Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TOPHETH

(Heb. tōpeṯ)

A location in the Hinnom Valley in Jerusalem where children were burned in sacrifice to Molech (2 Kgs. 23:10). Jeremiah condemns the site and proclaims that one day it will become a mass grave where the slain inhabitants of Jerusalem will be buried (Jer. 7:32; 19:4-14). In the late 7th century the place was destroyed as part of Josiah’s reform program (2 Kgs. 23:10). A variant reading in Isa. 30:33 refers to the immolation of the king of Assyria (Heb. topteh, “burning place”).

The etymology of the word is uncertain, although most scholars assume that it derives from Aram. tēpaṯ (“fireplace,” “hearth”) pointed with the consonants of Heb. bōšeṯ (“shame”). This may represent a homonym with Heb. tōpeṯ, “spitting” (Job 17:6), introduced by the Masoretes. Another suggestion is an original Egyptian form meaning “city of Ptah.”

The exact location of Topheth is as yet unknown, but it was likely at the lower end of the Hinnom Valley close to the southern tip of the City of David.

Bibliography. G. C. Heider, The Cult of Molek. JSOTSup 43 (Sheffield, 1985), 347-65, 383-408.

Brian P. Irwin

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TOPHETH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)