Texts in Conversation
In Leviticus, God forbids giving children to Molek, possibly the name of a deity or a type of sacrifice. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos retains the unclear term without further explanation.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Leviticus 18:21
Hebrew Bible
20 You must not have sexual relations with the wife of your fellow citizen to become unclean with her. 21 You must not give any of your children as an offering to Molech, so that you do not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord! 22 You must not have sexual relations with a male as one has sexual relations with a woman; it is a detestable act.
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Onkelos Leviticus 18:21
Targum
20 Nor shall you have sexual relations with your neighbor's wife to defile yourself with her. 21 And you shall give none of your children to be transferred to Molek, neither shall you profane the Name of the Lord your God: I am the Lord. 22 And you shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abhorrent thing.
Date: 50–500 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Molech ... although our targumist frequently explains Scripture's metaphor “seed” as “child,” as in Genesis 9:9, he fails to do so here and in 20:3, for he does not explain every metaphor and is occasionally inconsistent. The term Molech is obscure. It (1) may be the personal name of a deity (compare 1 Kings 11:7), (2) mean “king” and be a divine title, (3) be a technical ritualistic sacrificial term for “human sacrifice”, or (4) it is a generic name for all kinds of idols (Saadiah) or the name of a specific Amorite idol (Ibn Ezra) ..."
Israel Drazin and Stanley M. Wagner, Onkelos on the Torah, Leviticus: Understanding the Bible Text (Jerusalem: Gefen, 2008), 143.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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