Tophet
Tophet [1]
To´phet, a place very near to Jerusalem, on the south-east, in the valley of the children of Hinnom, where the ancient Canaanites, and afterwards the apostate Israelites, made their children to pass through the fire to Moloch (comp.; ). After the return from the captivity, the Jews resumed the ancient name for the whole valley, viz., the valley of Hinnom; and in order to perpetuate the disgrace of idolatry, they made it the common receptacle of the filth, etc. of the city, in which 'fires' were continually kept burning, to consume the carcasses of animals, executed criminals, etc., the unconsumed portions of which, as well as the off-scourings in general, became the nidus of insects, whose larvae, or 'worms,' reveled in the corruption. These circumstances furnished the most apt representation to the Jewish mind of future punishment.
