2 Kings 23:10
in 2 Kings 23He also desecrated Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so that no one could sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire to Molech.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And 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 fire to Molech.
KJV
And 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 fire to Molech.
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This verse in 2 Kings 23
Commentary
8 notes on this verse"No one would make a son or a daughter pass through fire." The passage through fire is the symbol of combustion. In fact, the demons demanded that [their worshipers] burn their own children, and sometimes they were immolated, sometimes they only underwent the symbolic rite …
This site's exposition
defiled Topheth, which is in the valley
Topheth in the valley of Hinnom is defiled outright, so that no man may pass his son or daughter through the fire to Molech there again. Gill and the older Jewish writers hold that the drums for which the place was named were beaten to drown the children's cries, a reading the name invites though the text itself does not say it. Clarke notes that this same valley, Gehenna, becomes the New Testament's picture of final judgment.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"He also defiled Topheth, etc." [2 Kings 23:10] What is said about King Josiah: "He also defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, so that no man might consecrate his son or his daughter through the fire to Molech"; these …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), labouring in the very fire, Hab. ii. It is supposed to have been called Tophet from toph, a drum, because they beat drums at the burning of the children, that their shrieks might not be heard.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
), was made the burying-place of the city. Concerning this we have a whole sermon, Jer. xix. 1, 2 , &c., where it is said, They shall bury in Tophet, and the whole city is threatened to be made like Tophet.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And he defiled Topheth,.... A place so called, as is generally thought, from the beating of drums or timbrels in it, that the shrieks of the infants sacrificed here to Molech might not be heard by their parents, and they repent of delivering them to him, and take them away.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He defiled Topheth - St. Jerome says that Topheth was a fine and pleasant place, well watered with fountains, and adorned with gardens. The valley of the son of Hinnom, or Gehenna, was in one part; here it appears the sacred rites of Molech were performed, and to this all the filth of the city was carried, and perpetual fires were kept up in order to consume it. Hence it has been considered a type of hell; and in this sense it is used in the New Testament.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Topheth--so called from Toph--a "drum." It is the prevailing opinion among Jewish writers that the cries of the terrified children made to pass through the fire in that place of idolatrous horror were drowned by the sound of that instrument.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The horses. Those [people] who prostrated themselves to the sun, had horses ready in the morning to go out toward the sun.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְטִמֵּ֣א | vetime' | and he made unclean | H2930 → | 162 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַתֹּ֔פֶת | hatofet | <the> Topheth | H8612 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּגֵ֣י | begei | [was] in [the] valley of | H1516 → | 59 times |
| בֶן | venei- | Ben | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הִנֹּ֑ם | hinom | Hinnom | H2011 → | |
| לְבִלְתִּ֗י | levilti | to not | H1115 → | 112 times |
| לְהַעֲבִ֨יר | lehaavir | to make pass | H5674 → | 556 times |
| אִ֜ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנ֧וֹ | beno | son his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בִּתּ֛וֹ | bito | daughter his | H1323 → | 588 times |
| בָּאֵ֖שׁ | baesh | in the fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| לַמֹּֽלֶךְ׃ | lamolekh | to <the> Molech | H4432 → |
וְטִמֵּ֣אand he made unclean
vetime'H2930 →162 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַתֹּ֔פֶת<the> Topheth
hatofetH8612 →
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּגֵ֣י[was] in [the] valley of
begeiH1516 →59 times
בֶןBen
venei-H1121 →4930 times
הִנֹּ֑םHinnom
hinomH2011 →
לְבִלְתִּ֗יto not
leviltiH1115 →112 times
לְהַעֲבִ֨ירto make pass
lehaavirH5674 →556 times
אִ֜ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנ֧וֹson his
benoH1121 →4930 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בִּתּ֛וֹdaughter his
bitoH1323 →588 times
בָּאֵ֖שׁin the fire
baeshH784 →378 times
לַמֹּֽלֶךְ׃to <the> Molech
lamolekhH4432 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Leviticus 18:21You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:31
You must not worship the LORD your God in this way, because they practice for their gods every abomination which the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as…
- Deuteronomy 18:10
Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,
- Leviticus 20:2–5
“Tell the Israelites, ‘Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him.
- Leviticus 19:12
You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 12:31
Through
Joshua 15:8From there the border went up the Valley of Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem) and ascended to the top of the hill that faces the Valley of Hinnom…
it leads to
- Joshua 18:16
Then it went down to the foot of the hill that faces the Valley of Hinnom at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim and ran down the Valley of Hinnom toward the…
- Joshua 18:16
Through
Isaiah 30:33For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a…
it leads to
- Genesis 19:24
Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.
- Jeremiah 19:6
So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.
- Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
- Genesis 19:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Questions on the Book of Kings #27; Ishodad of Merv, BOOKS OF SESSIONS 2 KINGS 23:10; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.