Ancient Near Eastern Pagans May Have Practiced Child Sacrifice

In 1956, Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” ensured that the demonic figure of Moloch would be known even to those who are not careful readers of the Hebrew Bible. Generally assumed to be a Canaanite deity, Molech (as the name is spelled in Jewish Bibles) is mentioned in the book of Leviticus, which states, “thou shalt not give any of thy seed to set them apart to Molech.” The Tanakh elsewhere refers to the same pagan ritual as “passing one’s son or daughter through a fire.” Both rabbinic commentators and modern scholars debate whether this is a reference to literal child sacrifice or symbolically passing a child over a flame.