's hands, was moved by the priests, so the arms were raised to the mouth and the baby was "swallowed" by the god and fell into the fire. His statues were often bronze castings with the afore mentioned mechanism. The name Moloch derives from the Semitic word 'melek', 'melekh', king, which is supposed to have been corrupted into Molech by the Israelites not to compare their king with the Pagan god (compare with a similar corruption of Baal to Beelzebub in the New Testament).
Other spellings: Baal Moloch, Milcom, Molech.
See also Chemosh
Moloch in later demonology
In demonology Moloch is a Prince of Hell. He finds a special pleasure in making mothers weep for he specialises in stealing their children. According to some demonologists from the 16th century his power is stronger in December.
It is possible that the use of stealing children was inspired by the sacrifices of babies made in honour of Moloch as god of the Ammonites, turned into a demon in Christian times.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Moloch."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Moloch Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Sub-order: Sauria Family: Agamidae Genus: Moloch
Classification of genus Moloch
- Moloch horridus
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Moloch lizard."
Synonym: MolochSynonym: Molech (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Demon | Noun: demon, daemon, demonry, demonology; evil genius, fiend, familiar, daeva, devil; bad spirit, unclean spirit; cacodemon, incubus, Eblis, shaitan, succubus, succuba; Frankenstein's monster; Shedim, Mephistopheles, Asmodeus, Moloch, Belial, Ahriman; fury, harpy; Friar Rush. |
Killing | Butcher, slayer, murderer, Cain, assassin, terrorist, cutthroat, garroter, bravo, Thug, Moloch, matador, sabreur; guet-a-pens; gallows, executioner. (punishment); man-eater, apache, hatchet man, highbinder. |
Pseudo-Revelation | Golden calf; Baal, Moloch, Dagon. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Moloch |
| English words defined with "Moloch": Thorn devil. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "Moloch": Gods. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Moloch" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. Dutch (Moloch), French (moloch), German (moloch). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Temple of Moloch (1914) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Theater & Movies | |||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | A Titre de Renseignement / B. Moloch. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | [Aldo Castellani] / B. Moloch. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| "Moloch" is generally used as a noun (proper) -- approximately 73.33% of the time. "Moloch" is used about 15 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (proper) | 73.33% | 11 | 106,044 |
| Noun (singular) | 26.67% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Total | 100.00% | 15 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes names derived from the word "Moloch". | |||
| Name | Gender | Language | Meaning |
| Molech | N/A | Biblical | Moloch |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
| |||
Expressions using "Moloch": Callithrix Moloch ♦ genus Moloch ♦ moloch horridus. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
moloch | 62 |
horridus moloch | 2 |
beat moloch | 2 |
kombat moloch mortal | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "Moloch"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | moloh. (various references) | |
Arabic | مولوخ إله سامي. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | вид австралийски гущер, молох. (various references) | |
Dutch | Moloch. (various references) | |
Esperanto | Moloĥo. (various references) | |
French | moloch. (various references) | |
German | moloch. (various references) | |
Greek | μόλωχ, μολόχ. (various references) | |
Hungarian | tűzgyík (salamander in flames), molochgyík. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | olochmay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | moloque, réptil australiano, ídolo fenício. (various references) | |
Romanian | monstru (abomination, abortion, fright, heteroclite, jumbo, monster, monstrosity, mooncalf), moloh, cãpcãun (brute, monster, ogre). (various references) | |
Russian | молох. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | moloh, australijski gušter. (various references) | |
Turkish | fenikelilerin çocuk kurban ettikleri tanrı, dikenli kertenkele. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Acts Chapter 7, Verse 43 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Kai anelabete thn skhnhn tou moloc kai to astron tou qeou umwn remfan touV tupouV ouV epoihsate proskunein autoiV kai metoikiw umaV epekeina babulwnoV |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Et suscepistis tabernaculum Moloch et sidus dei vestri Rempham figuras quas fecistis adorare eas et transferam vos trans Babylonem |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | And ye han take the tabernacle of Moloc, and the sterre of youre god Renfam, figuris that ye han maad to worschipe hem; and Y schal translate you in to Babiloyn. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | And ye toke vnto you the tabernacle of Moloch and the starre of youre god Remphan figures which ye made to worshippe them. And I will translate you beyonde Babylon. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | Yes, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your God Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | And you took up the tent of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, images which you made to give worship to them: and I will take you away, farther than Babylon. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Acts Chapter 7, Verse 43 |
| Albanian | Apo më shumë mbartët çadrën e Molokut dhe yllin e perëndisë suaj Remfan, imaxhe që i bëtë vetë për t'i adhuruar; për këtë arsye unë do t'ju shpërngul përtej Babilonisë". |
| Cebuano | Hinonoa maoy inyong gidaladala ang tolda ni Moloc ug ang bitoon sa dios nga si Ronfan, ang mga larawan nga gipamuhat ninyo aron maoy inyong pagasim-bahon; busa, ilabay ko gayud kamo ngadto sa unahan pa sa Babilonia.` |
| Croatian | Poprimiste šator Molohov i zvijezdu boga Refana - likove koje napraviste da biste im se klanjali. Odvest æu vas stoga u progonstvo onkraj Babilona!" |
| Danish | Og I bare Moloks Telt og Guden Remfans Stjerne, de Billeder, som I havde gjort for at tilbede dem; og jeg vil flytte eder bort hinsides Babylon." |
| Dutch | Ja, gij hebt opgenomen den tabernakel van Moloch, en het gesternte van uw god Remfan, de afbeeldingen, die gij gemaakt hebt, om die te aanbidden; en Ik zal u overvoeren op gene zijde van Babylon. |
| Finnish | Ette; vaan te kannoitte Molokin majaa ja Romfa jumalan tähteä, niitä kuvia, jotka te olitte tehneet kumarrettaviksenne. Sentähden minä siirrän teidät toiselle puolelle Babylonin.` |
| French | Vous avez porté la tente de Moloch Et l`étoile du dieu Remphan, Ces images que vous avez faites pour les adorer! Aussi vous transporterai-je au del de Babylone. |
| German | Und ihr nahmet die Hütte Molochs an und das Gestirn eures Gottes Remphan, die Bilder, die ihr gemacht hattet, sie anzubeten. Und ich will euch wegwerfen jenseit Babylon." |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Kemah berhala Molokhlah yang kamu bawa-bawa bersama-sama dengan patung bintang berhalamu, yaitu Refan; itulah patung yang kamu buat untuk disembah. Oleh sebab itu Aku akan membuang kamu sampai jauh ke seberang di negeri Babel.' |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Sesungguhnya kamu mengarak kemah Molokh itu dan bintang Rempan, berhalamu, yaitu segala patung yang kamu perbuat hendak disembah; sebab itu Aku akan memindahkan kamu ke sebelah sana negeri Babil. |
| Maori | Na kua mau koutou ki te tapenakara o Moroko, ki te whetu o to koutou atua o Reipana, ki nga whakapakoko i hanga e koutou hei koropiko atu; na, maku koutou e kawe atu ki tawahi o Papurona. |
| Norwegian | Nei, I bar med eder Moloks telt og guden Remfans stjerne, de billeder som I gjorde for å tilbede dem, og jeg vil flytte eder bort hinsides Babylon. |
| Rumanian | Ayi purtat cortul lui Moloh wi chipul stelei zeului Remfan, chipurile acelea, pe cari le-ayi fqcut ca sq vq knchinayi lor! De aceea vq voi strqmuta dincolo de Babilon.` |
| Russian | чЩ ТЙОСМЙ УЛЙОЙА нПМПИПЧХ Й ЪЧЕЪ"Х 'ПЗБ ЧБЫЕЗП тЕНЖБОБ, ЙЪП'ТБЦЕОЙС, ЛПФПТЩЕ ЧЩ У"ЕМБМЙ, ЮФП'Щ ПЛМПОСФШУС ЙН: Й с ЕТЕУЕМА ЧБУ "БМЕЕ чБЧЙМПОБ. |
| Shuar | Antsu, Muruk naartin ántar-yusa pujamurin jukimiarme. Tura Chíkich ántar-yussha, ni naari Rempan, yaa aanin najanarum nusha jukimiarme. Júkin asakrumin Atumí nunkeya jukin, Tímiai Papirúnia nunkan nankaiki akupkatjarme" Tímiayi Yus." Nuní aarmaiti' Tímiayi. |
| Spanish | Más bien, llevasteis el tabernáculo de Moloc y la estrella de vuestro dios Renfán, las imágenes que hicisteis para adorarlas. Por tanto, os transportaré más allá de Babilonia. |
| Swahili | Ninyi mlikibeba kibanda cha mungu Moloki, na sanamu ya nyota ya mungu wenu Refani. Sanamu mlizozifanya ndizo mlizoabudu. Kwa sababu hiyo nitakupeleka mateka mbali kupita Babuloni!` |
| Swedish | Nej, I buren Moloks tält och guden Romfas stjärna, de bilder som I hade gjort för att tillbedja. Därför skall jag låta eder föras åstad ända bortom Babylon.' |
| Uma | Mepue' -koi hi pue' to rahanga' Molokh, pai' tomi-na nikeni-keni oa' dohe-ni. Mepue' wo'o-koi hi pinotau to molence betue' Refan. Lence-lence toe-mi to nibabehi bona nipue'. Toe pai' kupelele' moto-koi mpai' ratawani, pai' rakeni hilou duu' rata hi mali ria ngata Babel.' |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "Moloch": molochs. (additional references) | |
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"Moloch" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Dolgoch, Holloch, Malich, Mallock, Melosh, Milsch, Mogok, Molech, molook, Munlochy, Oooooch. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "c-h-l-m-o-o" | |
-1 letter: cholo, mooch. | |
-2 letters: coho, cool, holm, homo, loch, loco, loom, mool. | |
-3 letters: col, coo, loo, mho, moc, mol, moo, ohm, oho, ooh. | |
-4 letters: hm, ho, lo, mo, oh, om. | |
| Words containing the letters "c-h-l-m-o-o" | |
+1 letter: molochs. | |
+2 letters: hemocoel, logomach. | |
+3 letters: hemocoels, homolytic, logomachs, logomachy, lunchroom, schoolman, schoolmen. | |
+4 letters: alcoholism, chloroform, chromophil, cohomology, homeschool, homocercal, homosocial, lunchrooms, minischool, monolithic, mythologic, polychrome, polychromy, schoolmarm, schoolmate, schoolroom, schooltime. | |
+5 letters: alcoholisms, allomorphic, bachelordom, chaulmoogra, chloroforms, chromoplast, chromosomal, chylomicron, cologarithm, halomorphic, hematologic, homeschools, homological, homonuclear, homoplastic, homothallic, logomachies, minischools, monochasial, morphologic, pleochroism, pleomorphic, polychotomy, polychromed, polychromes, polymorphic, schoolmarms, schoolmates, schoolrooms, schooltimes, trichomonal. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Usage Frequency | 9. Names: Derived from 10. Expressions 11. Expressions: Internet 12. Translations: Modern | 13. Bible Trace 14. Derivations 15. Anagrams 16. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
