Text: Jeremiah 19:5-6
OT Text Referred to: 2 Chronicles 28:3
Subject: child sacrifice in the Valley of Ben Hinnom
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: Jeremiah 19:5-6 pronounces judgment on child sacrifice in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, declaring that God will rename it "the Valley of Slaughter" (גֵּיא הַהֲרֵגָה, gei haharegah), while 2 Chronicles 28:3 records the historical precedent of King Ahaz performing these same abominations in that valley. Both texts use the language of burning children in fire (הֶעֱבִיר בָּאֵשׁ / שָׂרַף בָּאֵשׁ) and locate the practice in the Valley of Hinnom. Jeremiah's extended passage (vv. 5-6) adds the prophetic declaration that God "never commanded or mentioned" such sacrifice, distancing Yahweh worship absolutely from Canaanite child sacrifice. The valley's transformation from a site of abomination to a symbol of judgment (later becoming "Gehenna" in Jewish and NT usage) begins in Jeremiah's renaming oracle.