Biblical Accounts of Child Sacrifice to Evil Gods
The biblical accounts of child sacrifice to evil gods are scattered throughout the Old Testament, with references in various books including Leviticus, Deuteronomy, 2 Kings, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah. The practice involved offering children to deities such as Molech and Baal, often through fire [2, 5, 8].
Biblical Prohibitions
The Israelites were strictly forbidden from engaging in child sacrifice. Leviticus 18:21 and 20:2-5 explicitly condemn the practice, with Leviticus 20:2-5 prescribing the death penalty for those who give their children to Molech. Deuteronomy 18:10 also lists child sacrifice among the detestable practices of the Canaanites that the Israelites were not to imitate [6].
Historical Context
Child sacrifice was a known practice among the surrounding nations, particularly in the worship of Molech and Chemosh. The biblical accounts suggest that Israel sometimes participated in this practice, despite the prohibitions. Ezekiel 16:20-22 and 23:37-39 are notable examples, where the prophet condemns Jerusalem for sacrificing her sons and daughters to idols [2, 3].
Consequences and Condemnation
The biblical texts not only prohibit child sacrifice but also recount instances where it occurred and the consequences that followed. 2 Kings 17:16-17 and 21:6 describe how the Israelites, including King Manasseh, engaged in child sacrifice, leading to God's judgment. Jeremiah 19:5 also mentions the practice in connection with the worship of Baal [6, 8].
Patristic Interpretation
Early Christian interpreters, such as Athanasius of Alexandria, condemned the practice of child sacrifice as absurd and irreligious. Athanasius noted the prevalence of human sacrifice among pagans and argued that it was a perversion, as the victims were often seen as representations of the gods being worshiped [4].
Theological Significance
The biblical condemnation of child sacrifice highlights the theological significance of the value of human life. The practice is presented as a grave sin, contrary to the worship of the true God. The biblical texts emphasize that God values human life and that sacrifice, when practiced, should be according to God's ordained rules and not involve human beings [1].
The biblical accounts of child sacrifice serve as a stark reminder of the religious practices that were contrary to the worship of Yahweh. The consistent condemnation of the practice throughout the biblical texts underscores the importance of adhering to God's laws and the value placed on human life. The historical context and the theological significance of these accounts continue to inform Christian thought on the sanctity of human life [5, 7].
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Sacrifice — The offering up of sacrifices is to be regarded as a divine institution. It did not originate with man. God himself appointed it as the mode in which acceptable worship was to be offered to him by guilty man. The language and the idea of sacrifice pervade the whole Bible. Sacrifices were offered in the ante-diluvian age. The Lord clothed Adam and Eve with the skins of animals, which in all probability had been offered in sacrifice (Gen. 3:21). Abel offered a sacrifice "of the firstlings of his flock" (4:4; Heb. 11:4). A distinction also was made between c”
- Ezekiel (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Ezekiel 16:20: 16:20-22 Jerusalem even gave her sons and daughters as sacrifices to false gods. Child sacrifice was practiced among the nations around Israel as a sign of total commitment to a deity, especially in the worship of the gods Molech and Chemosh (see Deut 12:31; 2 Kgs 3:27). Israel sometimes participated in this detestable sin.”
- Ezek (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Ezek 16:20: 16:20-22 Jerusalem even gave her sons and daughters as sacrifices to false gods. Child sacrifice was practiced among the nations around Israel as a sign of total commitment to a deity, especially in the worship of the gods Molech and Chemosh (see Deut 12:31; 2 Kgs 3:27). Israel sometimes participated in this detestable sin.”
- CCEL (Patristic) “Athanasius of Alexandria, Select Works and Letters, section 70: §25. Human sacrifice. Its absurdity. Its prevalence. Its calamitous results. But some have been led by this time to such a pitch of irreligion and folly as to slay and to offer in sacrifice to their false gods even actual men, whose figures and forms the gods are. Nor do they see, wretched men, that the victims they are slaying are the patterns of the gods they make and worship, and to whom they are offering the men. For they are offering, one may say, equals to equals, or rather, the higher to the lower; for they are offering liv”
- Leviticus (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Leviticus 20:1: Moses is here directed to say that again to the children of Israel which he had in effect said before, Lev 20:2. We are sure it was no vain repetition, but very necessary, that they might give the more earnest heed to the things that were spoken, and might believe them to be of great consequence, being so often inculcated. God speaketh once, yea, twice, and what he orders to be said again we must be willing to hear again, because for us it is safe, Phi 3:1. I. Three sins are in these verses threatened with death: - 1. Parents abusing their children, by sacrifi”
- Deuteronomy (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Deuteronomy 18:10: 18:10 never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering: Some Canaanite religions included child sacrifice to appease their gods. Israel was strictly warned never to engage in this practice (Exod 34:15-16; Lev 18:21; 20:2-5). When they did, it aroused God’s judgment (2 Kgs 17:16-17; 21:6; Ezek 23:37). • fortune-telling: Throughout the ancient Near East, diviners were considered experts at reading and interpreting omens. Divination was commonly done through extispicy, the examination of livers, kidneys, and other internal organs of various animals. • s”
- Exodus (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Exodus 13:13: 13:13 A firstborn son had to be bought back, or redeemed. He could not be sacrificed to the Lord, as child sacrifice is condemned throughout Scripture (see Lev 18:21; 20:2; Ezek 23:37-39).”
- Jeremiah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Jeremiah 19:5: They have also built the high places of Baal,.... Or, they have even built, &c. and so the words explain what is before suggested of their idolatry; these were the temples in which they placed his image, and the altars on which they sacrificed to him; as follows: to burn their sons with fire, for burnt offerings unto Baal; the same idol that is sometimes called Moloch, the names being much of the same signification; the one signifying a "lord" or "master"; the other a king; and to the idol under each name they burned their children with fire, and offered them as b”