ADRAMMELECII (*Z11N, 'AapakteXex) is mentioned, together with Anammelech, in 2 Kings xvii. 3r, as one of the idols whose worship the inhabitants of Sepharvaim established in Samaria, when they were transferred thither by the king of Assyria, and whom they worshipped by the sacrifice of their children by fire. This constitutes the whole of our certain knowledge of this idol. With regard to the etymology of the name, the two most probable modes of interpretation are those which assume, either that, as the latter half of the word is evidently Semitic, the former is so too, and that it means the magnificence of the king (and this is the view which Gesenius now favours) ; or, according to a suggestion first made by Reland (in his Miscell. ii. 113), that the former member is Assyrian, and that the word means the king of fire. It is to he observed that, although it has been disputed to what family of languages the Assyrian belongs, some modern scholars incline to consider it as Medo - Persian (Gesenius, Geschichte der Ilebr. Spmche, p. 62), and that, in this case, the position of that member of the compound which would be dependent on the other as the genitive, is exactly the converse of that which is necessary in Hebrew and the other Syro-Arabian languages. As to the figure under which this idol was worshipped, the Babylonian Talmud (cited at length in Carpzov's Apparatus, p. 516) asserts that he was adored under that of a ?nide; whereas Kimchi says it was under that of a peacock; statements upon which little reliance can be placed. There is greater unanimity in the opinion that the power adored under this name was one of the heavenly bodies, in general accordance with the astrological character of the Assyrian idolatry (Gesenius, 7esaia, iii. 327,
seq.) Selden (De Diis Syris, i. 6) and others have identified him with Moloch, chiefly on the ground that the sacrifice of children by fire, and the general signification of the name, are the same in both. Authorities of nearly equal weight may be adduced for the opinion that Adrammelech. represents the planet Saturn, or the Sun : the kind of sacrifice being in favour of the former : the etymology of the name in favour of the latter. [MoLocx.] Selden has also maintained (De Dzis Syris, ii. 9) that Adrammelech and Anammelech are only names of one and the same idol. The contrary, however, is asserted by most ancient and modern authorities. No argument for their identity can be drawn from the kethib in 2 Kings xvii. 31, because the singular r6's is not found in prose prior to the Captivity (and even if it were, it would be defectively written here, of which there is only one instance in our present text, unless when it has a prefix or suffix). Besides, upwards of seventy MSS. and several early editions read the plural in the text here (De Rossi, liar Lect. ad loc.) ; and it is also the keri of our printed copies.—J. N.
2. One of the sons and murderers of Sennacherib, king of Assyria (2 Kings xix. 37 ; Isaiah xxxvii. 38). This name, as borne by two Assyrian kings ante rior to Sennacherib, has been deciphered in the Nineveh inscriptions (Layard, Win, and Bab. p. 623 ; Rawlinson, Outlines of Assyrian History; see also Rev. G. Rawlinson, Banzpton Lect. p. 143). —W. L. A.