Moloch: 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 (compare Acts 7:43). Solomon (1 Kings 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 (2
Kings 23:10, 13). In the days of Jehoahaz it was partially
restored, but after the Captivity wholly disappeared. He is also
called Molech (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5, etc.), Milcom (1 Kings 11:5,
33, etc.), and Malcham (Zeph. 1:5). This god became Chemosh
among the Moabites.