8<\/strong>. Moab and Seir<\/em> ] LXX. omits and Seir<\/em>. Ezek. elsewhere always says “mount Seir” (Eze 35:2-3<\/span>; Eze 35:7<\/span>; Eze 35:15<\/span>), and Edom, with which mount Seir is joined (Eze 35:15<\/span>) has a special prophecy directed against it ( Eze 25:12-14<\/em><\/span>). The phrase “like unto all the nations” implies knowledge of some claim to preeminence on the part of Judah. Moab rejoices that these pretensions have received a signal refutation.<\/p>\n 8 11<\/strong>. Prophecy against Moab<\/p>\n The Moabites, like the Ammonites, were recognised by Israel as a kindred people (Gen 19:30<\/span>). Technically the border of Moab on the N. was the Arnon, but they had pretensions to the district lying beyond this stream at least as far as the head of the Dead Sea, and these pretensions they often asserted. Practically the tribes of Reuben and Gad seem to have been unable to make good their claim to this territory by dispossessing the Moabites. The peoples appear to have mixed together, and frequently Moab is found in possession of the fertile district and the numerous cities which covered it (Mesha’s Inscrip.). The country was subdued by David, and on the division of the kingdom fell as a dependency to northern Israel, to which it paid a yearly tribute of 200,000 fleeces of wool (2Ki 3:4<\/span>), though making frequent struggles for independence (2Ki 1:1<\/span>; 2Ki 3:5<\/span>; 2Ki 13:20<\/span>). Unlike the Ammonites, who continued a half-nomad people, the Moabites became more a settled nation, and appear to have attained to a considerable degree of civilization. Their language was closely allied to Hebrew, and the art of writing appears familiar as early as the beginning of the 9th century (Mesha’s Inscrip.). After the intervention of the Assyrians in western Asia Moab with the neighbouring peoples became tributary to that power. Hostilities between Israel and Moab were too frequent, and along with Ammon they helped towards the downfall of Judah at the hands of the Chaldeans (2Ki 24:2<\/span>; Zep 2:8<\/span>). Their warfare was characterized by inhuman excesses (Amo 2:1<\/span>), and the people are stigmatised as proud and boastful (Isaiah 15, 16; Zep 2:8-10<\/span>). Moab is referred to after the return (Ezr 9:1<\/span>; Neh 13:1<\/span>; the ref. Isa 25:10<\/span> is of uncertain date and meaning), and as late as Dan 11:41<\/span>.<\/p>\n Prophecies against Moab which lay south of Ammon, and shared Ammons implacable hostility to the children of Israel.<\/P> Seir was close to Moab. Edom is identified with Mount Seir in Eze 35:1-15<\/span>; and Seir is therefore probably coupled with Moab here because, being near neighbors closely leagued together, they expressed a common exultation at Jerusalems fall.<\/P> <\/p>\n Verse 8<\/span>. Moab and Seir do say<\/B><\/I>] Seir<\/I> means the Idumeans<\/I>. It appears that both these, with the Ammonites, had made a league with Zedekiah, Jer 27:3<\/span>, which they did not keep; and it is supposed that they even joined with the Chaldeans.<\/P> <\/p>\n Moab; <\/B>the children of Lot by the elder daughter, the whole nation going under the name of the first father of them, near but evil neighbours to Israel and Judah. <\/P> Seir; <\/B>the seed of Esau, who are, Edom, Idumeans, or Seir, from the mountain where they first planted themselves; near of kin in blood, but bitter enemies to the Jews: though both here joined, yet Moab is first doomed, Eze 25:9-11<\/span>, and Seir next, Eze 25:12-14<\/span>. <\/P> The house of Judah; <\/B>the peculiar people of God, who had his law, temple, worship of his own appointment, among them. <\/P> Is like unto all the heathen; <\/B>are no more a select people than others; their religion no better, nor their god but as the gods of their neighbours, and they no more benefited by their, worshipping of him. Thus, atheist-like, they dethrone God, and debase him to an equality with their own idols. More particularly Moabs sin is set out, Jer 48<\/span>. <\/P> <\/p>\n 8.<\/B> Moab, Seir, and Ammon werecontiguous countries, stretching in one line from Gilead on the northto the Red Sea. They therefore naturally acted in concert, and injoint hostility to Judea. <\/P> Judah is like . . . all . . .heathen<\/B>The Jews fare no better than others: it is of no use tothem to serve Jehovah, who, they say, is the only true God.<\/P><\/p>\n Thus saith the Lord God<\/strong>,…. By his servant the prophet, to whom the word of the Lord came; as concerning the Ammonites, so likewise concerning the Moabites, as follows:<\/p>\n because that Moab and Seir do say<\/strong>; that is, the Moabites, and the Edomites, which latter are meant by Seir, that being the seat of them; these lived near one another, and bore a like enmity to the Israelites and Jews, and had the same sentiments concerning them, and said the same things of them: only Moab is mentioned in the Septuagint and Arabic versions: the Moabites are first prophesied of, and then the Edomites, who both joined in saying, behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the Heathen; it fares no better with them than with the rest of the nations, who do not profess and serve the same God they do; they are fallen into the hands of the king of Babylon, as well as others; and have no more security against him, nor protection from him, than other people; they pretend to serve and worship the one only living and true God, and to be his covenant people, and to be favoured with privileges above all other nations; and yet are brought into the same miserable circumstances, and left in them, as others are; where is the God they boast of, and their superior excellence to the rest of the world? thus blasphemously, as well as wickedly, did they insult them, which was provoking to the Lord. The Targum renders it interrogatively,<\/p>\n “in what do the house of Judah differ from all people?”<\/p>\n and so the Septuagint,<\/p>\n “behold, are not the house of Israel and Judah in like manner as all nations?”<\/p>\n Jerom, on the place, relates a fable of the Jews, that when the city and temple were opened, the Ammonites, Moobites, and Edomites, went into the temple, and saw the cherubim over the mercy seat, and said, as all nations worship images, so Judah hath the idols of their religion. Jarchi makes mention of such a Midrash, but with some difference.<\/p>\n Against the Moabites<\/p>\n Eze 25:8<\/span>. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because Moab, like Seir, saith, Behold, like all other nations is the house of Judah: <\/em> Eze 25:9<\/span>. Therefore, behold, I will open the shoulder of Moab from the cities, from its cities even to the last, the ornament of the land, Beth-hayeshimoth, Baal-meon, and as far as Kiryathaim, <\/em> Eze 25:10<\/span>. To the sons of the east, together with the sons of Ammon, and will give it for a possession, that the sons of Ammon may no more be remembered among the nations. <\/em> Eze 25:11<\/span>. Upon Moab will I execute judgments; and they shall learn that I am Jehovah.<\/em> – Moab has become guilty of the same sin against Judah, the people of God, as Ammon, namely, of misunderstanding and despising the divine election of Israel. Ammon gave expression to this, when Judah was overthrown, in the malicious assertion that the house of Judah was like all the heathen nations, – that is to say, had no pre-eminence over them, and shared the same fate as they. There is something remarkable in the allusion to Seir, i.e., Edom, in connection with Moab, inasmuch as no reference is made to it in the threat contained in Eze 25:9-11<\/span>; and in Eze 25:12-13<\/span>, there follows a separate prediction concerning Edom. Hitzig therefore proposes to follow the example of the lxx, and erase it from the text as a gloss, but without being able in the smallest degree to show in what way it is probable that such a gloss could have found admission into an obviously unsuitable place. Seir is mentioned along with Moab to mark the feeling expressed in the words of Moab as springing, like the enmity of Edom towards Israel, from hatred and envy of the spiritual birthright of Israel, i.e., of its peculiar prerogatives in sacred history. As a punishment for this, Moab was to be given up, like Ammon, to the Bedouins for their possession, and the people of the Moabites were to disappear from the number of the nations. Eze 25:9<\/span> and Eze 25:10<\/span> form one period, in Eze 25:10<\/span> being governed by in Eze 25:9<\/span>. The shoulder of Moab is the side of the Moabitish land. In the application of the word to lands or provinces, regard is had to the position of the shoulder in relation to the whole body, but without reference to the elevation of the district. We find an analogy to this in the use of in connection with the sides of a building. In ‘ ‘ , the cannot be taken, in a privative sense, for ; for neither the article , nor the more emphatic , allows this; but indicates the direction, “from the cities onwards,” “from its cities onwards, reckoning to the very last,” – that is to say, in its whole extent. , as in Isa 56:11<\/span>; Gen 19:4<\/span>, etc. This tract of land is first of all designated as a glorious land, with reference to its worth as a possession on account of the excellence of its soil for the rearing of cattle (see the comm. on Num 32:4<\/span>), and then defined with geographical minuteness by the introduction of the names of some of its cities. Beth-Hayeshimoth<\/em>, i.e., house of wastes (see the comm. on Num 22:1<\/span>), has probably been preserved in the ruins of Suaime<\/em>, which F. de Saulcy discovered on the north-eastern border of the Dead Sea, a little farther inland (vid., Voyage en terre sainte<\/em>, Paris 1865, t. i. p. 315). Baal-meon<\/em>, – when written fully, Beth-Baal-Meon<\/em> (Jos 13:17<\/span>) – contracted into Beth-Meon<\/em> in Jer 48:23<\/span>, is to be sought for to the south-east of this, in the ruins of Myun<\/em>, three-quarters of an hour’s journey to the south of Heshbon (see the comm. on Num 32:38<\/span>). Kiryathaim<\/em> was still farther south, probably on the site of the ruins of El Teym<\/em> (see the comm. on Gen 14:5<\/span> and Num 32:37<\/span>). The Chetib<\/em> is based upon the form , a secondary form of , like , a secondary form of , in 2Ki 6:13<\/span>. The cities named were situated to the north of the Arnon, in that portion of the Moabitish land which had been taken from the Moabites by the Amorites before the entrance of the Israelites into Canaan (Num 21:13<\/span>, Num 21:26<\/span>), and was given to the tribe of Reuben for its inheritance after the defeat of the Amoritish kings by the Israelites; and then, still later, when the tribes beyond the Jordan were carried into captivity by the Assyrians, came into the possession of the Moabites again, as is evident from Isa 15:1-9<\/span> and Isa 16:1-14<\/span>, and Jer 48:1<\/span>, Jer 48:23<\/span>, where these cities are mentioned once more among the cities of the Moabites. This will explain not only the naming of this particular district of the Moabitish country, but the definition, “from its cities.” For the fact upon which the stress is laid in the passage before us is, that the land in question rightfully belonged to the Israelites, according to Num 32:37-38<\/span>; Num 33:49<\/span>; Jos 12:2-3<\/span>; Jos 13:20-21<\/span>, and that it was therefore unlawfully usurped by the Moabites after the deportation of the trans-Jordanic tribes; and the thought is this, that the judgment would burst upon Moab from this land and these cities, and they would thereby be destroyed (Hvernick and Kliefoth). , not “over the sons of Ammon,” but “in addition to the sons of Ammon.” They, that is to say, their land, had already been promised to the sons of the east (Eze 25:4<\/span>). In addition to this, they are now to receive Moab for their possession (Hitzig and Kliefoth). Thus will the Lord execute judgments upon Moab. Eze 25:11<\/span> sums up what is affirmed concerning Moab in Eze 25:9<\/span> and Eze 25:10<\/span>, in the one idea of the judgments of God upon this people.<\/p>\n The execution of these judgments commenced with the subjugation of the Ammonites and Moabites by Nebuchadnezzar, five years after the destruction of Jerusalem (vid., Josephus, Antt<\/em>. x. 9. 7, and M. von Niebuhr, Gesch. Assurs,<\/em> etc., p. 215). Nevertheless the Ammonites continued to exist as a nation for a long time after the captivity, so that Judas the Maccabaean waged war against them (1 Macc. 5:6, 30-43); and even Justin Martyr speaks of ( Dial. Tryph<\/em>. p. 272). – But Origen includes their land in the general name of Arabia (lib. i. in Job<\/em>). The name of the Moabites appears to have become extinct at a much earlier period. After the captivity, it is only in Ezr 9:1<\/span>; Neh 13:1<\/span>, and Dan 11:41<\/span>, that we find any notice of them as a people. Their land is mentioned by Josephus in the Antiq<\/em>. xiii. 14. 2, and xv. 4, and in the Bell. Jud<\/em>. iii. 3. 3. – A further fulfilment by the Messianic judgment, which is referred to in Zep 2:10<\/span>, is not indicated in these words of Ezekiel; but judging from the prophecy concerning the Edomites (see the comm. on Eze 25:14<\/span>), it is not to be excluded.<\/p>\n Various Nations Threatened.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 590.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 8 Thus saith the Lord GOD<\/B>; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is<\/I> like unto all the heathen; 9 Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are<\/I> on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim, 10 Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations. 11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am<\/I> the LORD<\/B>. 12 Thus saith the Lord GOD<\/B>; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD<\/B>; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. 14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD<\/B>. 15 Thus saith the Lord GOD<\/B>; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it<\/I> for the old hatred; 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD<\/B>; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. 17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am<\/I> the LORD<\/B>, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.<\/P> Three more of Israel’s ill-natured neighbours are here arraigned, convicted, and condemned to destruction, for contributing to and triumphing in Jerusalem’s fall.<\/P> I. The Moabites. Seir, which was the seat of the Edomites, is joined with them (v.<\/I><\/span> 8<\/span>), because they said the same as the Moabites; but they were afterwards reckoned with by themselves, v.<\/I><\/span> 12<\/span>. Now observe,<\/P> 1. What was the sin of the Moabites; they said, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen.<\/I> They triumphed, (1.) In the apostasies of Israel, were please to see them forsake their God and worship idols, and hoped that in a while their religion would be quite lost and forgotten and the house of Judah<\/I> would be like all the heathen,<\/I> perfect idolaters. When those that profess religion walk unworthy of their profession they encourage the enemies of religion to hope that it will in time sink, and be run down, and quite abandoned; but let the Moabites know that, though there are those of the house of Judah who have made themselves like the heathen,<\/I> yet there is a remnant that retain their integrity, the religion of the house of Judah shall recover itself, its peculiarities shall be preserved, it shall not lose itself among the heathen,<\/I> but distinguish itself from them, till it deliver itself honourably into a better institution. (2.) In the calamities of Israel. They said, “The house of Judah is like all the heathen,<\/I> in as bad a state as they; their God is no more able to deliver them from this overflowing scourge<\/I> of these parts of the world than the gods of the heathen are to deliver them. Where are the promises they gloried in and all the wonders which they and their fathers told us of? What the better are they for the covenant of peculiarity, upon which they so much valued themselves? Those that looked with so much scorn upon all the heathen<\/I> are now set upon a level with them, or rather sunk below them.” Note, Those who judge only by outward appearance are ready to conclude that the people of God have lost all their privileges when they have lost their worldly prosperity, which does not follow, for good men, even in affliction, in captivity among the heathen, have graces and comforts within sufficient to distinguish them from all the heathen. Though the event seem one to the righteous and wicked,<\/I> yet indeed it is vastly different.<\/P> 2. What should be the punishment of Moab for this sin; because they triumphed in the overthrow of Judah, their country shall be in like manner overthrown with that of the Ammonites, who were guilty of the same sin (Eze 25:9<\/span>; Eze 25:10<\/span>): “I will open the side of Moab,<\/I> will uncover its shoulder, will take away all its defences, that it may become an easy prey to any that will make a prey of it.” (1.) See here how it shall be exposed; the frontier-towns, that were its strength and guard, shall be demolished by the Chaldean forces, and laid open. Some of the cities are here named, which are said to be the glory of the country,<\/I> which they trusted in, and boasted of as impregnable; these shall decay, be deserted, or betrayed, or fall into the enemies’ hands, so that Moab shall lie exposed, and whoever will may penetrate into the heart of the country. Note, Those who glory in any other defence and protection than that of the divine power, providence, and promise, will sooner or later see cause to be ashamed of their glorying. (2.) See here to whom it shall be exposed: The men of the east,<\/I> when they come to take possession of the country of the Ammonites, shall seize that of the Moabites too. God, the Lord of all lands, will give them that land; for the kingdoms of men he gives to whomsoever he will. The Arabians, who are shepherds, and live quietly, plain men dwelling in tents, shall by an overruling Providence be put in possession of the land of the Moabites, who are soldiers, men of war, and cunning hunters, that live turbulently. The Chaldeans shall get it by war, and the Arabians shall enjoy it in peace. Concerning the Ammonites it is said, They shall no more be remembered among the nations<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 10<\/span>), for they had been accessory to the murder of Gedaliah, Jer. xl. 14<\/span>. But of the Moabites it is said, I will execute judgments upon Moab;<\/I> they shall feel the weight of God’s displeasure, but perhaps not to that degree that the Ammonites shall; however, so far as that they shall know that I am the Lord,<\/I> that the God of Israel is a God of power, and that his covenant with his people is not broken.<\/P> II. The Edomites, the posterity of Esau, between whom and Jacob there had been an old enmity. And here is,<\/P> 1. The sin of the Edomites, v.<\/I><\/span> 12<\/span>. They not only triumphed in the ruin of Judah and Jerusalem, as the Moabites and Ammonites had done, but they took advantage from the present distressed state to which the Jews were reduced to do them some real mischiefs, probably made inroads upon their frontiers and plundered their country: Edom has dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance.<\/I> The Edomites had of old been tributaries to the Jews, according to the sentence that the elder should serve the younger. In Jehoram’s time they revolted. Amaziah severely chastised them (2 Kings xiv. 7<\/span>), and for this they took vengeance.<\/I> Now they would pay off all the old scores, and not only incensed the Babylonians against Jerusalem, crying, Rase it, rase it<\/I> (Ps. cxxxvii. 7<\/span>), but cut off those that escaped,<\/I> as we find in the prophecy of Obadiah, which is wholly directed against Edom, Eze 25:11<\/span>; Eze 25:12<\/span>, c. It is called here revenging a revenge,<\/I> which intimates that they were not only eager upon it, but very cruel in it, and recompensed to the Jews more than double. “Herein he has greatly offended.<\/I>” Note, It is a great offence to God for us to revenge ourselves upon our brother for God has said, Vengeance is mine.<\/I> We are forbidden to revenge<\/I> or to bear a grudge.<\/I> Suppose Judah had been hard upon Edom formerly, it was a base thing for the Edomites now, in revenge for it, to smite them secretly.<\/I> But the Jews had a divine warrant to reign over the Edomites, for that therefore they ought not to have made reprisals; and it was the more disingenuous for them to retain the old enmity when God had particularly commanded his people to forget it. Deut. xxiii. 7<\/span>, Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite.<\/I><\/P> 2. The judgments threatened against them for this sin. God will take them to task for it (v.<\/I><\/span> 13<\/span>): I will stretch out my hand upon Edom<\/I> Their country shall be desolate from Teman,<\/I> which lay in the south part of it; and they shall fall by the sword unto Dedan,<\/I> which lay north; the desolations of war should go through the nation. (1.) They had taken vengeance, and therefore God will lay his vengeance<\/I> upon them (v.<\/I><\/span> 14<\/span>): They shall know my vengeance.<\/I> Those that will not leave it to God to take vengeance for them may expect that he will take vengeance on them; and those that will not believe and fear his vengeance shall be made to know and feel his vengeance; they shall be dealt with according to God’s anger<\/I> and according to his fury,<\/I> not according to the weakness of the instruments that are employed in it, but according to the strength of the arm that employs them. (2.) They had taken vengeance on Israel, and God will lay his vengeance on them by the hand of his people Israel.<\/I> They suffered much by the Chaldeans, which seems to be referred to, Jer. xlix. 8<\/span>. But besides that there were saviours<\/I> to come upon Mount Zion,<\/I> who should judge the mount of Esau (Obad. 21<\/span>), and Israel’s Redeemer comes with dyed garments from Bozrah<\/I> (Isa. lxiii. 1<\/span>), this implies a promise that Israel should recover itself again to such a degree as to be in a capacity of curbing the insolence of its neighbours. And we find (1 Mac. v. 3<\/U>) that Judas Maccabeus fought against the children of Esau in Idumea, gave them a great overthrow, abated their courage, and took their spoil;<\/I> and Josephus says (Antiq.<\/I> 13.257), that Hircanus made the Edomites tributaries to Israel. Note, The equity of God’s judgments is to be observed when he not only avenges injuries upon those that did them, but by those against whom they were done.<\/P> III. The Philistines. And, 1. Their sin is much the same with that of the Edomites: They have dealt by revenge<\/I> with the people of Israel, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart,<\/I> not to disturb them only, but to destroy them,<\/I> for the old hatred<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 15<\/span>), the old grudge they bore them, or (as the margin reads it) with perpetual hatred,<\/I> a hatred that began long since and which they resolved to continue. The anger was implacable: they dealt by revenge,<\/I> traded in the acts of malice; it was their constant practice, and their heart, their spiteful heart, was upon it. 2. Their punishment likewise is much the same, v.<\/I><\/span> 16<\/span>. Those that were for destroying God’s people shall themselves be cut off and destroyed; and (v.<\/I><\/span> 17<\/span>) those that were for avenging themselves shall find that God will execute great vengeance upon them.<\/I> This was fulfilled when that country was wasted by the Chaldean army, not long after the destruction of Jerusalem, which is foretold, Jer. xlvii<\/span>. It was strange that these nations, which bordered upon the land of Israel, were not alarmed by the success of the Chaldean army, and made to tremble in the apprehension of their own danger; when their neighbour’s house was on fire it was time to look to their own; but their impiety and malice made them forget their politics, till God by his judgments convinced them that the cup was going round, and they were the less safe for being secure.<\/P><\/p>\n JUDGMENT OF MOAB<\/strong><\/p>\n Verses 8-11:<\/strong><\/p>\n Verse 8 charges <\/strong>that because Moab and Seir repeatedly babbled that the “house of Judah was like all the heathen,” Moab too should be gravely judged, Deu 2:5<\/span>; Isa 15:1<\/span>; Jer 48:1<\/span>; Amo 2:1<\/span>. They had forgotten that nine centuries earlier one of their own Moabite kings had been told by a Gentile seer or prophet that Israel should dwell alone, not be reckoned among the nations, as recounted Num 23:5-9<\/span>.<\/p>\n Verses 9-11 prophesies <\/strong>that because Moab and Seir had also denied the people, and sanctuary, and land of Israel He would make their Eastern frontiers to be a place of ease for invading mauraders who would come in to destroy the strongholds of their country, Besh-jesimoth, Baal-meon, and Kirathaim. It was once the land of Reuben, Jos 13:15-21<\/span>. These men of the East, from the deserts of Arabia were to come through the mountain passes into the land of the Ammonites subduing them and sweeping on northward until they of Moab would be no more among the nations at all, until the heathen Moabites surviving the judgments would come to know that the Lord was God, Isa 16:6<\/span>.<\/p>\n II. THE WORD AGAINST MOAB 25:811<\/p>\n TRANSLATION<\/strong><\/p>\n (8) Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Moab and Seir have said, Behold, the house of Judah is like all the nations, (9) therefore, behold, I am about to open the flank[369] of Moab on the side of the cities, its cities from its frontier,[370] the glory of the land, Bethjeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim, (10) and I will give it to the children of the east along with the children of Ammon for a possession in order that the children of Ammon may not be remembered among the nations. (11) So in Moab I will execute judgments; and they shall know that I am the LORD.<\/p>\n [369] Literally, shoulder of Moab, i.e., the side of Moab exposed to invasion.<\/p>\n [370] Literally, its end.<\/p>\n COMMENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n Ezekiels attention next fell upon Ammons brother and neighbor to the south, Moab. From the earliest times the Moabites had manifested hostility toward Israel. Balak, king of Moab, had attempted to curse the children of Israel just before the death of Moses (Numbers 22-24). Legend has it that the Moabites slew the parents of David whom he had left there for safety during his flight from Saul (cf. 1Sa. 22:3<\/span>). The Moabites warred against Omri and Ahab,[371] and the combined army of<\/p>\n [371] The Moabite Stone records the boasts of the king of Moab in this respect.<\/p>\n Jehoram of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah (2 Kings 3<\/span>). The region of Seir,[372] jointly occupied by Moab and Edom, is included in the present oracle.<\/p>\n [372] Seir is not found in the Greek text of Ezekiel. Due to the fact that Seir is usually associated with Edom, rather than Moab, the Greek translators apparently deliberately omitted the word.<\/p>\n The sin of Moab and Seir was in failing to recognize the distinctiveness of Israel and, consequently, of Israels God (Eze. 25:8<\/span>). Israel no longer enjoyed the miraculous protection she had enjoyed in the past. Her God was no more able to protect her than were the gods of surrounding nations.<\/p>\n The judgment on Moab was similar to that of Ammon. The children from the East would push in out of the desert to occupy the cities of Moab Beth-jeshimoth (the house of waters), Baal-meon (house of Baals habitation), and Kiriathaim (double city; Eze. 25:9<\/span>). Thus the desert raiders would dispossess the Moabites as well as the Ammonites (Eze. 25:10<\/span>). These judgments would convince the Moabites that Yahweh of Israel was the powerful and almighty God (Eze. 25:11<\/span>).<\/p>\n (8) Moab and Seir.<\/strong>The two nations, here mentioned together, are afterwards treated separatelyMoab, Eze. 25:8-11<\/span>, and Edom, Eze. 25:12-14<\/span>. Moab, springing from the same source with Ammon, was closely associated with it in its history and fortune, and is denounced in nearly the same prophecies. It was a more settled and stronger people, and also contributed its quota to the armies of Nebuchadnezzar. Additional prophecies in regard to it may be found in Num. 24:17<\/span> and Isaiah 15, 16, besides those immediately connected with the prophecies expressly against Ammon already cited. The Moabites, so far as they were separated from the Ammonites, lay immediately to the south of them.<\/p>\n 8<\/strong>. <\/strong> Moab <\/strong> Beyond the brief biblical references (as Gen 19:30 ; 2Ki 1:1<\/span>; 2Ki 3:4-5<\/span>; 2Ki 13:20<\/span>) and the well-known Mesha inscription (ninth century B.C.) which the Moabite king set up as a monument of salvation <\/em> in praise of his god Ashtor-Chemosh for his help in defeating the “son” (successor) of Omri, little is known of this great nation. Their literature and royal monuments may any day be discovered, as it was by the merest chance that the above-mentioned monument came to light. We already know that they greatly resembled the Hebrews, not only in language, but in their method of literary composition and in their national and religious spirit. Some one has justly said that if the name for Jehovah were substituted for Chemosh the Mesha inscription would read like an extract from the Book of Kings. Their orthography, however, and chief deity ally them to the Minaeans (South Arabians), while they are always closely associated with the Ammonites (Eze 25:2<\/span>). They, too, were always bitter enemies of Israel, of haughty spirit (Isaiah 15, 16; Zep 2:8-10<\/span>), and very inhuman (Amo 2:1<\/span>). <\/p>\n And Seir <\/strong> Omitted by LXX. “Mount Seir” is elsewhere joined to Edom (Eze 35:15<\/span>). At this time it may have been connected politically with Moab, as at other times both Moab and Ammon seem to have turned against the hardy inhabitants of the hill country (2Ch 20:23<\/span>).<\/p>\n The Oracle Against Moab ( Eze 25:8-11<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n When considering this oracle the historic closeness between Moab and Ammon must be kept in mind. Regularly through history they had worked in unison, with sometimes a strong King of Moab in command (Judges 3<\/span>), and at others a strong King of Ammon (Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n