The name Adrammelech appears in the King James Version of the Bible referring to two distinct figures separated by different contexts: a pagan deity of a foreign nation, and an Assyrian prince. Both references serve as stark reminders of the perils of idolatry and the certainty of divine judgment.
1. Adrammelech the False God: The Deity of Fire Sacrifice
The first mention of Adrammelech identifies him as one of the false gods worshiped by the people of Sepharvaim, a group resettled into Samaria by the king of Assyria after the Northern Kingdom of Israel was taken into captivity. The worship practices associated with Adrammelech are among the most detestable acts recorded in Scripture:
“And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.” (2 Kings 17:31, KJV)
The Abomination of the Worship:
- A Paired Idol: Adrammelech is explicitly linked with a companion deity named Anammelech. Scholars suggest the name Adrammelech means “Glorious King” or “Adar is King” (Adar being a Babylonian deity), and the pair may have represented the male and female powers of the sun or an astral cult.
- Child Sacrifice: The most horrific detail is the practice of burning their own children as sacrifices. This act was strictly forbidden by God and was one of the primary reasons for the judgment and ultimate exile of the Canaanite nations and, later, the Israelites themselves. It stands as a powerful symbol of the cruelty and moral decay inherent in all forms of false worship that demand the ultimate price of life.
The entire chapter of 2 Kings 17 highlights the spiritual syncretism—the mixing of the worship of the Lord with pagan practices—that led to Israel’s downfall, of which the vile worship of Adrammelech and Anammelech became an enduring symbol.
2. Adrammelech the Prince: The Parricide of Nineveh
The second reference to an individual named Adrammelech is in the context of the judgment pronounced upon Sennacherib, the powerful King of Assyria who had scornfully threatened Jerusalem and the sovereignty of the Lord.
After God miraculously destroyed Sennacherib’s vast army for his blasphemy (2 Kings 19:35), the disgraced king returned to his capital, Nineveh. There, the prophesied judgment finally fell upon him, not from the armies of a foreign nation, but from his own blood:
“And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.” (2 Kings 19:37, KJV; also Isaiah 37:38)
The Prophetic Hotspot:
- Fulfillment of Prophecy: This act of patricide fulfilled the prophecy given to Sennacherib through the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” (2 Kings 19:7, KJV). The murder of the king by his sons, while he was in the act of worshipping his own impotent idol, Nisroch, demonstrated the Lord’s absolute control over the kings of the earth and the emptiness of their false gods.
- The Escape: Adrammelech and his brother Sharezer fled after the murder, seeking refuge in the land of Ararat (or Armenia), a clear sign that their treason did not lead to the throne, but to exile and eternal infamy.
The Return Question: Where is Adrammelech?
The life and death of the Assyrian prince Adrammelech, and the mention of the heathen deity Adrammelech, both powerfully address “The Return Question” by focusing on the judgment and sovereignty of the True King.
The Lord of Glory demands the full surrender of the heart, promising life, while false kings and idols—like the deity Adrammelech—demand death (child sacrifice). Similarly, the great Assyrian king Sennacherib, who thought his power was absolute and challenged the Lord, was brought low in a moment of shocking vulnerability by his son Adrammelech.
The message is clear: All rival claims to kingship, whether through idolatry or earthly power, are ultimately crushed and consumed by the decree of the God of Israel. Every earthly empire and every false god will eventually fail before the glorious Return of the King of Righteousness.