Deuteronomy 18:10

Hebrew Bible

8 He must eat the same share they do, despite any profits he may gain from the sale of his family’s inheritance. 9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn the abhorrent practices of those nations. 10 There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, anyone who practices divination, an omen reader, a soothsayer, a sorcerer, 11 one who casts spells, one who conjures up spirits, a practitioner of the occult, or a necromancer. 12 Whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord, and because of these detestable things the Lord your God is about to drive them out from before you.

Jeremiah 32:35

Hebrew Bible

33 They have turned away from me instead of turning to me. I tried over and over again to instruct them, but they did not listen and respond to correction. 34 They set up their disgusting idols in the temple that I have claimed for my own and defiled it. 35 They built places of worship for the god Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they could sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. Such a disgusting practice was not something I commanded them to do. It never even entered my mind to command them to do such a thing! So Judah is certainly liable for punishment.’ 36 “You and your people are right in saying, ‘War, starvation, and disease are sure to make this city fall into the hands of the king of Babylon.’ But now I, the Lord God of Israel, have something further to say about this city: 37 ‘I will certainly regather my people from all the countries where I have exiled them in my anger, fury, and great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and allow them to live here in safety.

 Notes and References

"... The divine recipients of the mlk sacrifice vary within the same cultures. In Israel mlk in Jeremiah 19:5 and 32:35 (compare 2 Kings 17:16-17) is a term for a human sacrifice intended allegedly for Baal. Psalm 106:34-38 attributes child sacrifice to Baal Peor. According to 2 Kings 17:31 the Sepharvites devoted child sacrifice to two gods, Adrammelek and Anammelek. Jeremiah 7:31; 19:5, and 32:35 deny that mlk sacrifice was offered in Yahweh’s name; these denials may suggest that offering this sacrifice in Yahweh’s name occurred (compare Leviticus 18:21; 20:3; Genesis 22) ... Isaiah 30:27-33 appears as the best evidence for the early practice of child sacrifice in Israel. According to Mosca, the image of child sacrifice in this eighth or seventh century passage serves as a way to describe Yahweh’s coming destruction of Israel. In this text there is no offense taken at the Tophet, the precinct of child sacrifice. It would appear that Jerusalemite cult included child sacrifice under Yahwistic patronage; it is this that Leviticus 20:2-5 deplores. Ezekiel 16:20, 21, 36 and 23:39 assume that child sacrifice was intended for a multiplicity of deities. The legal proscriptions against child sacrifice in the Holiness Code (Leviticus 18:21; 20:2-5) and in Deuteronomy 12:31 and 18:10 are unclear regarding the divine recipients. Leviticus 20:2-5 suggests that this sacrifice is not to take place in Yahweh’s temple, perhaps to avoid performance of it in his name ..."

Smith, Mark S. The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel (p. 168) William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.