Child Sacrifice in the Old Testament

[Drich]

I won't pretend that I've read all this garbage, nor buy all of Drich's meanderings, or have thought about it all that deeply, but my impression on reading your first post, and which has only been strengthened with additional arguments, is that the references to the offering of the first born of Israel are largely references to symbolic offerings, not literal ones. The inconsistencies inherent in the David and Bathsheba narrative are, to my mind, a separate issue, and in their inconsistent testimony to Yahweh's character, add as much confusion to an already confused question as they do clear it up. A muddy mirror does not yield a clear reflection, so that record likely needs setting aside on this specific question. There are certainly passages which raise some hair raising questions about the Jewish attitude toward human sacrifice, but I see no smoking gun here.

I thought that too, but 1 kings 16:34 changed my mind.

16:34 In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.

I haven't looked at any thing else besides the exo/num aspect of this arguement.

So straight off the cuff let look to context.

29 Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel during the 38th year that Asa was king of Judah. Ahab ruled Israel from the town of Samaria for 22 years. 30 He did what the Lord said was wrong. Ahab was worse than all the kings who were before him. 31 It was not enough for Ahab to commit the same sins that Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had done. Ahab also married Jezebel, daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon. Then Ahab began to serve and worship Baal. 32 He built a temple and an altar in Samaria for worshiping Baal. 33 He also set up a sacred pole.[b] Ahab did more to make the Lord, the God of Israel, angry than all the other kings who were before him.

34 During Ahab’s time, Hiel from Bethel rebuilt the town of Jericho. When Hiel started work on the city, his oldest son Abiram died. And when Hiel built the gates of the city, his youngest son Segub died. This happened just as the Lord said it would happen when he spoke through Joshua son of Nun.[c]

So ahab was involved in Baal worship when he did those things and by doing so it upset God... So tell me again how this equates to the God of the bible demanding human sacrifice?