Milcom orMilkom (Ammonite: 𐤌𐤋𐤊𐤌 *Mīlkām;Hebrew:מִלְכֹּםMīlkōm) was the name of either thenational god, or a popular god, of theAmmonites. He is attested in theHebrew Bible and in archaeological finds from the former territory of Ammon. His connections to other deities with similar names attested in the Bible and archaeologically are debated, as well as his relationship to the Canaanite supreme deityEl, or the putative deityMoloch.
Milcom is attested several times in theHebrew Bible, although these attestations say little about him.[2] In theMasoretic Text, the name Milcom occurs three times, in each case in a list of foreign deities whose worship is offensive toYahweh, the god of theIsraelites.[3] It is mentioned at1 Kings 11:5 as "Milcom the detestation of the Ammonites", at1 Kings 11:33 as "Milcom the god of the children of Ammon", and at2 Kings 23:13 as "Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon".[4]
Because the name Milcom is written asmlkm in Hebrew, all occurrences of the name in combination with the Ammonites might instead refer to "their king" (malkam) rather than Milcom, and vice versa.[5] The name occurs several additional times in theSeptuagint: 2 Samuel 12:30, 1 Chronicles 20:2, Amos 1:15, Jeremiah 40 (=30):1.3, Zephaniah 1:5, and 1 Kings 11:7.[6] The Masoretic text readsmalkam, meaning "their king" in most of these instances.[4] It is likely that the Hebrew text originally read Milcom in at least some of these instances.[7]
The Bible attests Milcom as playing the role of the Ammonites' chief state god in parallel to Yahweh's role in Israel orChemosh's role inMoab.[8][5] Given that the Bible refers to Milcom having been worshiped by royal sanction in Jerusalem, it is possible that he was also worshiped as a native rather than a foreign god in Israel.[9]
Outside the Bible, the name Milcom is attested in archaeology, such as on three Ammonite seals of unknown provenance, where he is connected with bull imagery.[10] These seals indicate that Milcom was seen as benevolent, exalted, strong, and has associations with the stars.[11] TheAmman Citadel Inscription (c. 9th or 8th century BCE) contains an oracle from Milcom (with the first letter of the name reconstructed),[12] while the name is also mentioned on theTell el-Mazar ostracon.[6]
Five Ammonite names are attested containing the nameMilcom as an element.[3][5] However, in Ammonitetheophoric names,El, the chief god of the Canaanite pantheon, appears more frequently than Milcom.[7]
Stone statues discovered aroundAmmon may depict Milcom.[13] Several of these figures show features of theAncient Egyptian godOsiris, namely theatef crown, suggesting that aspects of Osiris may have been adopted into Milcom's cult.[1] An image of a four-wingedscarab beetle has also been suggested to portray Milcom, however, this is inconclusive.[14]
A deity namedMLKM is mentioned in a bilingualCanaanite–Ancient North Arabian inscription discovered atQasr Bayir, which has been identified by some as Milcom. ThisMLKM is mentioned alongside two other deities,QWS1 andKMS1, which have been identified withQaws andChemosh, respectively.[15]
The name seems to derive from the rootmlk, meaning 'to rule'.[4] The relationship of Milcom to other deities with names derived from a similar root is unclear.[5] A god calledMLKM is mentioned on a list of gods fromUgarit, one calledMalkum is also attested on tablets fromDrehem, and a god calledMalik is attested fromNineveh, as well astheophoric names in theMari tablets andEbla tablets.[6] The name is also similar to the potential godMoloch found in the Bible, and Moloch is once called the god of the Ammonites in the Masoretic text (1 Kings 11:6–7). The relations between these deities is uncertain; the description of Moloch as a god of the Ammonites may be a scribal error.[16][6] As further evidence against identifying Milcom with Moloch, E. Puech notes that both are portrayed as having separate places of worship in Jerusalem in the Bible.[7]
Milcom's status as the chief god of the Ammonite pantheon has sometimes been questioned, given the lack of archaeological evidence for this role. On the basis of the similar iconography and the greater attestations of names containing the nameEl thanMilcom, it has been suggested that Milcom may have been an epithet of El used in Ammon, or that Milcom was another god who gradually became associated with El in the same manner as Yahweh became associated with El in Israel.[17] Scholar Collin Cornell has criticized attempts to argue that Milcom was the same deity as El or becamesyncretized with him as lacking evidence;[18] he argues that similarities between El and Milcom in fact only show that El and Milcom "were I[ron ]A[ge] Levantine gods characteristic of their region and era."[19] Other scholars, such as Walter Aufrecht, have argued that Milcom may only have been the chief god of the Ammonite royal house,[20] while others suggest he held some other subordinate role beneath El. Given the lack of evidence, neither that El and Milcom were the same nor that Milcom was subordinate to El can be proven.[5]