Jeremiah 7:31-32

7:31 They have also built places of worship ¹  in a place called Topheth ²  in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they can sacrifice their sons and daughters by fire. That is something I never commanded them to do! Indeed, it never even entered my mind to command such a thing! ³  7:32 So, watch out!” ⁴  says the Lord. “The time will soon come when people will no longer call those places Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom. But they will call that valley ⁵  the Valley of Slaughter and they will bury so many people in Topheth they will run out of room. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 32:35

32:35 They built places of worship for the god Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they could sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. ⁷  Such a disgusting practice was not something I commanded them to do! It never even entered my mind to command them to do such a thing! So Judah is certainly liable for punishment.’ ⁸ 

Joshua 15:8

15:8 It then went up the Valley of Ben Hinnom to the slope of the Jebusites on the south (that is, Jerusalem), ⁹  going up to the top of the hill opposite the Valley of Ben Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the Valley of the Rephaites to the north.

Joshua 15:2

15:2 Their southern border started at the southern tip of the Salt Sea, ¹⁰ 

Joshua 23:10

23:10 One of you makes a thousand run away, ¹¹  for the Lord your God fights for you ¹²  as he promised you he would. ¹³ 

Joshua 23:2

23:2 So Joshua summoned all Israel, including the elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and told them: “I am very old.

Joshua 1:3

1:3 I am handing over to you every place you set foot, as I promised Moses. ¹⁴ 

Joshua 1:6

1:6 Be strong and brave! You must lead these people in the conquest of this land that I solemnly promised their ancestors I would hand over to them. ¹⁵ 

[7:31]  ¹ tn Heb “high places.”

[7:31]  ² tn Heb “the high places of [or in] Topheth.”

[7:31]  ³ tn Heb “It never entered my heart.” The words “to command such a thing” do not appear in the Hebrew but are added for the sake of clarity.

[7:32]  ⁴ tn Heb “Therefore, behold!”

[7:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “it will no longer be said ‘Topheth’ or ‘the Valley of Ben Hinnom’ but ‘the valley of slaughter.’

[7:32]  ⁶ tn Heb “And they will bury in Topheth so there is not room.”

[32:35]  ⁷ sn Compare Jer 7:30-31; 19:5 and the study notes on 7:30. The god Molech is especially associated with the practice of child sacrifice (Lev 18:21; 20:2-5; 2 Kgs 23:10). In 1 Kgs 11:7 this god is identified as the god of the Ammonites who is also called Milcom in 1 Kgs 11:5; 2 Kgs 23:13. Child sacrifice, however, was not confined to this god; it was also made to the god Baal (Jer 19:5) and to other idols that the Israelites had set up (Ezek 16:20-21). This practice was, however, strictly prohibited in Israel (Lev 18:21; 20:2-5; Deut 12:31; 18:10). It was this practice as well as other pagan rites that Manasseh had instituted in Judah that ultimately led to Judah’s demise (2 Kgs 24:3-4). Though Josiah tried to root these pagan practices (2 Kgs 23:4-14) out of Judah he could not do so. The people had only made a pretense of following his reforms; their hearts were still far from God (Jer 3:10; 12:2).

[32:35]  ⁸ tn Heb “They built high places to Baal which are in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to cause their sons and daughters to pass through [the fire] to Molech [a thing] which I did not command them and [which] did not go up into my heart [= “mind” in modern psychology] to do this abomination so as to make Judah liable for punishment.” For the use of the Hiphil of חָטָא (khata’) to refer to the liability for punishment see BDB s.v. חָטָא Hiph.3 and compare the usage in Deut 24:8. Coming at the end as this does, this nuance is much more likely than “cause Judah to sin” which is the normal translation assigned to the verb here. The particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) that precedes it is here once again introducing a result and not a purpose (compare other clear examples in 27:10, 15). The sentence has been broken down in conformity to contemporary English style and an attempt has been made to make clear that what is detestable and not commanded is not merely child sacrifice to Molech but child sacrifice in general.

[15:8]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Their southern border was from the end of the Salt Sea, from the tongue that faces to the south.”

[23:10]  ¹¹ tn Or “chases a thousand.”

[23:10]  ¹² tn Heb “for the Lord your God, he [is] the one who fights for you.”

[23:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “as he said to you.”

[1:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Every place on which the sole of your foot walks, to you I have given it, as I said to Moses.” The second person pronouns in vv. 3-4 are plural, indicating that all the people are addressed here. The verbal form נְתַתִּיו (nÿtattiv, “I have given it”) is probably a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Another option is to translate, “I have already assigned it.” In this case the verb would probably refer to the Lord’s decree to Abraham that he would give this land to his descendants.

[1:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “For you will cause these people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give to them.” The pronoun “them” at the end of the verse refers to either the people or to the fathers.