2 Chronicles 28:3

2Ch 28:3 Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

Ver. 3. And burnt his children in the fire.] Some he burnt outright, in honour of Moloch, or Saturn (indeed the devil), and others he caused to pass through the fire, with the safeguard of their lives, though not haply of their hair; believing that thereby they were purged from their spiritual filthiness. The Tartars do the like at this day: the Papists also, in their supposed purgatory, dream of such a like purgation. The king of Spain put his eldest son into the hands of the bloody Inquisitors, to be murdered by them, that he might approve himself an obedient son to the Pope, who thereupon blasphemously applied unto him that saying of the apostle, He spared not his own son, but gave him for us. See 2Ki 16:3. {a}

{a} Jerome. Caten.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

28:3-4 even sacrificing his own sons in the fire: Ahaz was imitating the abominable conduct of the Canaanites (see Deut 12:31; 18:9-10; Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Or, made them pass through the fire, as 2 Chron. 33:6; Lev. 13:21.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 3. Burnt his children in the fire] There is a most remarkable addition here in the Chaldee which I shall give at length: "Ahaz burnt his children in the fire; but the WORD of the Lord snatched Hezekiah from among them; for it was manifest before the Lord that the three righteous men, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were to proceed from him; who should deliver up their bodies that they might be cast into a burning fiery furnace, on account of the great and glorious NAME, (יהוה) and from which they should escape. First, Abram escaped from the furnace of fire among the Chaldeans, into which he had been cast by Nimrod, because he would not worship their idols. Secondly, Tamar escaped burning in the house of judgment of Judah, who had said, Bring her out, that she may be burnt. Thirdly, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz escaped from the burning, when Ahaz his father cast him into the valley of the son of Hinnom, on the altars of Tophet. Fourthly, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, escaped from the burning fiery furnace of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Fifthly, Joshua, the son of Josedek the high priest, escaped, when the impious Nebuchadnezzar had cast him into a burning fiery furnace, with Achaab the son of Kolia, and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, the false prophet. They were consumed by fire; but Joshua the son of Josedek escaped because of his righteousness."

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(3) Moreover he.—“And he (emphatic) burnt incense” to Moloch, the god of Ammon, for whom Solomon had built a high place (1Ki_11:5-8), which was still in existence.

In the valley of the son of Hinnom.—Also called simply the valley of Hinnom (Jos_15:8), on the west and south of Jerusalem (Jos_18:16), the scene of the cruel rites in honour of

“Moloch, horrid king, besmeared with blood.”

MILTON.

(Jer_7:31-32; Jer_19:2-6, where “the Baal” is named as the object of this worship, Moloch being a Baal.) In later times, the term “valley of Hinnom,” spelt as one word, and with modified vowels, Gĕhinnâm, became the appellation of hell, “the house of woe and pain.” It is so used in the Targums, and later in the Talmud, and appears in the New Testament under the Græcised form Γέεννα, whence the Latin Gehenna.

Burnt his children in the fire.—Kings, “And even his own son he made to pass through the fire.” The chronicler has paraphrased by transposing two Hebrew letters (ba‘ar for ‘abar). “His children is simply a generalised expression, as we might say, “he burnt his own offspring or posterity.” (Comp. Psa_106:37.) Thenius accuses the chronicler of exaggerating the fact. But this peculiar use of the plural is one of the marks of his style. (Comp. 1Ch_6:57; 1Ch_6:67; and 2Ch_28:16, infra.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. the valley of the son of Hinnom] This name was of harmless signification at first (Jer_7:31-32), but its Heb. form Gê-hinnôm was afterwards corrupted into “Gehenna” (Mat_5:22, R.V. mg.) and it gained an evil reputation from its connexion with the worship of Molech. It was S. and S.W. of Jerusalem.

burnt … in the fire] In Kings “made … to pass through, the fire.” The latter phrase lends support to the theory that at least in later times children were “passed through the fire” in order to signify their dedication to Molech, yet in such a way as to escape permanent injury. It is probable however that the original significance of the custom is preserved in the phrase used by the Chronicler, and that children offered to Molech were really burnt. Of course such a sacrifice would be resorted to only in extremities; cp. 2Ki_3:27.

his children] In Kings, “his son” (sing.), a better reading. It is possible that the sacrifice was intended to avert the danger threatened by the Syro-Ephraimite alliance.

after] R.V. according to (cp. 2Ch_34:21).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Compare the 2Ki 16:3 note.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Benennon, "the son of Ennom," 4 K. xvi. --- Consecrated. Heb. "burnt." H.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Burnt incense Hinnom. The sin of Solomon (1Ki_11:7, 1Ki_11:8) is reproduced. For the valley of the son of Hinnom, which curved round the south-west and west of Jerusalem (Ge Ben-Hinnom), see Conder"s "Handbook," ch. 7. pp. 330-332. Burnt his children; (see Lev_18:21) but there cannot be any doubt that Ahaz"s practice here stated was an incident of the Moloch-superstition and horrible cruelty (see the parallel in its vers. 3, 4).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

the Valley of Ben Hinnom

This is a valley in Jerusalem. (See: How to Translate Names)

before the people of Israel

The people of those nations fled as the people of Israel moved into the land. The full meaning of this statement can be made explicit. AT: "before the people of Israel who moved into the land" or "as the people of Israel moved into the land" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

the high places and on the hills and under every green tree

These are places where the people of the other nations worshiped their false gods.

under every green tree

God wanted his people to offer sacrifices to him in Jerusalem. The word "every" here is an exaggeration to show how determined King Ahaz was to disobey God by offering sacrifices in many other places instead. AT: "under many green trees" or "under many green trees around the country" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)

translationWords

incense

burnt offering

people group

Israel

sacrifice

high place

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.