Human Sacrifice in Folklore and Mythology Codexery

Moloch

Biblical term linked to child sacrifice, later a cultural symbol.

Moloch is a term from the Hebrew Bible, appearing most often in Leviticus, that the Bible strongly condemns in connection with practices implying child sacrifice.[1] Since 1935, scholars have debated whether Moloch names a Canaanite god or refers to a type of sacrifice called mlk, a word found in the related Punic language.[2] The medieval period created a popular image of Moloch as a bull-headed idol with outstretched hands over a fire, combining biblical mentions with accounts of Carthaginian child sacrifice and the Minotaur legend.[3]

Quick Facts

Biblical occurrences
8 times in the Masoretic Text
Notable literary appearances
  • Paradise Lost (1667)
  • Salammbô (1862)
  • Cabiria (1914)
  • Metropolis (1927)
  • Howl (1955)

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

The word Moloch occurs eight times in the Masoretic Text of the Bible, five of which are in Leviticus.[4] The Greek Septuagint translates some instances as "their king" but keeps the name Moloch in others, including one place in Amos where the Hebrew text lacks it.[1] Before 1935, all scholars held that Moloch was a pagan deity to whom child sacrifice was offered.[5] Otto Eissfeldt proposed in 1935, based on Punic inscriptions, that Moloch was a form of sacrifice rather than a deity.[6]

The spelling "Moloch" follows the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, while "Molech" or "Molek" follows the Tiberian vocalization of Hebrew.[7] The 1914 film Cabiria features a bronze statue of Moloch, and its depiction influenced Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927).[8][9] Within the Masoretic Text, every passage that mentions Moloch condemns Israelites for their involvement with it, and the majority of these passages link Moloch to child sacrifice.[4] From the start of the modern period, "Moloch" has served as a figurative term for an authority that requires a terrible sacrifice.[10]

What the cited sources add

Ginsberg's poem also calls Moloch "whose love is endless oil and stone" and "whose soul is electricity and banks"[11] The poem ends with the line "They broke their backs lifting Moloch to Heaven".[11] The poem "Howl" contains lines that refer to Moloch as "the heavy judger of men," "the incomprehensible prison," and "the vast stone of war."[11] In the same poem, Moloch is described as having a "breast is a cannibal dynamo" and "skyscrapers stand in the long streets like endless Jehovahs."[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Moloch" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stavrakopoulou 2013, p. 134-144 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Moloch" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Day 2000, p. 209; Stavrakopoulou 2013, p. 134-144; Stavrakopoulou 2013, p. 134-144; Xella 2013, p. 265 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Moloch" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rundin 2004, p. 429-439 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Moloch" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Schmidt 2021; Stavrakopoulou 2013, p. 134-144 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Moloch" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Day 2000, p. 209; Stavrakopoulou 2013, p. 134-144; Day 2000, p. 209 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Moloch" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stavrakopoulou 2013, p. 134-144; Xella 2013, p. 265; Holm 2005, p. 7134; Xella 2013, p. 265; Reynolds 2007, p. 144-145 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Moloch" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dewrell 2017, p. 127-128 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Moloch" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dorgerloh 2013, p. 231–232; Soltes 2021; Dorgerloh 2013, p. 231–232 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Moloch" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dorgerloh 2013, p. 231–232 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Moloch" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Boysen Ruwe 2021 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. "A Marxist reading of Howl", May 22, 2012. facts only, no text reused. poetryfoundation.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Moloch (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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