Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
TO'PHET, and once TO'PHETH. 2 Kgs 23:10. " 2 Kgs 23:10. Hence it lay in the valley, east or south of Jerusalem, and the supposition is that it was originally a beautiful place, watered from the pool of Siloam, a part of the king's garden, and perhaps a music- or tabret-garden. But afterward it became polluted by abominable idolatrous rites, sacrifices to Baal and Moloch, Jer 7:31-32; Luke 19:13; was made a receptacle for all the filth of the city; fires were kept burning to destroy the refuse; and hence "Tophet" became the synonym for the place of punishment and for fearful judgments.
Jer 19:6, Jer 19:11-14. In the terrific wars waged around Jerusalem, Tophet became the receptacle for innumerable dead bodies. Isa 30:33. See Hinnom.
✦ Scripture References 6 references