2 Kings 17:30-31

"The men from Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men from Cuthah made Nergal, and the men from Hamath made Ashima; the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim."

1) Succoth Benoth-

Its precise meaning is unknown. Its literal meaning is "booths of the daughters," and is believed not to be the name of an actual god but of places where women submitted themselves to impure rites connected with the worship of Babylonian dieties.

One writer believes that it is possible that the word represents the Chaldean goddess Zir-banit, worshipped at Babylon. Another has suggested that based upon v.29 that v.30 should in fact read, "Succoth Benoth, the booths of the high places, consecrated to idols."

2) Nergal

A well-known Assyrain diety. The word means great man or hero. He is called by various names on several monuments: The great brother, the storm ruler, the god of battles, the god of the chase. The last is his principal title, and he seems to have been the chief patron of hunting. This has led some to believe that he represented the deified hero Nimrod.

The name of Nergal often appears on Assyrian seals and cylinders. His symbol was a man-lion, or human-headed lion with eagle's wings.

Astronomically, Nergal corresponds with Mars.


3) Ashima

This was a god of the people of Hamath. He was represented in the form of a goat without wool or of a lamb.

The goat is found among the sacred animals on Babylonian monuments. Ashima corresponds to the Egyptian Mendes and the Greek Pan. It's also believed that Ashima was the same as the Phoenician god Esmun, to whom also were attributed the characteristics as Pan.

4) Nibhaz

This was a god of the Avvites, but nothing is known with certainty of the peculiarities of the deity or the shape of its idol. some say that the idol was in the form of a man with the head of a dog. This might correspond to the Egyptain god Anubis, although Anubis' head is supposed to be that of a jackal.


5) Tartak

This was another Avvite deity. Some writers believe the form of the idol to be of an ass. Others render the name "hero of darkness" and say it refers to some planet of supposed malign influence, such as Mars or Saturn.


6) Adrammelech was a god of the Sepharvites, and is believed to be identical to Molech (Lev.18:21). One commentator identified Adrammelech with the Chaldean god San or Sansi.


7) Anammelech- another god of the Sepharvites. No satisfactory entymology of the name has been found.

Some believe this entity to be represented by the Arabian constellation Cepheus, containing the shepherd and the sheep. Some authorities give the idol the figure of a horse, a pheasant, or a quail.

Human sacrifices were offered to this god as well as Adrammelech.

GAIL

IT seems that most of these gods had human and animal
physical features. BUT then they were just copying what
was around them

dgrimm60

Right on that one, Doug! A person cannot rise higher than the god they worship- makes you wonder about these belief systems. It makes sense why so many of them have bizarre, debasing rites