Bible Dictionaries
Malcham

Holman Bible Dictionary

(mal' kam) KJV form for Malcam (1 Chronicles 8:9 ) and Milcom (Zephaniah 1:5 ). The name meaning, “their King” is applied to 1. A Benjaminite (1 Chronicles 8:9 ). 2 . The chief god of the Ammonites (Zephaniah 1:5 , KJV; Malcam, RSV and NAS margins). The Hebrew malcam is sometimes seen as a deliberate scribal misspelling of Milcom (compare Jeremiah 49:1 ,Jeremiah 49:1,49:3; Zephaniah 1:5 ), the common name for the Ammonites' god (1Kings 11:5,1 Kings 11:33; Zephaniah 1:5 ), the common name for the Ammonites' god (1Kings 11:5,1 Kings 11:33; 2 Kings 23:13 ). One text (1 Kings 11:7 ) links Milcom with Molech. At Amos 1:15 the Hebrew malcam is translated simply “their king,” though the word choice suggests that the Ammonites' god will go with them into Exile. See Ammon; Milcom; Molech .