Tophet

Biblical Text

Tophet was a site south of Jerusalem in the Valley of Hinnom. In the Old Testament it appears chiefly as a place where children were burned as offerings to idols.

• 2 Kings 23:10: During his religious reforms, King Josiah "defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom." The text records that he did this so "that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech."
• Jeremiah 7:31–32: The prophet charges that the people of Judah built "the high places of Tophet" there and burned their children. He prophesies that as a result the place will be called "the valley of slaughter," and that for lack of burial space the dead will be buried in Tophet.
• Jeremiah 19: Jeremiah performs a symbolic act in the Valley of Hinnom by breaking an earthen jar and proclaims that Jerusalem will be made "as Tophet." Jeremiah 19:5 also describes the same sacrifices as burnt offerings to Baal.
• Isaiah 30:33: Speaking of judgment on Assyria, the prophet describes Tophet as prepared for the king, made "deep and large," and kindled by "the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone."

Background

2 Kings 16:3 and 21:6 record that the Judahite kings Ahaz and Manasseh made their sons "pass through the fire." Second Chronicles 28:3 and 33:6 identify the location as the Valley of Hinnom. On the basis of these records, the sacrifices at Tophet are understood as a form of idolatry that flourished in the later period of the Kingdom of Judah.

The meaning of the name "Tophet" is uncertain. Some scholars hold that it derives from a word meaning "hearth" or "fireplace." Others propose that the vowels of the Hebrew word for "shame" were applied to the original name, turning it into a term of contempt. Archaeologists today borrow the name, using "tophet" for areas at Carthage and other Phoenician-related sites where urns containing infant remains have been found.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

Tophet symbolizes the most extreme apostasy of God's people: forsaking God to serve idols. Jeremiah stresses that God "commanded them not, neither came it into my heart" (Jeremiah 7:31), and he proclaims that the place of sin will become the very place of judgment.

The name Tophet does not appear in the New Testament. However, the term Gehenna, derived from the name of the Valley of Hinnom, is used for the fire of the final judgment; the New Korean Revised Version renders it as "hell." A widely accepted interpretation holds that the imagery of fire and death associated with Tophet and the Valley of Hinnom carried over into the New Testament language of hell.

Interpretations and Debates

• Nature of the sacrifice: Interpretations differ on the phrase "to pass through the fire." One view holds that it refers to an actual sacrifice in which children were killed; another holds that it was a dedication rite in which children were passed through fire. The Book of Jeremiah states plainly that they were burned "in the fire."
• Identity of Molech: Some regard Molech as the name of a particular deity, while others view it as a Phoenician sacrificial term, and the discussion continues.
• The "king" in Isaiah 30:33: The verse is generally read as a judgment on the king of Assyria. Some interpreters also see a wordplay between melek ("king") and Molech.
• Later traditions: It is often said that the site became a symbol of hell because fires for burning refuse were kept constantly burning there. This, however, is not found in the biblical text. The explanation is reported to originate in medieval Jewish commentary, and scholars have noted that it is not attested in sources from the New Testament period. The story that drums were beaten to drown out the cries of the children is likewise a later traditional explanation intended to account for the meaning of the name.