“Moreover, you shall tell the children of Israel, ‘Anyone of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners in Israel, who gives any of his offspring to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone that person with stones. I also will set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given of his offspring to Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. If the people of the land all hide their eyes from that person when he gives of his offspring to Molech, and don’t put him to death, then I will set my face against that man and against his family, and will cut him off, and all who play the prostitute after him to play the prostitute with Molech, from among their people.
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Leviticus 20:2-5 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Moreover, you shall tell the children of Israel, ‘Anyone of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners in Israel, who gives any of his offspring to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone that person with stones. I also will set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given of his offspring to Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. If the people of the land all hide their eyes from that person when he gives of his offspring to Molech, and don’t put him to death, then I will set my face against that man and against his family, and will cut him off, and all who play the prostitute after him to play the prostitute with Molech, from among their people.
Parallel Translations
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“Moreover, you shall tell the children of Israel, ‘Anyone of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners in Israel, who gives any of his offspring to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone that person with stones.
I also will set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given of his offspring to Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
If the people of the land all hide their eyes from that person when he gives of his offspring to Molech, and don’t put him to death,
then I will set my face against that man and against his family, and will cut him off, and all who play the prostitute after him to play the prostitute with Molech, from among their people.
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Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:
Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
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Moreover, thou shalt say to the children of Israel: Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
I also will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people, because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile My sanctuary, and to profane My holy name.
And if the people of the land do at all hide their eyes from that man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and put him not to death;
then I will set My face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go astray after him, to go astray after Molech, from among their people.
Cross-references (53)
- Leviticus 18:21 (vv2–3) “ ‘You shall not give any of your children as a sacrifice to Molech. You shall not profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.
- Deuteronomy 17:2-5 (v4) If there is found among you, within any of your gates which Yahweh your God gives you, a man or woman who does that which is evil in Yahweh…
- Psalms 106:39 (v5) Thus they were defiled with their works, and prostituted themselves in their deeds.
- Leviticus 17:10 (vv3, 5) “ ‘Any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who eats any kind of blood, I will set my face…
- Exodus 20:5 (v5) you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on…
Show all 51 cross-references
- Leviticus 17:7 (v5) They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat idols, after which they play the prostitute. This shall be a statute forever to…
- Leviticus 20:27 (v2) “ ‘A man or a woman that is a medium or is a wizard shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones. Their blood shall be…
- Leviticus 24:14 (v2) “Bring him who cursed out of the camp; and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
- Leviticus 24:23 (v2) Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they brought him who had cursed out of the camp, and stoned him with stones. The children of…
- Deuteronomy 21:21 (v2) All the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall remove the evil from among you. All Israel shall hear, and fear.
- Jeremiah 3:2 (v5) “Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see! Where have you not been lain with? You have sat waiting for them by the road, as an…
- Jeremiah 32:39 (v5) I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their good, and the good of their children after them.
- Ezekiel 5:11 (v3) Therefore as I live,’ says the Lord Yahweh, ‘surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things, and with all…
- Ezekiel 23:38-39 (v3) Moreover this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my Sabbaths. For when they had slain…
- Hosea 2:5 (v5) For their mother has played the prostitute. She who conceived them has done shamefully; for she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give…
- Hosea 2:13 (v5) I will visit on her the days of the Baals, to which she burned incense, when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went…
- Acts 17:30 (v4) The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent,
- Leviticus 15:31 (v3) “ ‘Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, so they will not die in their uncleanness when they defile my…
- Leviticus 17:8 (v2) “You shall say to them, ‘Any man there is of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who offers a burnt…
- Leviticus 17:13 (v2) “ ‘Whatever man there is of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who takes in hunting any animal…
- Leviticus 17:15 (v2) “ ‘Every person that eats what dies of itself, or that which is torn by animals, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, shall wash his…
- Numbers 15:35-36 (v2) Yahweh said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him with stones outside of the camp.” All the…
- Numbers 19:20 (v3) But the man who shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled…
- Deuteronomy 12:31 (v2) You shall not do so to Yahweh your God; for every abomination to Yahweh, which he hates, they have done to their gods; for they even burn…
- Deuteronomy 13:8 (v4) you shall not consent to him nor listen to him; neither shall your eye pity him, neither shall you spare, neither shall you conceal him;
- Deuteronomy 13:10-11 (v2) You shall stone him to death with stones, because he has sought to draw you away from Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of…
- Deuteronomy 17:5-7 (v2) then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil thing to your gates, even that same man or woman; and you shall…
- Deuteronomy 18:10 (v2) There shall not be found with you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who tells…
- Joshua 7:12 (v4) Therefore the children of Israel can’t stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become…
- 1 Samuel 3:13-14 (v4) For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and…
- 1 Kings 20:42 (v4) He said to him, “Yahweh says, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life will…
- 2 Kings 17:17 (v2) They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which…
- 2 Kings 23:10 (v2) He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the…
- 2 Chronicles 28:3 (v2) Moreover he burned incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the…
- 2 Chronicles 33:6 (v2) He also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft,…
- Psalms 106:38 (v2) They shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan. The land was…
- Isaiah 57:5-6 (v2) you who inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every green tree; who kill the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?…
- Jeremiah 7:31 (v2) They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the…
- Jeremiah 32:28-35 (v5) Therefore Yahweh says: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,…
- Jeremiah 32:35 (v2) They built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through…
- Ezekiel 16:20-21 (v2) “ ‘ “Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you have borne to me, and you have sacrificed these to them to be devoured.…
- Ezekiel 20:26 (v2) I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused all that opens the womb to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate,…
- Ezekiel 20:31 (v2) When you offer your gifts, when you make your sons pass through the fire, do you pollute yourselves with all your idols to this day? Should…
- Ezekiel 20:39 (v3) “ ‘As for you, house of Israel, the Lord Yahweh says: “Go, everyone serve his idols, and hereafter also, if you will not listen to me; but…
- Ezekiel 23:37 (v2) For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have also caused their…
- Ezekiel 23:39 (v2) For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and behold, they have…
- Acts 7:43 (v2) You took up the tabernacle of Moloch, the star of your god Rephan, the figures which you made to worship. I will carry you away beyond…
- Acts 7:58-59 (v2) They threw him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. They stoned…
- 2 Corinthians 6:16 (v3) What agreement does a temple of God have with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, “I will dwell in them and…
- 1 Peter 3:12 (v3) For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears open to their prayer; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
- Revelation 2:14 (v4) But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to throw a stumbling…
51 distinct cross-references across this passage (53 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (17 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv2–4 By Molech he meaneth any kind of idol, Lev.…
By Molech he meaneth any kind of idol, Lev. 18:21.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–5 Lev 20:2 Again, thou shalt say to the children…
Lev 20:2 Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever [he be] of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth [any] of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
Ver. 2. That giveth any of his seed unto Moloch.] {See Trapp on "Lev 18:21"} Lactantius reports out of "Pescennius Festus," that the Carthaginians being overcome by Agathocles king of Sicily, and fearing lest their slackness in the service of Saturn - who is thought to be the same with Moloch - was the cause, offered unto him for a sacrifice no fewer than four hundred young gentlemen at once.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2–5 Here follow the punishments of the crimes forbidden in…
Here follow the punishments of the crimes forbidden in the former chapters.
The strangers; not only such as were proselytes, but all others, these being gross immoralities, and such as the precepts of Noah reached to, and such as the laws of nature and nations obliged them to. And therefore the toleration of such actions was not only against reason of state, and the interest of the commonwealth of Israel, and dangerous to the infection and destruction of the Israelites by the imitation of such examples, but also against the light of nature and laws of humanity.
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Unto Molech, or to any other idol; for the reason of the law equally concerns all. See Lev 18:21.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–5 Again thou shalt say to the children of Israel,....…
Again thou shalt say to the children of Israel,.... The body of the people by their elders, and the heads of their tribes; for the following laws were binding on them all:
whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel; everyone of the people of Israel, of whatsoever age, sex, or condition of life: and not they only, but the strangers and proselytes; and not the proselytes of righteousness only, but the proselytes of the gate, who, as well as the others, were to shun idolatry, and other impieties and immoralities after mentioned:
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that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; which Aben Ezra interprets of lying with an idolatrous woman, or a worshipper of Molech, the abomination or idol of the Ammonites, Kg1 11:7; of which see Lev 18:21; but more than that is here intended, or even than causing their seed or offspring to pass through the fire to Molech, as in the place referred to; more is meant by it than a lustration of them, or a dedicating them to Molech, by delivering them to his priests to lead them between two fires for that purpose, but even the sacrificing of them to him; and so the Targum of Jonathan seems to understand it, which is,"that makes (or sacrifices) of his seed Molech to be burnt in the fire:''for that the Phoenicians or Canaanites, whose customs the Israelites were in danger of imitating, and therefore cautioned against, did sacrifice human creatures, and these the dearest to them, even their beloved and only begotten children, to Saturn, is certain, as Porphyry (y) and Eusebius (z) affirm, or to Hercules, as Pliny (a), and both the same with Molech, or the sun:
he shall surely be put to death; by the hand of the civil magistrate, which death was to be by stoning, as follows:
the people of the land shall stone him with stones: that is, the people of the house of Israel, as both the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; such as lived in that part of the country where the idolater lived, and where he committed the sin, or was condemned for it; of the manner of stoning; see Gill on Act 7:58.
(y) De Abstinent. l. 2. c. 56. (z) De laudibus Constantin. c. 13. p. 646. Vid. Suidam in voce (a) Nat. Hist. l. 36. c. 5.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv2–4 The people - Here follow the punishments of the…
The people - Here follow the punishments of the crimes forbidden in the former chapters.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v2 Verse 2. That giveth any of his seed unto…
Verse 2. That giveth any of his seed unto Molech] To what has been said in the note on Le 18:21, we may add, that the rabbins describe this idol, who was probably a representative or emblematical personification of the solar influence, as made of brass, in the form of a man, with the head of an ox; that a fire was kindled in the inside, and the child to be sacrificed to him was put in his arms, and roasted to death. Others say that the idol, which was hollow, was divided into seven compartments within; in one of which they put flour, in the second turtle-doves, in the third a ewe, in the fourth a ram, in the fifth a calf, in the sixth an ox, and in the seventh a child, which, by heating the statue on the outside, were all burnt alive together. I question the whole truth of these statements, whether from Jewish or Christian rabbins. There is no evidence of all this in the sacred writings. And there is but presumptive proof, and that not very strong, that human sacrifices were at all offered to Molech by the Jews. The passing through the fire, so frequently spoken of, might mean no more than a simple rite of consecration to the service of this idol. Probably a kind of ordeal was meant, the persons passing suddenly through the flame of a large fire, by which, though they might be burnt or scorched, yet they were neither killed nor consumed. Or they might have passed between two large fires, as a sort of purification. See Clarke on Le 20:14; and "Le 18:21".
Caesar, in his history of the Gallic war, lib. vi., c. 16, mentions a custom of the Druids similar to this. They made an image of wickerwork, inclosed those in it whom they had adjudged to death, and, setting the whole on fire, all were consumed together.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Lev 20:2. The people — Here follow the punishments…
Lev 20:2. The people — Here follow the punishments of the crimes forbidden in the former chapters.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v2 Molech, literally, “the King”, called also Moloch, Milcom, and…
Molech, literally, “the King”, called also Moloch, Milcom, and Malcham, was known in later times as “the abomination of the Ammonites” 1Ki 11:5. He appears to have been the fire-god of the eastern nations; related to, and sometimes made identical with, Baal, the sun-god. The nature of the rite and of the impious custom called passing children through the fire to Molech is very doubtful. The practices appear to have been essentially connected with magical arts, probably also with unlawful lusts, and with some particular form of profane swearing. The rite in the time of Moses belonged to the region rather of magic than of definite idolatrous worship, and may have been practiced as a lustral charm, or fire-baptism, for the children of incest and adultery.
Lev 20:2
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Stone him with stones - The commonest form of capital punishment. It was probably preferred as being the one in which the execution was the act of the whole congregation.
Lev 20:3
Defile my sanctuary - i. e. pollute the people as identified with their sanctuary.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Moloch. See chap. xviii. 21.
Moloch. See chap. xviii. 21.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v4 If the people of the land do any ways…
If the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, &c.--that is, connive at their countrymen practising the horrid rites of Molech. Awful was it that any Hebrew parents could so violate their national covenant, and no wonder that God denounced the severest penalties against them and their families.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv2–4 2. Molech — See Lev_18:21.
2. Molech — See Lev_18:21.
Or of the strangers — So cruel were the rites accompanying the worship of this idol that the pagans resident among the Israelites were forbidden to practise it, through mercy to the innocent victims and to keep the Hebrews from becoming insensible through familiarity with this horrid practice.
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Shall stone him — Stoning was the ordinary method of capital punishment. It was practised in Egypt, Exo_8:26, and was in vogue among the Jews in the time of Christ.
Act_7:58. The criminal was placed on a rock or platform about twelve feet high, stripped naked, except the loins. The witnesses laid aside their outer garments, then pushed the criminal off the scaffold backwards, and then dashed a great stone upon his breast, if he was not killed by the fall, and all the people threw stones till he died.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 2. Moreover] This introduction shews that the words that…
2. Moreover] This introduction shews that the words that follow do not stand in their original context, but are an extract from a body of laws.
Lev_20:2-3 appear to be inconsistent. In 2 the offender is to be stoned by the people, in 3 he is to be cut off by some kind of divine visitation. Probably we may trace here the juxtaposition of two sources, while for the sake of harmonizing them Lev_20:4-5 were added.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–5 (2) Again, thou shalt say.—Better, And thou shalt say.
(2) Again, thou shalt say.—Better, And thou shalt say.
Whosoever he be.—Better, What man soever there be, as the Authorised Version renders this phrase in Lev_17:3. (See Note on Lev_17:8.)
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That giveth any of his seed unto Molech.—It will be seen that whilst in Lev_18:21 the law about Molech worship follows the laws of incest, the reverse is the case here, where it precedes those laws.
The people of the land.—That is, the whole community (see Lev_4:27), who have selected the judges, and in whose name sentence is passed by the judges, are bound to execute the sentence.
Shall stone him with stones.—Lapidation was the first and the severest mode of capital punishment among the Hebrews, the three others being burning, beheading, and strangling. The Jewish canonists have tabulated the following eighteen cases in which death by stoning was inflicted: (1) of a man who has commerce with his own mother (chap 20:11); (2) or with his father’s wife (Lev_20:12); (3) or with his daughter-in-law (Lev_20:12); (4) or with a betrothed maiden (Deu_22:23-24); (5) or with a male (Lev_20:13); (6) or with a beast (Lev_20:15); (7) of a woman who was guilty of lying with a beast (Lev_20:16); (8) the blasphemer (Lev_24:10-16); (9) the worshipper of idols (Deu_17:2-5); (10) the one who gives his seed to Molech (Lev_20:2); (11) the necromancer; (12) the wizard (Lev_20:27); (13) the false prophet (Deu_13:6); (14) the enticer to idolatry (Deu_13:11); (15) the witch (Lev_20:17); (16) the profaner of the Sabbath (Num_15:32-36); (17) he that curses his parent (Lev_20:9); and (18) the rebellious son (Deu_21:18-21). As the Mosaic legislation only directs that the lapidation is to take place without the precincts of the city (Lev_24:14; Num_15:36), and that the witnesses upon whose evidence the criminal has been sentenced to death are to throw the first stone (Deu_17:7), the administrators of the law during the second Temple decreed the following mode of carrying out the sentence. On his way from the court of justice to the place of execution a herald preceded the criminal, exclaiming, “So-and-so is being led out to be stoned for this and this crime, and so-and-so are the witnesses; if any one has to say anything that might save him, let him come forward and say it.” Within ten yards of the place of execution he was publicly admonished to confess his sins, within four yards he was stripped naked except a slight covering about his loins. After his hands had been bound, he was led upon a scaffolding about twice the height of a man. Here wine mingled with myrrh was mercifully given him to dull the pain of execution, and from here one of the witnesses pushed him down with great violence so that he fell upon his back. If the fall did not kill him, the other witness dashed a great stone on his breast, and if this did not kill him, all the people that stood by covered him with stones. The corpse was then nailed to the cross, and afterwards burnt. Hereupon the relatives visited both the judges and the witnesses to show that they bore no hatred towards them, and that the sentence was just. Not unfrequently, however, the excited multitude resorted to lapidation when they wished to inflict summary justice. This description will explain why the Jews said to Christ that the woman had to be stoned, and why He replied to her accusers that he who is without sin should cast the first stone (Joh_8:5; Joh_8:7); why the Jews wanted to stone Christ when they thought He was blaspheming (Joh_10:31), and why they offered Him wine mingled with myrrh before his crucifixion (Mat_27:34; Mat_27:38; Mar_15:23).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 Vers. 2, 3. The close connection between giving of…
Vers. 2, 3. The close connection between giving of his seed unto Molech and defiling my sanctuary, and profaning my holy name, is explained and illustrated by Ezekiel in the judgment on Aholah and Aholibah. "They have caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them. Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths. For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house". (Eze_23:37-39) Not only was the juxtaposition and combination of the worship of Molech and Jehovah an offense to him whose name is Jealous, but at the time that Molech-worship was carried on in the valley of Hinnom, idols were set up in the court of the temple itself, as we learn from the Book of Kings and from Jeremiah. "But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my Name, to defile it. And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which! commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin". (Jer_32:34, Jer_32:35) And of Manasseh it is related, "He built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem will I put my Name. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he made his son pass through the fire". (2Ki_21:4-6)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v2 He shall surely be put to death.
Lev_20:2-27
He shall surely be put to death.
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Penal sanctions
This chapter, directly or indirectly, casts no little light on some most fundamental and practical questions regarding the administration of justice in dealing with criminals. We may learn here what, in the mind of the King of kings, is the primary object of the punishment of criminals against society. First and foremost is the satisfaction of outraged justice, and of the regal majesty of the supreme and holy God; the vindication of the holiness of the Most High against that wickedness of men which would set at nought the Holy One and overturn that moral order which He has established. Again and again the crime itself is given as the reason for the penalty, inasmuch as by such iniquity in the midst of Israel the holy sanctuary of God among them was profaned. But if this is set forth as the fundamental reason for the infliction of the punishment, it is not represented as the only object. If, as regards the criminal himself, the punishment is a satisfaction and expiation to justice for his crime, on the other hand, as regards the people, the punishment is intended for their moral good and purification (see Lev_20:14). Both of these principles are of such a nature that they must be of perpetual validity. The government or legislative power that loses sight of either of them is certain to go wrong, and the people will be sure, sooner or later, to suffer in morals by the error. In the light we have now, it is easy to see what are the principles according to which, in various cases, the punishments were measured out. Evidently, in the first place, the penalty was determined, even as equity demands, by the intrinsic heinousness of the crime. A second consideration, which evidently had place, was the danger involved in each crime to the moral and spiritual well-being of the community; and, we may add, in the third place, the degree to which the people were likely to be exposed to the contagion of certain crimes prevalent in the nations immediately about them. As regards the crimes specified, the criminal law of modern Christendom does not inflict the penalty of death in a single possible case here mentioned; and, to the mind of many, the contrasted severity of the Mosaic code presents a grave difficulty. And yet, if one believes, on the authority of the teaching of Christ, that the theocratic government of Israel is not a fable, but a historic fact, although he may still have much difficulty in recognising the righteousness of this code, he will be slow on this account either to renounce his faith in the Divine authority of this chapter or to impugn the justice of the holy King of Israel in charging Him with undue severity, and will rather patiently await some other solution of the problem than the denial of the essential equity of these laws. But there are several considerations which, for many, will greatly lessen, if they do not wholly remove, the difficulty which the case presents. In the first place, as regards the punishment of idolatry with death, we have to remember that, from a theocratic point of view, idolatry was essentially high treason, the most formal repudiation possible of the supreme authority of Israels King. If, even in our modern states, the gravity of the issues involved in high treason has led men to believe that death is not too severe a penalty for an offence aimed directly at the subversion of governmental order, how much more must this be admitted when the government is not of fallible man, but of the most holy and infallible God? And when, besides this, we recall the atrocious cruelties and revolting impurities which were inseparably associated with that idolatry, we shall have still less difficulty in seeing that it was just that the worshipper of Molech should die. And as decreeing the penalty of death for sorcery and similar practices, it is probable that the reason for this is to be found in the close connection of these with the prevailing idolatry. But it is in regard to crimes against the integrity and purity of the family that we find the most impressive contrast between this penal code and those of modern times. Although, unhappily, adultery and, less commonly, incest, and even, rarely, the unnatural crimes mentioned in this chapter, are not unknown in modern Christendom, yet, while the law of Moses punished all these with death, modern law treats them with comparative leniency, or even refuses to regard some forms of these offences as crimes. What then? Shall we hasten to the conclusion that we have advanced on Moses? that this law was certainly unjust in its severity? or is it possible that modern law is at fault in that it has fallen below those standards of righteousness which rule in the kingdom of God? One would think that by any man who believes in the Divine origin of the theocracy only one answer could be given. Assuredly, one cannot suppose that God judged of a crime with undue severity; and if not, is not then Christendom, as it were, summoned by this penal code of the theocracy--after making all due allowance for different conditions of society into revise its estimate of the moral gravity of these and other offences? We do well to heed this fact, that not merely unnatural crimes, such as sodomy, bestiality, and the grosser forms of incest, but adultery, is by God ranked in the same category as murder. Is it strange? For what are crimes of this kind but assaults on the very being of the family? Where there is incest or adultery we may truly say the family is murdered; what murder is to the individual, that, precisely, are crimes of this class to the family. In the theocratic code these were, therefore, made punishable with death; and, we venture to believe, with abundant reason. Is it likely that God was too severe? or must we not rather fear that man, ever lenient to prevailing sins, in our day has become falsely and unmercifully merciful, kind with a most perilous and unholy kindness? Still harder will it be for most of us to understand why the death-penalty should have been also affixed to cursing or smiting a father or a mother, an extreme form of rebellion against parental authority. We must, no doubt, bear in mind, as in all these cases, that a rough people, like those just emancipated slaves, required a severity of dealing which with finer natures would not be needed; and also, that the fact of Israels call to be a priestly nation bearing salvation to mankind, made every disobedience among them the graver crime, as tending to so disastrous issues, not for Israel alone, but for the whole race of man which Israel was appointed to bless. On an analogous principle we justify military authority in shooting the sentry found asleep at his post. Still, while allowing for all this, one can hardly escape the inference that in the sight of God rebellion against parents must be a more serious offence than many in our time have been wont to imagine. And the more that we consider how truly basal to the order of government and of society is both sexual purity and the maintenance of a spirit of reverence and subordination to parents, the easier we shall find it to recognise the fact that if in this penal code there is doubtless great severity, it is yet the severity of governmental wisdom and true paternal kindness on the part of the high King of Israel, who governed that nation with intent, above all, that they might become, in the highest sense, a holy nation in the midst of an ungodly world, and so become the vehicle of blessing to others. And God thus judged that it was better that sinning individuals should die without mercy than that family government and family purity should perish, and Israel, instead of being a blessing to the nations, should sink with them into the mire of universal moral corruption. And it is well to observe that this law, if severe, was most equitable and impartial in its application. We have here, in no instance, torture; the scourging which in one case is enjoined is limited elsewhere to the forty stripes save one. Neither have we discrimination against any class or either sex; nothing like that detestable injustice of modern society which turns the fallen woman into the street with pious scorn, while it often receives the betrayer and even the adulterer--in most cases the more guilty of the two--into the best society. Nothing have we here, again, which could justify by example the insistence of many, through a perverted humanity, when a murderess is sentenced for her crime to the scaffold, her sex should purchase a partial immunity from the penalty of crime. The Levitical law is as impartial as its Author; even if death be the penalty the guilty one must die, whether man or woman. (S. H. Kellogg, D. D.)
Stone him with stones.
Lapidation
Lapidation, as is well known, was frequently resorted to by excited mobs for the exercise of summary justice or revenge. But as a legal punishment it was not usual in the ancient world; it is only mentioned as a Macedonian and a Spanish custom, and as having been occasionally employed by the Romans. Among the Hebrews, however, it was very common; it was counted as the first and severest of the four modes of inflicting capital punishment--the three others being burning, beheading, and strangling--and it was in the Pentateuch ordained for a variety of offences, especially those associated with idolatry and incest; in certain cases it was even inflicted upon animals; and its application was by the Rabbins considerably extended. As regards the proceedings observed, the Bible contains no hints except the statements that it took place without the precincts of the town, and that the men by whose testimony the criminal had been convicted were obliged to throw the first stones. But the Mishnah gives the following account, some features of which are possibly of remoter antiquity: When the offender is being led away to the place of execution, an official remains at the door of the law-court, while a man on horseback is stationed at some distance, but so that the former can see him wave a handkerchief, which he does when any one comes declaring that he has something to say in favour of the condemned; in this case the horseman at once hastens to stop the procession; if the convicted himself maintains that he can offer proofs of his innocence or extenuating circumstances, he is taken back before the tribunals; and this may be repeated four or five times, if there appears to be the least foundation for his assertions. A herald precedes him all the while, exclaiming, So-and-so is being led out to be stoned to death for this and this offence, and so-and-so are the witnesses; whosoever has to say anything that might save him let him come forward and say it. Having arrived about ten yards from the appointed spot, he is publicly called upon to confess his sins; for whosoever confesses his sins has a share in the future life; if he is too illiterate to confess, he is ordered to say, Let my death be the expiation for all my sins. At four yards from the place he is partially stripped of his garments. When the procession has at last reached its destination, he is conducted upon a scaffolding, the height of which is that of two men, and after drinking wine mingled with myrrh, to render him less sensible to pain, he is by one of the witnesses pushed down, so that he falls upon his back; if he is not killed by the fall the other witness throws a stone upon his breast; and if he is still alive all the people present cover him with stones. When the corpse, which is usually nailed to the cross, is in a state of decomposition, the bones are collected and burnt in a separate place; then his relatives pay visits to the judges and the witnesses, in order to prove that they bear them no hatred, and that they acknowledge the justice of the sentence; and they must show their grief by no external mark of mourning. (M. M. Kalisch, Ph. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v3 I also will set my face against that man
I also will set my face against that man
This idiom means he "firmly decided." AT: "I have made up my mind to oppose that man" (See: Idiom)
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will set my face against
"will stare angrily at"
he has given his child
"he has sacrificed his child"
so as to defile my holy place and profane my holy name
"and by doing that, he has defiled my holy place and profaned my holy name"
profane my holy name
God's name represents God and his reputation. AT: "dishonor my reputation" or "dishonor me" (See: Metonymy and Metaphor)
close their eyes to
The phrase "to close their eyes" implies they "cannot see." This speaks of ignoring something as not seeing. AT: "disregard" or "ignore" (See: Metonymy)
who prostitutes himself in order to play the harlot with Molech
This phrase compares those who are unfaithful to Yahweh to prostitutes. AT: "who is unfaithful to Yahweh" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
face
cut off
people group
Molech
defile
holy place
profane
holy
name
die
clan
prostitute
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v2 20:2 Stoning was the conventional means of enforcing capital…
20:2 Stoning was the conventional means of enforcing capital punishment (see also 20:27; 24:14, 16, 23; Exod 19:13; Num 15:35-36; Deut 17:2-7; Josh 7:25-26; John 8:1-11).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.