Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Kings 23:10

"And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech." — 2 Kings 23:10 (ASV)

Topheth. —Heb. the Topheth; i.e., the burning place, or hearth, if the word is rightly derived from the Persian tôften, “to burn.” The Hebrew word, however, has been so modified as to suggest a derivation from tôph, “to spit;” so that the epithet would mean “the abomination.” (Compare to 2 Kings 23:13.) (Compare also to Job 17:6; Isaiah 30:33; and the Coptic tâf, “spittle.”)

The valley of the children of Hinnom. —Elsewhere called “the valley of the son of Hinnom,” and “the valley of Hinnom” (Joshua 15:8; Jeremiah 7:31–32). Simonis plausibly explained the word Hinnom as meaning shrieking or moaning (from the Arabic hanna, arguta voce gemuit, flevit). “The valley of the sons of shrieking” would be a good name for the accursed spot. (Thenius suggests Wimmer-Kinds-Thal.)

That no man ... —See Note on 2 Kings 16:3.

To Moloch. —Heb., to the Molech (Molech is another form of melech, “king”). In 1 Kings 11:7, the god of the Ammonites is called Molech, but elsewhere, as in 2 Kings 23:13, Milcom, another variation of the same word. The feminine molecheth, “queen,” occurs as a proper name in 1 Chronicles 7:18.