Lev 18:21 You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.
Who is Molech? Let’s examine the broad context. The name Molech appears eight times in the OT. Besides Lev 18:21, it is in:
Lev 20:2-5 “You shall also say to the sons of Israel: ‘Any man from the sons of Israel or from the aliens sojourning in Israel who gives any of his offspring to Molech, shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones. I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people because he has given some of his offspring to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and to profane My holy name. If the people of the land, however, should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his offspring to Molech, so as not to put him to death, then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the harlot after him, by playing the harlot after Molech.
1 Kings 11:7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech, the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon.
2 Kings 23:10 He also defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for Molech.
Jer 32:35 They built the high places of Baal that are in the valley of Ben-Hinnom to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I had not commanded them, nor had it entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
Molech is the detestable idol of Ammon. God forbade the Israelites to offer their sons and daughters to Molech by making them pass through the fire, i.e., child sacrifice. Anyone doing that will be stoned to death because they played the harlot after Molech, i.e., spiritual adultery. To play the harlot is to profane the name of God, punishable by death. Lastly, let’s examine the immediate context. When you read Lev 18:6-23, you will notice that the entire passage is about unlawful sexual relations. Starting with blood relatives (v 6-18), then menstrual impurity (v 19), adultery with neighbor’s wife (v 20), homosexuality (v 22), and finally bestiality (v 23) – everything about illicit sex except v 21 on child sacrifice. Some commentators, therefore, speculated that v 21 is infanticide to eliminate illegitimate children. This is a possibility, except for v 22 and 23. The simplest explanation is that the entire passage has to do with adultery, whether physical or spiritual. All profane God’s name and are prohibited.
Was the Mosaic Book of Jubilees the Apocalypse of Moses written by Moses?
No. The Book of Jubilees, also called “Lesser Genesis” or “Little Genesis,” is a pseudepigraphical book falsely attributed to Moses. It was written in the 2nd century BC and could not have been written by Moses (14th-13th century BC). It is not included in any canon of Scripture (Judaism, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Protestant) except the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It records the biblical history of the world from creation to Moses (Exodus 12) by dividing the chronology into periods of Jubilees or 49 years.
The Apocalypse of Moses, in its Greek version, is called “The Life of Adam and Eve.” It is a Jewish apocryphal book written in the 1st century AD, with doubtful authenticity. It recounts the life of Adam and Eve from their expulsion from the Garden of Eden to their deaths.
Both books provide interesting background reading but are not inspired and authoritative.
What is “pure myrrh” as referenced in the Old Testament or the Torah?
Myrrh is the fragrant gum or resin from an Arabian shrub. Myrrh translates two Hebrew words – mōr, which occurs 12 times in the OT, and lōt, which occurs twice. It is used in:
Anointing oil, Ex 30:23 Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane,
Perfume,
Es 2:12 Each young woman’s turn came to go in to King Ahasuerus after she had completed twelve months’ preparation, according to the regulations for the women. For thus were the days of their preparation apportioned: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women.
Ps 45:8 All Your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia, Out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad.
Prov 7:17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
S of S 3:16 Who is this coming out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the merchant’s fragrant powders?
The NT adds that it is used in:
Anesthetic, Mk 15:23 Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.
Embalming, Jn 19:39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
What is “Spikenard” as referenced in the Old Testament or Torah?
Spikenard is “spiked nard,” an aromatic herb that grows in India. The fragrant oil extracted is made into perfume. The word appears three times in the OT:
Song of Solomon 1:12 While the king is at his table, My spikenard sends forth its fragrance.
S of S 4:13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates With pleasant fruits, Fragrant henna with spikenard,
S of S 4:14 Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense, Myrrh, and aloes, With all the chief spices—
It also appears twice in the NT:
Mark 14:3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.
John 12:3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
It is very costly due to its rarity. How expensive? Mark 14:5 and John 12:5 added that one pound of this fragrant oil could be sold for 300 denarii. A denarius was the daily wage for a laborer in Jesus’ days. In today’s terms, assuming 8 hours/day at a minimum wage of C$15/hour, which works out to: C$8 X 15 X 300 = C$36,000 per pound of spikenard! Very expensive!
What did Abraham mean by “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Genesis 18:25)?” Was he calling God’s judgment into question?
No, Abraham was not doubting God’s judgment. Gen 18:25 reads:
Far be it from You to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” (NASB95)
“Far be it from You” is repeated for emphasis. Other versions translate this as:
CSB: You could not possibly do such a thing.
EHV: You would never do such a thing.
GW: It would be unthinkable for you to do such a thing.
NLT: Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing.
VOICE: Surely it can’t be Your nature to do something like that.
Abraham expected the Lord to deal justly, just as Peter recounted in hindsight:
2 Pet 2:6-9 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.
Abraham asked a rhetorical question to intercede for the righteous, pleading God to rescue them based on His nature. He fully anticipated God would do it and never doubted His character.
Is it possible that an advanced society and civilization had progressed technology-wise before Noah’s flood and after the Tower of Babel?
What do you mean by advanced technology? Space travel? It depends on what sophistication you have in mind. Before Noah’s flood, the biblical record says:
Gen 6:5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the Earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen 6:11-13 Now, the Earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the Earth was filled with violence. God looked on the Earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the Earth. Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the Earth is filled with violence because of them. And behold, I am about to destroy them with the Earth.
God’s evaluation of society was that it was wicked, evil, corrupt, and violent, fit only for destruction. How advanced was it in technology? It was advanced enough for Noah and his family to build an ark big enough to house the animals and food for a year. The ark had to withstand the flood that destroyed the Earth. Although it was not a ship for sailing and required steering, using only a few people to make it sea-worthy, with ventilation and waste disposal systems, was challenging enough.
After the Tower of Babel, the Bible says:
Gen 11:3-4 They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name; otherwise, we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
Gen 11:8-9 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole Earth, and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel because there the Lord confused the language of the whole Earth. And from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole Earth.
So the people were advanced in civil engineering, using kiln-dried bricks for construction, and able to build a very tall tower. I don’t think they meant “reach into heaven” literally, just a figure of speech. Right after the Lord confused their language, each people group developed their own language quickly. So each group was quite advanced in terms of linguistics and communication.
Overall, society was fairly advanced both before Noah’s Flood and after the Tower of Babel. To use modern technology to measure ancient civilizations would be unfair.
RayKLiu 