Moab, Moabites
Moab, Moabites
In the Old Testament, the word Moab designates (1) a son of Lot by his elder daughter (Genesis 19:37); (2) the people of whom this son of Lot is represented as the ancestor (Exodus 15:15, etc.), and who are also called “the Moabites” (Genesis 19:37); and possibly (3) the territory occupied by the Moabites (Numbers 21:11). Its etymology: “from my father”, which is added by the Septuagint to the Hebrew text in Gen., xix, 37, is more probable than any derivation suggested by modern scholars. The origin and race of the Moabites need not be discussed here, since according to Gen., xix they are the same as those of the Ammonites, which have been examined in the article AMMONITES.
From the mountainous district above Segor (Zoar), a town which lay in the plain near the south-eastern end of the Dead Sea (cf. Genesis 19:30), Lot’s children forcibly extended themselves in the region of eastern Palestine. Ammon settled in the more distant northeast country, Moab in the districts nearer to the Dead Sea. These were inhabited by the Emims, a gigantic people, whom, however, the Moabites succeeded in expelling. (Deuteronomy 2:9, 10). Moab’s territory was at first of considerable extent, some fifty miles long by thirty broad. It comprised the highlands east of the Dead Sea and the Jordan as far as the mountains of Galaad, together with the level stretch between the highlands and the river, and the well-watered and fertile land at the south end of the Dead Sea. On three sides, it had natural boundaries: on the west, the Dead Sea and the southern section of the Jordan; on the south, the Wady el-Hasy, separating the uplands of Moab from those of Edom; on the east, the Arabian desert. Only on the north, were there no natural features conspicuous enough to form a fixed boundary, and hence Moab’s northern frontier fluctuated at different periods between the Arnon, and a diagonal running south-east from the torrent now called Wady Nimrin to the Arabian desert.
The highlands are the great bulk of this territory. They form a table-land about 3000 feet above the Mediterranean, or 4300 feet above the Dead Sea, rising slowly from north to south, having steep western slopes, and separated eastward from the desert by low, rolling hills. The geology of this almost treeless plateau is the same as that of the range of western Palestine; but its climate is decidedly colder. In spring, its limestone hills are covered with grass and wild flowers, and parts of the plateau are now sown with corn. It is traversed by three deep valleys, the middle of which, the Arnon, is the deepest, and it abounds in streams. It is dotted with dolmens, menhirs, and stone circles, and also with ruins of villages and towns, mostly of the Roman and Byzantine periods. In Old Testament times, Moab was an excellent pasture land (2 Kings 3:4), and its population was much more considerable than at the present day, as is proved by the numerous cities, such as Ar Moab, Gallim, Kir Moab, Luith, Nemrim, Segor, Nophe, Oronaim, Qiriat Hussot (A.V. Kiriath-husoth), Aroer, Baalmeon, Beer Elim, Bethgamul, Bethsimoth, Bethphogor, Bosor, Cariath, Dibon, Eleale, Helon, Hesebon, Jasa, Medaba, Mephaath, Sabama etc., which the Bible mentions as at one time or another Moabite.
Shortly before Israel’s final advance towards Palestine, the Moabites had been deprived of their territory north of the Arnon by the Ammorrhites, coming probably from the west of the Jordan (Numbers 21:13, 26). Moab’s king at the time was Balaac who, in his unfriendlness towards the Hebrew tribes, hired Balaam to curse them, but who failed in this attempt, the expected curses being divinely changed into blessings (see BALAAM). Another fiendish attempt in a different direction was only too successful; the daughters of Moab enticed the Israelites into their idolatry and immorality, and thereby brought upon them a heavy retribution (Numbers 25). Moab’s subsequent relations with the Hebrew tribes (Ruben, Gad) who had settled in its ancient territory north of the Arnon, were probably those of a hostile neighbour anxious to recover his lost territory. In fact, in the early history of the Judges, the Moabites had not only regained control of at least a part of that land, but also extended their power into western Palestine so as to oppress the Benjamites. The Moabite yoke over Benjamin was finally put an end to by Aod, the son of Gera, who assassinated Eglon, Moab’s king, slaughtered the Moabites, and recovered the territory of Jericho to Israel (Judges 3:12-30). To this succeeded a period of friendly intercourse, during which Moab was a refuge for the family of Elimelech, and the Moabitess Ruth was introduced into the line from which David was descended (Ruth, I, 1; iv, 10-22). Saul again fought against Moab (1 Kings 14:47), and David, who, for a while confided his parents to a Moabite king (xxii, 3, 4), ultimately invaded the country and made it tributary to Israel (2 Samuel 8:2). The subjugation apparently continued under Solomon, who had Moabite women in his harem and “built a temple for Chamos the idol of Moab” (1 Kings 11:1, 7). After the disruption, the Moabites were vassals of the northern kingdom; but on the death of Achab, they broke into an open revolt the final result of which was their independence, and the full circumstances of which are best understood by combining the data in IV Kings, i, 1 and iii, 4-27, with those of the “Moabite Stone”, an inscription of Mesa, King of Moab, found in 1868 at the ancient Dibon, and now preserved in the Louvre.
It seems that after this, they made frequent incursions into Israel’s territory (cf. 2 Kings 13:20), and that after the captivity of the trans-Jordanic tribes, they gradually occupied all the land anciently lost to the Amorrhites. Their great prosperity is frequently referred to in the prophetical writings, while their exceeding pride and corruption are made the object of threatening oracles (Isaiah 15-16; 25:10; Jeremiah 47; Ezekiel 25:8-11; Amos 2:1-3; Zephaniah 2:8-11; etc.) In the cunieform inscriptions, their rulers are repeatedly mentioned as tribute-payers to Assyria. This was indeed the condition of their continuous prosperity. It can hardly be doubted, however, that they sided at times with other Western countries against the Assyrian monarchs (Fragment of Sargon II; opening chapters of Judith). In the last days of the Kingdom of Juda, they transferred their allegiance to Babylon, and fought for Nabuchodonosor against Joakim (2 Kings 24:2). Even after the fall of Jerusalem, Moab enjoyed a considerable prosperity under Nabuchodonosor’s rule; but its utter ruin as a state was at hand. In fact, when the Jews returned from Babylon, the Nabathean Arabs occupied the territory of Moab, and the Arabians instead of the Moabites were the allies of the Ammonites (cf. Ezra 4:7; 1 Maccabees 9:32-42; Josephus, “Antiq.”, 13:13, 5, 14:1, 4)
As is shown by the Moabite Stone, the language of Moab was “simply a dialect of Hebrew”. Its use of the waw consecutive connects most intimately the two languages, and almost all the words, inflections, and idioms of this inscription occur in the original text of the Old Testament. The same monument bears witness to the fact that while the Moabites adored Chamos as their national god, they also worshipped Ashtar as his consort. Besides these two divinities, the Old Testament mentions another local deity of the Mobaites, viz. Baal of Mount Phegor (Peor: Beelphegor) (Numbers 25:3; Deuteronomy 4:3; Hosea 9:10; etc.). The Moabites were therefore polythiests. And although their religion is not fully known, it is certain that human sacrifices and also impure rites formed a part of their worship (2 Kings 3:27; Numbers 25; Hosea 9:10).
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TROSTRAM, “Land of Moab” (London, 1874); CONDER, “Heth and Moab” (London, 1884); BAETHGEN, “Beitrage x. semitischen Relitionsgeschicte” (Berlin, 1888); W. R. Smith, “Religion of the Semites” (London, 1894); BLISS, “Narrative of an expedition to Moab and Gilead” (London, 1895); G. A. Smith, “Historical Geography of the Holy Land” (New York, 1897); LAGRANGE, “Etudes sur les Religions Semitiques” (Paris, 1903).
FRANCIS E. GIGOT Transcribed by John Looby
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XCopyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, October 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Moab, Moabites
MOAB, MOABITES.Moab occupied the lofty table-land to the east of the Dead Sea. It was bounded on the E. by the Arabian desert, on the S. by the land of Edom, on the W. by the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley. Its N. boundary fluctuated at different periods between the Arnon and an indistinct line some distance north of Heshbon. This table-land is elevated some 3000 feet above the level of the Mediterranean, and 4300 feet above the Dead Sea. It is traversed by three deep valleys, the middle one of which, the Arnon, is the deepest, and is often mentioned in the Bible. The northern portion consists of broad stretches of rolling country, the reddish soil of which is fertile, while in the southern portion more hills are found, and the deep wrinkles interfere more with agriculture. In the winter months the rainfall is adequate, and renders the country very desirable in comparison with the deserts on its border.
In the earliest times known to us this land was called Lotan (Egyp. Ruten), or Lot. The narrative of Gen 19:1-38, which makes Lot (wh. see) the father of Moab, apparently means that the Moabites settled in this land of Lot. The meaning of Moab is undetermined. The etymology of Gen 19:37 (LXX [Note: Septuagint.] ) is not philological, and modern guesses are uncertain.
The narrative of Gen 19:1-38 shows that the Israelites recognized the Moabites as their kinsmen. That they really were such, their language, religion, and customs, so far as known to us, also testify. Probably, then, the Moabites came with the wave of Araman migration which brought the Israelites, secured a foothold in the land of Lotan while the Israelites were still nomads, and adopted the Canaanitish speech of the people among whom they settled. Sayce believes they were settled in this territory by c [Note: circa, about.] . b.c. 1300, for Rameses ii., he thinks, alludes to the country Moab (cf. Patriarchal Palestine, p. 22), but this lacks confirmation.
At the time of the approach of the Hebrews to Palestine the Moabites were so strongly intrenched in their land that the invaders avoided all conflict with them (Deu 2:9, Jdg 11:15, 2Ch 20:16), although they conquered king Sihon, who had subdued all of Moab north of the Arnon (Num 21:21-31, Deu 2:24-35). The Moabites viewed the coming of Israel with alarm, and desired to attack them, but did not dare (Num 22:1-41; Num 23:1-30; Num 24:1-25, Deu 23:4, Jdg 11:25).
According to the Priestly narratives, the Israelites secured at this time the territory north of the Arnon; but the narratives differ as to whether its cities were all assigned to Reuben (so Jos 13:16-21), or whether some of the most southerly (Dibon, Ataroth, and Aroer) were assigned to Gad (Num 32:34 ff.). Perhaps the latter view represents the fact. The Gadites obtained some of the southern cities, and the Reubenites some of the northern. Probably the conquest was not very complete.
Early in the period of the Judges, the Moabites not only had regained control of all this territory, but had extended their power into western Palestine so as to oppress the Benjamites (Jdg 3:12-30). This led to the assassination of Eglon, king of Moab, by Ehud. In course of time the Moabites absorbed the tribe of Reuben, though the latter maintained their identity for a considerable period.
According to the Book of Ruth, friendly intercourse existed between Moab and Israel at this period. Saul fought with the Moabites (1Sa 14:47), but with what result we do not know. Towards the end of his reign they aided David against him (1Sa 22:3 ff.). David subjugated Moab, and rendered the country tributary to Israel (2Sa 8:1-2; 2Sa 8:12). This subjugation apparently continued during the reign of Solomon, for he had Moabitish women in his harem, and built a shrine for Chemosh, the god of Moab (1Ki 11:1; 1Ki 11:7).
After the reign of Solomon, Moab apparently gained its independence. Our next information comes from the so-called Moabite Stone, an inscription of Mesha, king of Moab, found at the ancient Dibon, and now preserved in the Louvre. Mesha states that Omri, king of Israel, conquered Moab, and that Moab continued subject to Israel till the middle of the reign of Ahab, when Chemosh enabled him (Mesha) to win victories over Israel, which secured Moabitish independence, and which he describes in detail. A somewhat confused allusion to this is found in 2Ki 3:1 ff., Jehoram, Ahabs successor, undertook, with the aid of Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom, to reduce Moab once more, and almost succeeded, The country was overrun, the capital besieged and reduced to great extremity, when the king of Moab sacrificed to Chemosh his firstborn son on the city wall in sight of both armies (2Ki 3:27). The courage which this aroused in the Moabites, and the superstitious dread which it excited in the besieging army, secured a victory for the former. It appears from 2Ki 13:20 that after this, Moabites frequently in vaded Israel.
Amos (Amo 2:1-3) in the next century reproved Moab for barbarities to Edom, and Tiglath-pileser III. of Assyria enumerates the king of Moab among his tribute-payers (KIB [Note: IB Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek.] ii. 20). Sennacherib, about b.c. 700, received tribute from Chemosh-nadab, king of Moab (KIB [Note: IB Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek.] ii. 91), and the country remained vassal to Assyria during the following reigns of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal (cf. KIB [Note: IB Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek.] ii. 148, 238).
Moabites aided Nebuchadnezzar against Jehoiakim at the very end of the same century (2Ki 24:2). Isa 15:1-9; Isa 16:1-14, Zep 2:8-11, Jer 48:1-47, and Eze 25:8 ff. contain prophecies against Moab, but do not add to our knowledge of the history. Jer 48:1-47 indicates that a great calamity was impending over them. In Neh 4:7 Arabians rather than Moabites are allies of the Ammonites (cf. also 1Ma 9:32-42 and Jos. [Note: Josephus.] Ant. XIII. xiii. 5, XIV. i. 4). We know that the Nabatans were in possession of this country a little later, and it is probable that by the time of Nehemiah they had for ever brought the Moabite power to an end. Some infer from Jeremiahs prophecy that Moab rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar as Israel and Ammon did, and that he carried enough of them captive to weaken them and render them an easy prey to the Nabatans. Possibly this is true, but we know nothing of It.
The language of the Moabites was, as the Moabite Stone shows, identical with that of Israel. That peculiar construction known as Waw Consecutive is found, outside of Biblical Hebrew, only in the Moabite Stone and one or two Phnician inscriptions.
The religion of the Moabites was very similar to that of early Israel. The references to Chemosh in Meshas inscription are very similar to references to Jahweh in Israelitish writings of the same period. The Divine name Ashtar-Chemosh indicates that the worship of the feminine divinity known to the Babylonians as Ishtar, and to the Phnicians as Astart, was also mingled with the worship of Chemosh. Traces of the repellent nature of this worship appear in the OT (Num 25:5; Num 31:16, Jos 22:7, Psa 106:28). No great ethical prophets, such as elevated the religion of Israel, rescued the religion of Moab from the level of its barbaric Semitic origin.
George A. Barton.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Moab, Moabites
moab, moab-ts (Moab, , mo’abh, Moabite Stone, , M-B; Greek (Septuagint) , Moab, , he Moabetis, , Moabtis; Moabite, , , mo’abh; Moabites, , bene mo’abh):
1. The Land:
Moab was the district East of the Dead Sea, extending from a point some distance North of it to its southern end. The eastern boundary was indefinite, being the border of the desert which is irregular. The length of the territory was about 50 miles and the average width about 30. It is a high tableland, averaging some 3,000 ft. above the level of the Mediterranean and 4,300 ft. above that of the Dead Sea. The aspect of the land, as one looks at it from the western side of the Dead Sea, is that of a range of mountains with a very precipitous frontage, but the elevation of this ridge above the interior is very slight. Deep chasms lead down from the tableland to the Dead Sea shore, the principal one being the gorge of the river Arnon, which is about 1,700 ft. deep and 2 or more miles in width at the level of the tableland, but very narrow at the bottom and with exceedingly precipitous banks. About 13 miles back from the mouth of the river the gorge divides, and farther back it subdivides, so that several valleys are formed of diminishing depth as they approach the desert border. These are referred to in Num 21:14 as the valleys of the Arnon. The valley of Zered (Num 21:12), which was on the southern border, drops down to the southern end of the Dead Sea, and although not so long or deep as the Arnon, is of the same nature in its lower reaches, very difficult to cross, dividing into two branches, but at a point much nearer the sea. The stream is not so large as the Arnon, but is quite copious, even in summer. These gorges have such precipitous sides that it would be very difficult for an army to cross them, except in their upper courses near the desert where they become shallow. The Israelites passed them in that region, probably along the present Hajj road and the line of the Mecca Railway. The tableland is fertile but lacks water. The fountains and streams in the valleys and on the slopes toward the Dead Sea are abundant, but the uplands are almost destitute of flowing water. The inhabitants supply themselves by means of cisterns, many of which are ancient, but many of those used in ancient times are ruined. The population must have been far greater formerly than now. The rainfall is usually sufficient to mature the crops, although the rain falls in winter only. The fertility of the country in ancient times is indicated by the numerous towns and villages known to have existed there, mentioned in Scripture and on the Moabite Stone, the latter giving some not found elsewhere. The principal of these were: Ar (Num 21:15); Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Nebo (Num 32:3); Beth-peor (Deu 3:29); Beth-diblaim, Bozrah, Kerioth (Jer 48:22-24); Kir (Isa 15:1); Medeba, Elealeh, Zoar (Isa 15:2, Isa 15:4, Isa 15:5); Kirheres (Isa 16:11); Sibmah (Jos 13:19); in all, some 45 place-names in Moab are known, most of the towns being in ruins. Kir of Moab is represented in the modern Kerak, the most important of all and the government center of the district. Madeba now represents the ancient Madeba, and has become noted for the discovery of a medieval map of Palestine, in mosaic, of considerable archaeological value. Rabbath-moab and Heshbon (modern Rabba and Hesban) are miserable villages, and the country is subject to the raids of the Bedouin tribes of the neighboring desert, which discourages agriculture. But the land is still good pasture ground for cattle and sheep, as in ancient times (Num 32:3, Num 32:4).
2. The People:
The Moabites were of Semitic stock and of kin to the Hebrews, as is indicated by their descent from Lot, the nephew of Abraham (Gen 19:30-37), and by their language which is practically the same as the Hebrew. This is clear from the inscription on the Moabite Stone, a monument of Mesha, king of Moab, erected about 850 BC, and discovered among the ruins of Dibon in 1868. It contains 34 lines of about 9 words each, written in the old Phoenician and Hebrew characters, corresponding to the Siloam inscription and those found in Phoenicia, showing that it is a dialect of the Semitic tongue prevailing in Palestine. The original inhabitants of Moab were the Emim (Deu 2:10), a people great … and tall, as the Anakim. When these were deposed by the Moabites we do not know. The latter are not mentioned in the Tell el-Amarna Letters and do not appear on the Egyptian monuments before the 14th century BC, when they seem to be referred to under the name of Ruten, or Luten or Lotan, i.e. Lot (Paton, Syria and Pal); Muab appears in a list of names on a monument of Rameses III of the XXth Dynasty. The country lay outside the line of march of the Egyptian armies, and this accounts for the silence of its monuments in regard to them.
3. Religion:
The chief deity of Moab was Chemosh (, kemosh), frequently mentioned in the Old Testament and on the Moabite Stone, where King Mesha speaks of building a high place in his honor because he was saved by him from his enemies. He represents the oppression of Moab by Omri as the result of the anger of Chemosh, and Mesha made war against Israel by command of Chemosh. He was the national god of Moab, as Molech was of Ammon, and it is pretty certain that he was propitiated by human sacrifices (2Ki 3:27). But he was not the only god of Moab, as is clear from the account in Nu 25, where it is also clear that their idolatrous worship was corrupt. They had their Baalim like the nations around, as may be inferred from the place-names compounded with Baal, such as Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon and Baal-peor.
4. History:
We know scarcely anything of the history of the Moabites after the account of their origin in Gen 19 until the time of the exodus. It would seem, however, that they had suffered from the invasions of the Amorites, who, under their king Sihon, had subdued the northern part of Moab as far as the Arnon (Num 21:21-31). This conquest was no doubt a result of the movement of the Amorites southward, when they were pressed by the great wave of Hittite invasion that overran Northern Syria at the end of the 15th and the early part of the 14th centuries BC. The Amorites were forced to seek homes in Palestine, and it would seem that a portion of them crossed the Jordan and occupied Northern Moab, and here the Israelites found them as they approached the Promised Land. They did not at first disturb the Moabites in the South, but passed around on the eastern border (Deu 2:8, Deu 2:9) and came into conflict with the Amorites in the North (Num 21:21-26), defeating them and occupying the territory (Num 21:31-32). But when Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, saw what a powerful people was settling on his border, he made alliance with the Midianites against them and called in the aid of Balaam, but as he could not induce the latter to curse them he refrained from attacking the Israelites (Nu 22; 24). The latter, however, suffered disaster from the people of Moab through their intercourse with them (Nu 25). Some time before the establishment of the kingdom in Israel the Midianites overran Moab, as would appear from the passage in Gen 36:35, but the conquest was not permanent, for Moab recovered its lost territory and became strong enough to encroach upon Israel across the Jordan. Eglon of Moab oppressed Israel with the aid of Ammon and Amalek (Jdg 3:13-14), but Eglon was assassinated by Ehud, and the Moabite yoke was cast off after 18 years. Saul smote Moab, but did not subdue it (1Sa 14:47), for we find David putting his father and mother under the protection of the king of Moab when persecuted by Saul (1Sa 22:3, 1Sa 22:4). But this friendship between David and Moab did not continue. When David became king he made war upon Moab and completely subjugated it (2Sa 8:2). On the division of the kingdom between Rehoboam and Jeroboam the latter probably obtained possession of Moab (1Ki 12:20), but it revolted and Omri had to reconquer it (M S), and it was tributary to Ahab (2Ki 1:1). It revolted again in the reign of Ahaziah (2Ki 1:1; 2Ki 3:5), and Moab and Ammon made war on Jehoshaphat and Mt. Seir and destroyed the latter, but they afterward fell out among themselves and destroyed each other (2 Ch 20). Jehoshaphat and Jehoram together made an expedition into Moab and defeated the Moabites with great slaughter (2 Ki 3). But Mesha, king of Moab, was not subdued (2Ki 3:27), and afterward completely freed his land from the dominion of Israel (M S). This was probably at the time when Israel and Judah were at war with Hazael of Damascus (2Ki 8:28, 2Ki 8:29). Bands of Moabites ventured to raid the land of Israel when weakened by the conflict with Hazael (2Ki 13:20), but Moab was probably subdued again by Jeroboam II (2Ki 14:25), which may be the disaster to Moab recounted in Isa 15:1-9. After Mesha we find a king of the name of Salamanu and another called Chemosh-nadab, the latter being subject to Sargon of Assyria. He revolted against Sennacherib, in alliance with other kings of Syria and Palestine and Egypt, but was subdued by him, and another king, Mutsuri, was subject to Esarhaddon. These items come to us from the Assyrian monuments. When Babylon took the place of Assyria in the suzerainty, Moab joined other tribes in urging Judah to revolt but seems to have come to terms with Nebuchadnezzar before Jerusalem was taken, as we hear nothing of any expedition of that king against her. On the war described in Judith, in which Moab (1:12, etc.) plays a part. See JUDITH.
At a later date Moab was overrun by the Nabathean Arabs who ruled in Petra and extended their authority on the east side of Jordan even as far as Damascus (Josephus, Ant., XIII, xv, 1, 2). The Moabites lost their identity as a nation and were afterward confounded with the Arabs, as we see in the statement of Josephus (XIII, xiii, 5), where he says that Alexander (Janneus) overcame the Arabians, such as the Moabites and the Gileadites. Alexander built the famous stronghold of Macherus in Moab, on a hill overlooking the Dead Sea, which afterward became the scene of the imprisonment and tragical death of John the Baptist (Josephus, BJ, VII, vi, 2; Ant., XVIII, v, 2; Mar 6:21-28). It was afterward destroyed by the Romans. Kir became a fortress of the Crusaders under the name of Krak (Kerak), which held out against the Moslems until the time of Saladin, who captured it in 1188 AD.
Literature.
Commentaries on the passages in the Old Testament relating to Moab, and histories of Israel; Paton, Early History of Syria and Palestine; Rawlinson, Ancient Monarchies, especially Assyria and Babylonia; Conder, Heth and Moab; G. A. Smith, HGHL; the Moabite Stone; Josephus.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Moab, Moabites
[Mo’ab] [Mo’abites]
Son of Lot and his eldest daughter; his descendants; and the land which they inhabited. Gen 19:37. No account is given of Moab personally. The territory of his descendants was on the east of the Salt Sea. When the tribe of Reuben obtained their possession, their boundary on the south was the river Arnon, which river was the northern boundary of the Moabites, for they had been driven south by the Amorites before the arrival of Israel. Num 21:11-30. When the Israelites approached the promised land they were directed not to distress nor contend with Moab, Deu 2:9, so they passed to the east of them. The Moabites were however filled with terror when they heard that the Amorites had been smitten, and Balak their king hired Balaam to curse Israel. Balaam was compelled by God to bless them instead of cursing them, but he gave to Balak the fatal advice to try to weaken them by seductive alliances (which would cause them to fall under the Lord’s discipline), and this, alas, was only too successful: cf. Rev 2:14. It was in a valley in the land of Moab that Moses was secretly buried. Deu 34:6.
In the time of the judges God used Eglon king of Moab to punish Israel, and they served the Moabites eighteen years; but when they cried unto the Lord, He delivered them, and ten thousand of the Moabites were slain. Jdg 3:12-30. The relations of Israel with the Moabites were varied. In the prophecy of Isaiah 16 Moab is characteristic of the world in which outcast Israel is hidden: Elimelech and Naomi fled thither from the famine, and David, when Saul was persecuting him, entrusted to their king his father and mother. During his subsequent reign David defeated them and made them tributary. 1Sa 22:3-4; 2Sa 8:2; 1Ch 18:2.
In the time of Jehoshaphat the children of Moab, Ammon and mount Seir attacked Judah, but God made the battle His own and caused them to attack one another. 2Ch 20:1-23. During Ahab’s reign they were again tributary, but at his death they threw off their allegiance, but were completely subdued by the united forces of Israel, Judah and Edom. In desperation the king of Moab offered up his eldest son as a sacrifice. 2Ki 3:4-27. They revived to some extent, but were again subdued by Nebuchadnezzar. Jer 27:1-11.
Ruth was a MOABITESS, and so also were some of Solomon’s wives, for whom he introduced into Jerusalem the worship of Chemosh the idol of Moab. 2Ki 23:13. The Moabites were not allowed to be received into the congregation of the Lord for ever. Deu 23:3. The numerous ruins extant in the country of the Moabites show that it was once populously occupied, and it must have been wealthy to have annually paid Israel 100,000 lambs and 100,000 rams with the wool.
Moab is denounced in the prophets: it had reproached God’s people, and He declared that it should be as Sodom, as the breeding of nettles and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation. Zep 2:8-9. This is its state at present. In the future the king of the north shall enter “into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon,” Dan 11:40-41; these will be left for Israel to punish: cf. Isa 11:14.
THE MOABITE STONE. In connection with Moab an interesting monument was discovered in 1868 at Dibon (Dhiban) in the land of Moab. It was a stone 3ft. 10in. by 2ft., and contained 34 lines of inscription in the Phoenician character. When the Arabs discovered that two or three nations were desirous of possessing the stone they thought they should gain more by breaking it into pieces: a fire was kindled beneath it, and, when heated, cold water was poured on the top, which broke it. Eventually about two thirds of these pieces were obtained, and are now in the Museum of the Louvre in Paris: a paper cast is in the British Museum. A paper impression had been taken of the stone before it was broken, which, with the pieces recovered, renders it possible to give a nearly complete translation of the inscription.
It is dedicated to Chemosh, the god of Moab, by Mesha. He admits that Chemosh was angry with his land, and that Omri king of Israel took it, and he and his son oppressed them forty years. Then Chemosh had mercy on it, and the king was able to rescue some of the cities, kill the people, and take the spoil, and he built others, of which he gives the names. There can be no doubt that the Mesha of the stone is the same as the Mesha, of scripture. The son of Omri would be Ahab; and in 2Ki 3:5 it says that on the death of Ahab the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. Ahaziah succeeded Ahab, but it was not he that attacked Moab: his reign (called two years) and the beginning of the reign of Jehoram, would give Mesha time to strengthen himself against Israel and attack some of the outlying cities. Scripture is thus confirmed by this interesting monument.