1910–1911
Britannica 11th
Encyclopaedia Britannica · 11th edition
TOPHET, or TOPHETH ( nynn), the name given in 2 Kings xxiii. 10; Jer. vii. 31, to a spot in the valley of Ben Hinnom near Jerusalem where the Hebrews in the time of Ahab and Manasseh offered children to Molech and other heathen gods. Josiah " denied" it as part of his reforming activity, and it became a place for the bestowal and destruction of refuse, and a synonym for Gehenna (Isa. xxx. 33 ; Jer. vii. 32). The uncertain etymology of the word is discussed in the Ency. Bib., s.v. " Molech," § 3, "Topheth."
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- Vol. 27, pp. 50-50