RB. 2016 - T. 123-4 (pp. 481-505). doi 10.2143/RBI.123.4.3180790 A “MOLEK” INSCRIPTION FROM THE LEVANT? ANOTHER LOOK AT THE AUTHENTICITY OF RES 367 BY Heath D. DEWRELL Princeton Theological Seminary heath.dewrell@ptsem.edu ABSTRACT The nature of the biblical ךֶ לֹ מַּ לsacrifices, which in the opinion of most schol- ars involved child sacrifice, has been a matter of contention for some time. One of the more influential suggestions in this debate has been O. Eissfeldt’s thesis that these sacrifices are related to Punic mlk offerings attested in inscriptions from the central Mediterranean. The obvious weakness of this thesis is that there is no evidence for extensive interaction between the Punic colonists and the Israelites during the Iron Age. One must instead posit that the Phoenicians also offered mlk sacrifices, and that they provide the intermediate link between the Punic colonists and the Israelites. The only alleged piece of evidence for Phoenician mlk rituals, though, is the so-called Nebi Yunis inscription (RES 367), a Phoenician inscrip- tion from the Levant which appears to commemorate a mlk offering. While this inscription was assumed to be a forgery for decades, the combined work of B. Delavault, A. Lemaire, and A. Gianto has shifted scholarly opinion dramati- cally, and the inscription’s authenticity is taken for granted in more recent schol- arship. This study reexamines the inscription, however, and demonstrates that there remain several reasons to be suspicious of its authenticity. When all the evidence is taken into account, it ultimately appears more likely that the inscrip- tion is a forgery than not, and thus one should only use it with caution, if at all, in one’s reconstruction of the history of mlk sacrifices. RÉSUMÉ La nature des sacrifices bibliques ךֶ לֹ מַּ ל, qui de l’avis de la plupart des cher- cheurs impliquaient un sacrifice d’enfant, a été un sujet de discorde depuis un certain temps. L’une des suggestions les plus influentes dans ce débat a été la thèse