Moloch

(Redirected from Malcham)

Meaning: king

The name of the national god of the Ammonites, to whom children were sacrificed by fire. He was the consuming and destroying and also at the same time the purifying fire. In Amos 5:26, "your Moloch" of the Authorized Version is "your king" in the Revised Version (comp. Acts 7:43). Solomon (1 Kg 11:7) erected a high place for this idol on the Mount of Olives, and from that time till the days of Josiah his worship continued (2Kg 23:10ff). In the days of Jehoahaz it was partially restored, but after the Captivity wholly disappeared. He is also called Molech (Lev 18:21; Lev 20:2ff, etc.), Milcom (1 Kg 11:5, 1 Kg 11:33, etc.), and Malcham (Zeph 1:5). This god became Chemosh among the Moabites.