Moloch

Jewish imagined drawing of Moloch's altar

Moloch was a false god worshipped by the Canaanites who was associated with child sacrifice, where children were offered through fire, a practice strictly condemned in the Bible (Leviticus 18:21). In Jeremiah 32:35, God rebukes the Israelites for building high places to Moloch in the Valley of Hinnom and sacrificing their children, something he declares he "did not command, nor did it enter his mind."

King Josiah is noted for destroying the places where Moloch was worshipped as part of his religious reforms to purge idolatry and barbarous practices from the Kingdom of Judah. These sacrifices were seen as an affront to God, who had repeatedly warned Israel not to adopt the detestable practices of the surrounding nations (Deuteronomy 12:31).

Moloch was often depicted as a large, menacing figure, sometimes portrayed with a bull's head, symbolizing strength and power. He was one of the many gods worshipped by the Canaanites and other neighbouring cultures, representing fertility, the underworld, and appeasement through offerings. His worship was part of a broader pantheon of deities that the Israelites were repeatedly warned against in the scriptures, alongside the false god Baal.