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Topheth

and once To’phet (place of burning), was in the southeast extremity of the “valley of the son of Hinnom,” (Jeremiah 7:31) which is “by the entry of the east gate.” (Jeremiah 19:2) The locality of Hinnom is to have been elsewhere. [Hinnom] It seems also to have been part of the king’s gardens, and watered by Siloam, perhaps a little to the south of the present Birket el-Hamra . The name Tophet occurs only in the Old Testament. (2 Kings 23:10; Isaiah 30:33; Jeremiah 7:31,32; 19:6,11,12,13,14) The New does not refer to it, nor the Apocrypha. Tophet has been variously translated. The most natural meaning seems that suggested by the occurrence of the word in two consecutive verses, in one of which it is a tabret and in the other Tophet. (Isaiah 30:32,37) The Hebrew words are nearly identical; and Tophet war probably the king’s “music-grove” or garden, denoting originally nothing evil or hateful. Certainly there is no proof that it took its name from the beaten to drown the cries of the burning victims that passed through the fire to Molech. Afterward it was defiled by idols and polluted by the sacrifices of Baal and the fires of Molech. Then it became the place of abomination, the very gate or pit of hell. The pious kings defiled it and threw down its altars and high places, pouring into it all the filth of the city, till it became the “abhorrence” of Jerusalem.

In the Bible

9

Verses where Topheth is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).

  • 2 Kings 23:10

    He also desecrated Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so that no one could sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire to Molech.

  • Isaiah 30:33

    For 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 torrent of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze.

  • Jeremiah 7:31

    They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.

  • Jeremiah 7:32

    So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. For they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.

  • 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.

  • Jeremiah 19:11

    and you are to proclaim to them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I will shatter this nation and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.

+3 more verses naming Topheth.

Scripture on Topheth

4

Entries that reference Topheth

1

Topheth references

11

See all 11 +

Sources · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)

Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.