And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
Thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass ... Molech, or Moloch, which signifies 'king,' was the idol of the Ammonites. His proper name was Chemosh. His Egyptian correspondent, or rather substitute, was Amun, or Amun-Ra х Molek (H4432)], 'the king of the gods' (Corbaux). His statue was of brass, and rested on a pedestal or throne of the same metal. His head, resembling that of a calf, was adorned with a crown, and his arms were extended in the attitude of embracing those who approached him. His devotees dedicated their children to him; and when this was to be done, they heated the statue to a high pitch of intensity by a fire within; and then the infants were either shaken over the flames or passed through the ignited arms-a symbolical rite expressive of dedication or lustration to ensure the favour of the pretended deity. The fire-worshippers asserted that all children who did not undergo this purifying process would die in infancy; and the influence of this Zabian superstition was still so extensively prevalent in the days of Moses that the Divine Lawgiver judged it necessary to prohibit it by an express statute. This was the early form of the crime which afterward assumed a horrid and unnatural aspect (see the notes at Leviticus 20:2-4). A similar superstition prevailed among the ancient Indians (Sonnerat's 'Travels,' vol 1:, p. 154).
Neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God - by giving it to false or pretended divinities; or, perhaps, from this precept standing in close connection with the worship of Molech, the meaning rather is-do not, by devoting your children to him, give foreigners occasion to blaspheme the name of your God as a cruel and sanguinary deity, who demands the sacrifice of human victims, and who encourages cruelty in his votaries.