Milcom
Sign in to savethumb|Statue potentially depicting Milcom or a deified Ammonite ruler as Milcom, 8th century BCE Milcom, also spelled Milkom (Ammonite: 𐤌𐤋𐤊𐤌 *Mīlkām; Hebrew: ), was either the national god, or an important god, of the Ammonites. He is attested in the Hebrew Bible and in archaeological finds from the former territory of Ammon. His connections to other deities with similar names attested in the Bible and archaeologically are debated, as well as his relationship to the Canaanite supreme deity El, or the putative deity Moloch.
Article
6 sectionsContents
- Attestations
- In the Hebrew Bible
- In archaeology and theophoric names
- Relationship to other Near-Eastern deities
- References
- Sources
thumb|Statue potentially depicting Milcom or a deified Ammonite ruler as Milcom, 8th century BCE Milcom, also spelled Milkom (Ammonite: 𐤌𐤋𐤊𐤌 *Mīlkām; Hebrew: ), was either the national god, or an important god, of the Ammonites. He is attested in the Hebrew Bible and in archaeological finds from the former territory of Ammon. His connections to other deities with similar names attested in the Bible and archaeologically are debated, as well as his relationship to the Canaanite supreme deity El, or the putative deity Moloch.
==Attestations== ===In the Hebrew Bible=== Milcom is attested several times in the Hebrew Bible, although these attestations say little about him. In the Masoretic Text, the name Milcom occurs three times, in each case in a list of foreign deities whose worship is offensive to Yahweh, the god of the Israelites. It is mentioned at as "Milcom the detestation of the Ammonites", at as "Milcom the god of the children of Ammon", and at as "Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon". Because the name Milcom is written as mlkm in Hebrew without vowels, all occurrences of the name in combination with the Ammonites might instead refer to "their king" () rather than Milcom, and vice versa.