Religion has always played an important part in civilization; in the ancient world it was a powerful force. The pagan civilizations of Bible times worshiped many gods. They had male and female deities, high and low gods, assemblies of gods, priests and priestesses, and temples and sacrifices. All the forces of nature that could not be controlled or understood were considered supernatural powers to be worshiped and feared.

Our knowledge of the pagan gods of the ancient world comes from the religious literature, idols, and other objects discovered by archaeologists. We have also learned from the meanings of names found in the literature from this period. People in Bible times were often named with sentences and phrases; sometimes they used the name of their favorite god in the compound name. Thus, names very often reflected popular religion. Most of the people of the ancient world were polytheistic; they worshiped more than one god.

The people worshiped these gods in the form of representative idols. This practice is called idolatry. The nation of Israel, however, was forbidden to make graven images of the one true and living God whom they worshiped (Ex 20:3-6; Deut 5:7-10). The pagan nations made statues or images to represent the powers which they worshiped. Most of these idols were in the form of animals or men. But sometimes these idols represented celestial powers like the sun, moon, and stars, forces of nature, like the sea and the rain; or life forces, like death and truth.

Belief in these false gods was characterized by superstition and magic. The people believed that what happened to their gods would also happen to them. Puzzled by the workings of nature, they assigned the causes of various natural happenings to their gods. Rain was absolutely essential to life in agricultural societies. If it rained, they believed this was caused by a rain god. If it did not rain, they thought this was because that god had not sent the rain. They prayed and sacrificed to the god to send it.

In time an elaborate system of beliefs in such natural forces was developed into mythology. Each civilization and culture had its own mythological structure, but these structures were often quite similar. The names of the gods may have been different, but their functions and actions were often the same. The most prominent myth to cross cultural lines was that of the fertility cycle. Many pagan cultures believed that the god of fertility died each year during the winter but was reborn each year in the spring. The details differed among cultures, but the main idea was the same.

According to the Old Testament, God was a jealous God who permitted no rivals: "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Ex 20:3; Deut 5:7). God's will is all-powerful and man must submit to it. He reveals Himself when He pleases and to whom He pleases, demanding that man obey His revelation. Nevertheless, the Hebrew people sometimes gave in to temptation and worshiped these pagan gods from the surrounding cultures.

The many pagan gods that served as a temptation to the Hebrew people may be conveniently grouped into four distinct types: the false gods of (1) Mesopotamia (Assyria and Babylon), (2) Egypt, (3) Canaan, and (4) Greece and Rome.

The Pagan Gods of Mesopotamia. The biblical references to pagan gods begin with the statement that Terah, Abraham, and Nahor, when they dwelt on the other side of the River (that is, in Mesopotamia), "served other gods" (Josh 24:2). Ancient Mesopotamia covered the region that is roughly equivalent geographically to present-day Iraq and Iran.

The prominent gods in Mesopotamia were those over heaven, air, and earth, personified by Anu, Enlil, and Enki (Ea). Another group was made up of those that controlled the heavenly bodies: the sun, the moon, and the planet Venus (the "morning star"). In fact, Ur, the city from which Abraham came, was the center for worship of the moon god Sin. As Mesopotamian religion developed, each god had his own star, and the worship of the stars became popular with the development of ASTROLOGY. Many of the astrological texts and charts of the ancient Babylonians read like modern horoscopes.

The worship of the sun, moon, and stars eventually spread across the entire ancient world. The Egyptians, Canaanites, and Phoenicians all incorporated features of this form of worship. Place names in pre-Israelite Canaan reflect the practice. Beth Shemesh (Josh 15:10) means house of the sun [god]. Jericho (Num 22:1) probably means moon city. Joshua's miracle of the sun and the moon standing still takes on greater significance in light of this fact. It was a demonstration of the sovereign power of the Lord God of Israel over the pagan gods identified as the sun and the moon, worshiped in pagan cities (Josh 10:12-13).

Another god of ancient Mesopotamia was Adad, who represented the storm-either the beneficial rains for the crops or the destructive storms with hurricanes. Identical with Adad, or Hadad, was Rimmon or Ramman, the Assyrian god of rain and storm, thunder and lightning. The two names, Hadad and Rimmon, were combined in one name, Hadad Rimmon, in one Old Testament reference (Zech 12:11). In the Old Testament Rimmon was an Aramean (Syrian) god who had a temple at Damascus. Naaman and his royal master worshiped this pagan god (2 Kings 5:18).

The ancient Babylonian and Assyrian goddess Ishtar symbolized Mother Earth in the natural cycles of fertility on earth. Many myths grew up around this female deity. She was the goddess of love, so the practice of ritual prostitution became widespread in the fertility cult dedicated to her name. Temples to Ishtar had many priestesses, or sacred prostitutes, who symbolically acted out the fertility rites of the cycle of nature. Ishtar has been identified with the Phoenician Astarte, the Semitic Ashtoreth, and the Sumerian Inanna. Strong similarities also exist between Ishtar and the Egyptian Isis, the Greek Aphrodite, and the Roman Venus.

Associated with Ishtar was the young god Tammuz, considered both divine and mortal (Ezek 8:14). In Babylonian mythology Tammuz died annually and was reborn year after year, representing the yearly cycle of the seasons and the crops. This pagan belief later was identified with the pagan gods Baal and Anat in Canaan.

Another kind of god in both Babylonia and Assyria was a national god connected with politics. In Assyria it was Ashur, and in Babylonia it was Marduk, who became prominent at the time of HAMMURABI (about 1800 B.C.). The ancient ideas about the ordering and governing of the universe were taken over by these two gods. Marduk, for example, achieved his prominence by victory over Tiamat, goddess of the sea. This cosmic conflict, described also in ancient Sumerian, Indian and Canaanite myths, was believed to have estabiished order. Marduk established order by destroying the goddess Tiamat.

In contrast, the Bible makes it clear that the forces of nature are not pagan gods that war with one another annually to bring about an established order of the universe. They are part of the Lord's creation (Gen 1).

The Babylonian god Bel (Isa 46:1; Jer 50:2; 51:44) is the same as Marduk, the chief Babylonian god. The Babylonian god Merodach (Jer 50:2), an alternate spelling of Marduk, was the god of war and the patron deity of the city of Babylon.

Nebo (Isa 46:1) was the Babylonian god of education, literature, writing, wisdom, the arts, and sciences. The special seat of his worship was at Borsippa, near Babylon. The Akkadian form of this name is Nabu.

Nisroch (2 Kings 19:37; Isa 37:38) was an Assyrian god with a temple in Nineveh. The idol representing this pagan god had a human form with an eagle's head.

Sikkuth (Amos 5:26; Sakkuth, RSV) was a name given by the Babylonians to the planet Saturn.

Succoth Benoth (2 Kings 17:30) was a Babylonian goddess, identified by some scholars with Zarpanitum, the mistress of Marduk. Other scholars believe this god is a designation of Marduk himself as Sakkut Binuti, the supreme judge of the world.

When SHALMANESER, king of Assyria, deported the inhabitants of Samaria to farflung regions of his empire, he also imported into Samaria settlers from afar to colonize this area of Palestine. These people brought their religion and their pagan gods with them. Among these gods were: Adrammelech (2 Kings 17:31), an idol of the Sepharvites worshiped by child sacrifice; Anammelech (2 Kings 17:31), another god revered by the Sepharvites; Ashima (2 Kings 17:30), an idol worshiped by the people of Hamath; Nergal (2 Kings 17:30), the war god of the men of Cuth; Nibhaz (2 Kings 17:31), an idol of the Avites; and Tartak (2 Kings 17:31), an idol also worshiped by the Avites.

The Pagan Gods of Egypt. The gods of Egypt were a constant threat to the Israelites, both during their years in bondage and afterwards. Their deliverance from Egypt was described by the Bible as a great spiritual victory, with the sovereign Lord of Israel defeating the gods of the Egyptians (Ex 18:11; 2 Sam 7:23).

Egyptian religion reflected the same pagan ideas that were popular in the ancient world, but with different figures. Horus was the god of Egypt's western delta; he was a human figure with a falcon's head. Hathor, the corresponding goddess, had a cow's body and a woman's head. The god Set had a man's body and an animal's head. Anubis had a man's body and the head of an ibis. Besides gods that were composite with animal forms and human forms, some Egyptian gods were portrayed as completely human. For instance, Min symbolized fertility. Amon, the famous god of Thebes, was the chief Egyptian god.

In ancient Egyptian religion Osiris was the god of the lower world and judge of the dead. He was the brother and husband of Isis and father (or brother) of Horus. Osiris was killed by Set, who was jealous of his power. Isis, the ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility, persuaded the gods to bring back Osiris, her dead husband. The myth is therefore an ancient vegetation cycle.

The Egyptians portrayed many of their gods with animal images. But they also had their cosmic deities. The Egyptians envisioned the earth as in the shape of a dish with their fertile region (Egypt) in the center. The Nile River flowed from under the earth, bringing fertility to the land. These elements of nature were personified as gods. Geb, earth, was portrayed as a god lying down. Nut, heaven, was a goddess who arched her body across from mountain to mountain. Shu, the air, stood erect, holding up the sky.

The Egyptians also worshiped the sun, moon, and stars. Ra (also Re), the sun god, was the supreme deity of the ancient Egyptians. He was represented as a man with the head of a hawk or a falcon, crowned with a solar disk and the figure of the sacred asp or cobra. Ra appears in the Old Testament in the name of Joseph's father-in-law, PotiPherah (Gen 41:45,50; 46:20), priest of On, a city called Heliopolis ("city of the sun") by the Greeks-the principal seat of the worship of the sun. When Ra is absent, Thoth, the moon, is prominent. But the moon is definitely inferior to the sun.

The Egyptians had many other pagan gods. Notable among them was Maat, representing the abstract idea of truth, and Bes, a grotesque god who watched over childbirth. The worship of all the gods also involved magic and superstition. The purpose of these gods apparently was to explain the cycle and forces of life and to insure stability and fertility.

The great PLAGUES OF EGYPT before the EXODUS (Ex 7:14-12:30) struck at the heart of Egypt's religion. Their fertile land was struck with plagues; their sacred river was turned to blood; their glorious sun was darkened; and even the son of the "divine" Pharaoh was killed. The wonders that God brought against Egypt clearly demonstrated that their gods were powerless before the true and living God of Israel.

The Pagan Gods of Canaan. The pagan peoples who inhabited the land of Canaan before the Israelites arrived also worshiped many gods and goddesses. The Canaanite literature discovered at RAS SHAMRA (on the site of the ancient city of Ugarit) on the Syrian coast provides abundant information about several gods mentioned in the Bible.

The Canaanite god most often referred to is Baal, which means "lord" or "master." The word could be used as a title for any person who owned something, or any god considered to be a lord or master. But the word Baal soon became identified with various regional gods that were thought to provide fertility for crops and livestock. As a god who symbolized the productive forces of nature, Baal was worshiped with much sensuality (Num 22:41; Judg 2:13; 1 Kings 16:31-32).

Baal appeared in many forms and under many different names. The Bible often makes reference to the Baalim (the plural of Baal; KJV) or to the Baals (NKJV; Judg 2:11; 1 Kings 18:18; Jer 2:23).

The word Baal was often used in forming names, such as Baal of Peor (Deut 4:3; Baal-peor, KJV). Peor was the name of a mountain in Moab. Baal of Peor was an idol of Moab (probably to be identified with Chemosh) which Israel was enticed to worship with immoral practices. In several passages the idol is simply called Peor (Num 25:18; Josh 22:17).

Baal-Berith, which means "lord of the covenant," is a name under which Baal was worshiped in the time of the judges at Shechem, where he had a temple. In Judg 9:46 he is called simply the god Berith.

Baal-Zebub, which means "lord of the fly," was "the god of Ekron" (2 Kings 1:2-3,6,16)-the name under which Baal was worshiped at the Philistine city of Ekron. This god was worshiped as the producer of flies, and consequently as the god that was able to defend against this pest. In the New Testament, reference is made to Beelzebub, a heathen god considered the chief evil spirit by the Jewish people (Matt 10:25; 12:27; Luke 11:18-19). The Pharisees called him "the ruler of the demons" (Matt 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15), and Jesus identified him with Satan.

This word Baal was also used in personal names, but when the worship of Baal became a problem in Israel, Baal was replaced by Bosheth, which means "shame" (probably because it was shameful to have the name of a pagan god as part of one's name and because Baal was a shameful god). For instance, Merib-Baal (1 Chron 8:34; 9:40), the name of the son of Jonathan, became Mephibosheth (2 Sam 9:6-13), and Esh-Baal (1 Chron 9:39) became Ishbosheth (2 Sam 2:8).

The Canaanite god Baal was known as Zebel Baal ("prince Baal") or Aliyan Baal ("Baal the strong"), as well as by a number of other titles. Baal was considered the god who brought rain and fertility (especially good harvests and animal reproduction). In a number of passages in Canaanite literature he is identified as Hadad, another god believed to bring the rains, storms, and fertility. This god Hadad is the god Adad of Assyria.

Archaeologists have discovered rock carvings that show Baal holding a club in his right hand and a lightning flash with a spearhead in his left. These symbols identify him as the god of rain and storm. Baal is also known as the "rider of the clouds," a term showing his power over the heavens. Ps 68:4, "Extol Him who rides on the clouds," gives this title to the God of Israel-a declaration that the Lord, and not the false god Baal, is ruler over the heavens.

Baal and related deities are also portrayed as a mating bull, symbolizing fertility. It is no surprise that while Moses was on Mount Sinai, receiving the Ten Commandments from the Lord, the disobedient Israelites fashioned a golden calf to worship (Ex 32). Jeroboam I, king of Israel, acted in accordance with this pagan idea by making two calves of gold, setting up one at Bethel and the other at Dan (1 Kings 12:26-30).

During the history of the Israelites, a rivalry developed between Baalism and the true worship of the Lord (Jer 23:27). Perhaps the best example of this rivalry was the conflict between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). Elijah's challenge to them to bring down fire from heaven was appropriate, because the Canaanites believed that Baal could shoot lightning flashes from the sky. Elijah's mocking of Baal struck at the heart of their claims; he knew that Baal was powerless, that the prophets of Baal had misled the people, and that only the Lord God of Israel was alive and able to answer. In the struggle to the death between true religion and false religion, Elijah knew that Baalism and its prophets had to be destroyed.

In Canaanite mythological texts Baal is sometimes called the son of Dagon. Dagon (Judg 16:23; 1 Sam 5:2-7; 1 Chron 10:10) was the chief god of the ancient Philistines, a grain and fertility god whose most famous temples were at Gaza and Ashdod. With the recent discovery of documents at ancient EBLA in Syria, it is clear that Dagon, or Dagan, was a much more ancient and prominent god. These texts show that Dagon was being worshiped before Abraham entered Canaan about 2000 B.C. Dagon continued to be worshiped by the Canaanites up to the time of Christ. In the APOCRYPHA mention is made of a temple of Dagon at Azotus in 147 B.C. (1 Macc. 10:83-84). Azotus was a later name for Ashdod, one of the five chief Philistine cities.

Like the myths of so many pagan religions, Canaanite stories claim that Baal came to prominence by defeating other gods. One of Baal's enemies was the sea monster known as Lotan. The Old Testament's reference to Leviathan (Job 3:8; 41:1; Ps 104:26; Isa 27:1) corresponds to this word. But in the Bible Leviathan is simply a powerful creature in the sea that man cannot control, and not like Lotan-a pagan god in the form of a twisting serpent.

Baal's mistress or lover was Anat (or Anath), the goddess of war, love, and fertility. She was the virgin goddess who conceives and was also the victor over Baal's enemies. With the help of Shapash, the sun or luminary, Anat rescued Baal from Mot (the god of death). Her victories in battle were vicious; she is described as up to her hips in gore with heads and hands from the enemies stacked high. Thus, Anat was the driving force in the annual fertility cycle of Baal.

Anat is sometimes identified with the queen of heaven, to whom the Jews offered incense in Jeremiah's day (Jer 7:18; 44:17-19,25). But some scholars identify the "queen of heaven" with the Assyro-Babylonian goddess Ishtar. Anat was the patroness of sex and passion, lewd figurines of this nude goddess have been discovered at various archaeological sites in Palestine.

The goddess Asherah (1 Kings 15:13; 2 Chron 15:16; Asherahs, Judg 3:7) was portrayed as the wife of El (or sometimes Baal) in Canaanite mythology. Asherah was a favorite deity of women. Some of the wives of David and Solomon worshiped her (1 Kings 15:13), as Ahab's wife, Jezebel, also probably did (1 Kings 16:31-33). King Asa suppressed the worship of Asherah (1 Kings 15:13), and King Josiah destroyed "the articles that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven" (2 Kings 23:4).

The word asherah also refers to a wooden pole, or cult pillar, that stood at Canaanite places of worship-perhaps the trunk of a tree with the branches chopped off-and associated with the worship of the goddess Asherah.

Other pagan gods in addition to Baal and his companions were worshiped by the Canaanites. Molech was the national deity of the Ammonites (Lev 18:21; Jer 32:35), whose worship was accompanied by the burning of children offered as a sacrifice by their own parents. The god Molech also appears in the Old Testament as Milcom (2 Kings 23:13; Zeph 1:5; Malcham, KJV) and in the New Testament as Moloch (Acts 7:43).

Chemosh (Judg 11:24; 2 Kings 23:13) was the national god of the Moabites and Ammonites. This deity was apparently compounded with Athtar, the Venus star, and so is thought to be a pagan god associated with the heavenly bodies. Chemosh has been identified with Baal of Peor, Baal-Zebub, Mars, and Saturn, as the star of ill-omen. Dibon (Num 21:30), a town in Moab north of the River Arnon, was the chief seat of its worship.

Like Molech, Chemosh was worshiped by the sacrifice of children as burnt offerings, but scholars believe it is incorrect to identify Chemosh directly with Molech. Solomon sanctified Chemosh as a part of his tolerance of pagan gods (1 Kings 11:7), but Josiah abolished its worship (2 Kings 23:13). Human sacrifice was made to Chemosh, according to 2 Kings 3:27, which reports that Mesha, king of Moab, offered his eldest son as a burnt offering on the wall of Kir Hareseth, the ancient capital of Moab.

Ashtoreth (1 Kings 11:5,33; 2 Kings 23:13) was the ancient Syrian and Phoenician goddess of the moon, sexuality, sensual love, and fertililty. In the Old Testament Ashtoreth is often associated with the worship of Baal. The KJV word Ashtaroth is the plural form of Ashtoreth; the NKJV has Ashtoreths (Judg 2:13; 1 Sam 12:10; also see Ishtar above).

Remphan (Acts 7:43; Rephan, RSV, NIV, NEB; Rompha, NASB) was an idol worshiped by Israel in the wilderness. This may be the same pagan god as Chiun (Amos 5:26; Kiyyun, NASB; Kaiwan your star-god, RSV), or Saturn.

Nehushtan, literally "bronze serpent-idol," was the contemptuous name given by King Hezekiah to the bronze serpent made by Moses in the wilderness (Num 21:8-9), when people began to worship it (2 Kings 18:4).

Gad (Isa 65:11; Fortune, RSV, NIV, NASB; Fate, NEB) was a heathen deity worshiped along with Meni (Isa 65:11; Destiny, RSV, NIV, NASB; Fortune, NEB). Scholars are uncertain about the exact identity of these pagan gods.

The Pagan Gods of Greece and Rome. Only a few of the ancient Greek and Roman gods are mentioned in the New Testament.

Zeus (Acts 14:12-13; 19:35; Jupiter, KJV) was the supreme god of the ancient Greeks. According to Greek mythology, Zeus was the ruler of heaven and father of other gods and mortal heroes. He was identified by the Romans as Jupiter.

Hermes (Acts 14:12; Mercurius, KJV; Mercury, NEB) was the Greek god of commerce, science, invention, and cunning. He also served as messenger and herald for the other gods. Hermes was identified by the Romans with Mercury, who was generally pictured with winged shoes and hat, carrying a winged staff. He was the protector of roads and boundaries and he guided departed souls to Hades.

When the apostle Paul and Barnabas were in Lystra, the people of that city declared, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!" They called Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes, because he was the chief speaker (Acts 14:11-12).

Diana (Acts 19:24,27-28,34-35), in Roman mythology, was the goddess of the moon, hunting, wild animals, and virginity. Diana is the same as the Greek goddess Artemis (RSV, NIV, NASB), virgin goddess of the hunt and the moon. When Paul preached in Ephesus, the Ephesians were in an uproar because the gospel threatened to destroy the profit of the artisans who crafted silver shrines of Diana.

The Twin Brothers (Acts 28:11; Castor and Pollux, KJV, NIV, NEB) is a translation of a Greek word which means "boys of Zeus." In Greek mythology, Castor and Pollux were the twin sons of Zeus. After Castor and Pollux died, they were transformed by Zeus into the constellation Gemini. They were regarded as the special protectors of distressed sailors. The Alexandrian ship in which Paul sailed from Malta to Puteoli had a carving of the Twin Brothers as its figurehead.

In both the Old Testament and the New Testament the people of God were surrounded by pagan gods. The apostle Paul declared to the philosophers of Athens, "I perceive that in all things you are very religious" (Acts 17:22). In the city of Athens, idols of pagan gods stood on every street corner. The Athenians, perhaps fearing that they had slighted some deity, had even erected an altar "to the unknown god" (Acts 17:23).

"The One whom you worship without knowing," said Paul, "Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands" (Acts 17:23-24).

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

Although the word astrology does not appear in the Bible, the word astrologers does. The prophet Isaiah taunted the Babylonians to go to the powerless "astrologers, the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators" (Isa 47:13) for their salvation. The word is found eight times in the book of Daniel, in association with "magicians," "sorcerers," "Chaldeans," "wise men," and "soothsayers" (Dan 1:20; 2:2,10,27; 4:7; 5:7,11,15). Some Bible scholars believe the "wise men" or Magi who saw the star of the infant Jesus (Matt 2:1-12) were astrologers. We do know that the earliest records of astrology have come from Mesopotamia-the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers where the ancient Babylonians flourished.

The attempt to forecast the future from the stars probably arose very naturally in the ancient world. These beliefs would have come from observing that the signs in the heavens and events on earth are sometimes related. For instance, it is evident that the winter season begins at the same time when the sun begins to set low in the sky. It takes only one step of logic to conclude that when the sun begins to dip low in the sky, it causes winter to come. Given the lack of scientific thought in the ancient Near East, it required only one further step of logic to conclude that other movements of the sun, moon, or stars affect historical events. An example of this kind of reasoning is found in a letter addressed to the Assyrian king ESARHADDON. "If the planet Jupiter is present during an eclipse," the letter stated, "it is good for the king because an important person in court will die in his stead."

The close association in Babylonian thought between the stars and the gods led ancient skywatchers to stress their impact on human affairs. This association may be seen clearly in the unique script used to write their language. The sign used to distinguish a god's name was the sign of the star.

The Bible classes astrology with other techniques for predicting the future. Going to the stars for guidance was the same as idolatry to biblical writers. Samuel equated the two in his denunciation of Saul (1 Sam 15:23).

The Bible's contempt for astrology is most clearly seen in its prohibition of any technique to aid in predicting the future. Astrology assumes that God does not control history. It assumes that history is governed by the affairs of the pagan gods as revealed in the movement of the planets. The believer knows that a sovereign God rules this world. He also knows that resorting to astrology is a denial of the life of faith by which one trusts God and not his lucky stars for the future.

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

Isa 47:13-14  Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. 14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.

2 Kings 21:3 For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.

2 Kings 23:5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.

Jer 19:13 And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods.