View source for Moab

{{Short description|Ancient kingdom East of the Dead Sea}}
{{Redirect|Moabites|the belief that "Moabites" once inhabited Morocco|Moorish Science Temple of America}}
{{Other uses}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name = <span style="font-weight: normal">𐤌𐤀𐤁</span>
| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Moab
| common_name = Moab
| capital = [[Dibon]]
| common_languages = [[Moabite language|Moabite]]
| religion = [[Canaanite religion]]
| status = Monarchy
| year_start = c. 13th century BCE&nbsp;
| event_end = Collapsed
| year_end = &nbsp;c. 400 BCE
| image_map = Kingdoms around Israel 830 map.svg
| image_map_caption = A theoretical map of [[Canaan]] around 830&nbsp;BCE. Moab is shown in purple on this map, between the [[Wadi Mujib|Arnon]] and [[Wadi Zered|Zered]] rivers.
 |today = [[Jordan]], [[Israel]]
}}

'''Moab'''{{Efn|[[Moabite language|Moabite]]: {{script|Phnx|𐤌𐤀𐤁}} ''Māʾab''; {{langx|hbo|מוֹאָב}} ''Mōʾāḇ''; {{langx|grc|Μωάβ}} ''Mōáb''; [[Akkadian language|Assyrian]]: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]]: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū''|name=|group=}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|oʊ|æ|b}}) was an ancient [[Levant|Levantine]] kingdom whose territory is today located in southern [[Jordan]]. The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the [[Dead Sea]]. The existence of the '''Kingdom of Moab''' is attested to by numerous archaeological findings, most notably the [[Mesha Stele]], which describes the Moabite victory over an unnamed son of [[Kings of Israel and Judah|King]] [[Omri]] of [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Israel]], an episode also noted in [[Books of Kings|2 Kings 3]]. The Moabite capital was [[Dibon]]. According to the [[Hebrew Bible]], Moab was often in conflict with its [[Israelites|Israelite]] neighbours to the west.

==Etymology==
The etymology of the word Moab is uncertain. The earliest [[Biblical gloss|gloss]] is found in the [[Koine Greek]] [[Septuagint]] ({{bibleverse|Genesis|19:37}}) which explains the name, in obvious allusion to the account of Moab's parentage, as ἐκ τοῦ πατρός μου ("from my father"). Other etymologies which have been proposed regard it as a corruption of "seed of a father", or as a participial form from "to desire", thus connoting "the desirable (land)".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dearman |first=J. Andrew |title=Studies in the Mesha Inscription and Moab |publisher=Scholars Press |year=1989 |isbn=9781555403577 |location=Atlanta |pages=1}}</ref>

[[Rashi]] explains the word ''Mo'ab'' to mean "from the father", since ''ab'' in Hebrew and Arabic and other Semitic languages means "father". He writes that as a result of the immodesty of Moab's name, God did not command the [[Israelites]] to refrain from inflicting pain upon the Moabites in the manner in which he did with regard to the [[Ammon]]ites. [[Fritz Hommel]] regards ''Moab'' as an abbreviation of ''Immo-ab'' = "his mother is his father".<ref>{{Cite book |title=Verhandlungen des Zwölften Internationalen Orientalisten-Congresses |page=261 |last=Leyden |year=1904}}</ref>

==History==
{{History of Jordan}}
{{See also|Shutu|Shasu}}
[[File:Moabite Sarcophagus.jpg|thumb|200px|Moabite sarcophagus in Jordan Archaeological Museum in [[Amman]]]]
[[File:mesha stele.jpg|150px|thumb|The [[Mesha stele]] describes King [[Mesha]]'s wars against the [[Israelites]]]]
[[File:Al-Balu' Moabite Stele on display at the Jordan Museum.jpg|thumb|[[Al-Balu' Stele]] on display at the [[Jordan Museum]].]]

===Bronze Age===
The existence of the Kingdom of Moab prior to the rise of the [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Israelite state]] has been deduced from a [[colossal statue]] erected at [[Luxor]] by pharaoh [[Ramesses II]], in the 13th century BCE. The statue lists ''Mu'ab'' among a series of nations conquered during a campaign.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kitchen|first=K. A.|date=December 1964|title=Some New Light on the Asiatic Wars of Ramesses II|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3855742|journal=The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology|volume=50|pages=47–70|doi=10.2307/3855742|jstor=3855742|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Ramesses II, Egypt's Ultimate Pharaoh |last=Brand |first=Peter J. |publisher=Lockwood Press |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-948488-49-5 |pages=191–192 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yeOyEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA191}}</ref> The nucleus of the early Moabite state appears to have been located in several settlements between [[Wadi el-Wale]] and [[Wadi Mujib|Wadi Mojib]] which originated in the [[Late Bronze Age]].<ref name=":0">{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception: Midrash and Aggada – Mourning |last=Zwickel |first=Wolfgang |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2021 |isbn=978-3-11-031336-9 |pages=486–490 |editor-last=Furey |editor-first=Constance M. |volume=19 |chapter=Moab, Moabite I. Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible/Old Testament |editor-last2=LeMon |editor-first2=Joel |editor-last3=Matz |editor-first3=Brian |editor-last4=McKenzie |editor-first4=Stephen L. |editor-last5=Römer |editor-first5=Thomas |editor-last6=Schröter |editor-first6=Jens |editor-last7=Dov Walfish |editor-first7=Barry |editor-last8=Ziolkowski |editor-first8=Eric J. |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/90107612}}</ref>{{rp|487}}

Four inscriptions from the time of Ramesses II mention ''Mw-i-bw'' as a rebellious place that refuses to recognize Egypt's control over [[Canaan]] and, together with the [[Shasu]] of [[Mount Seir]], conducted raids in Egypt. [[Pharaoh]] sent troops to the area and suppressed the rebellion - in the inscriptions of Ramesses II, the inhabitants are shown as having hairstyles identical to those of neighboring [[Canaanites]] (long hair collected and arranged) and not a braided hairstyle like the Shasu from later reliefs that contained the name Moab; a possible explanation is that ''Mw-i-bw'', if it was indeed the land of Moab, was at that time inhabited by a pre-Moabite population, whereas the historical Moabites settled in the area only in the 12th century BCE. [[Nadav Na'aman|Na'aman]] argued, however, that the identification of ''Mw-i-bw'' with the biblical land of Moab can no longer be upheld; the former was more likely well to the north.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Na'aman |first=Nadav |title=Did Ramesses II Wage Campaign against the Land of Moab?|journal= Göttinger Miszellen|volume=209|url=https://www.academia.edu/13512764|year=2006|pages= 63–69}}</ref> [[Kenneth Kitchen]] later responded to Na'aman, reasserting the identification of ''Mw-i-bw'' with Moab.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kitchen |first=Kenneth |title=Moab in Egyptian and Other Sources: Fact & Fantasy|journal= Göttinger Miszellen|volume=212|year=2007|pages=119–128}}</ref>

===Iron Age===
The 9th century BCE [[Mesha Stele]] recounts that King [[Mesha]] built up an open sanctuary in Qeriho (cultic area of [[Dibon]]), conquered the Israelite territory north of Wadi el-Wale with the cities of [[Medeba]], [[Khirbat Ataruz|Ataroth]] and [[Nebo (biblical town)|Nebo]] as well as [[Jahaz]] (east of Moab) and rebuilt the towns of [[Baal-meon]], Kirjaton, [[Aroer]], Beth-bamoth, [[Bezer]], Medeba, Diblaton and his hometown Dibon.<ref name=":0" />{{rp|488}}

An 8th-century BCE inscription seems to indicate that the Kingdom of Moab expanded into the eastern part of the [[Jordan Valley]] after a successful campaign against the [[Ammon|Ammonites]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=New Moabite inscriptions and their historical relevance |journal=Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages |url=https://opus.bibliothek.uni-augsburg.de/opus4/files/94554/94554.pdf |last=Gass |first=Erasmus |issue=1 |volume=38 |pages=45–78 |year=2012 |issn=0259-0131 |hdl=10520/EJC126353}}</ref>

In the [[Nimrud]] clay inscription of [[Tiglath-pileser III]] (r. 745–727 BCE), the Moabite king [[Salmanu]] (perhaps the Shalman who sacked [[Beth-arbel]] in [[Hosea]] {{Bibleverse||Hosea|10:14|1000|10:14}}) is mentioned as tributary to [[Assyria]]. [[Sargon II]] mentions on a [[Sargon II's Prism A|clay prism]] a revolt against him by Moab together with [[Philistia]], [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], and [[Edom]]; but on the [[Taylor prism]], which recounts the expedition against [[Hezekiah]], [[Kammusu-Nadbi]] (Chemosh-nadab), King of Moab, brings tribute to Sargon as his suzerain.<ref name=":0" />{{rp|489}}

Musuri, King of Moab, paid too a tribute to [[Assarhaddon]] at the same time as [[Manasseh of Judah]], [[Kaus-gabri|Qosgabar of Edom]] and other kings of the [[Levant]]. They send building materials to [[Nineveh]]. Moab militarily supported [[Assurbanipal]] during his campaign against Egypt and the pharaoh [[Taharqa]]. The status of [[vassal]] of Assyria allows Moab to benefit in return from the support of Assyria against the nomadic tribes of the [[Arabian Desert|Arabian desert]], and in particular against the Qedarites. King [[Kamas-halta]] seemed to have defeated Ammuladi, king of [[Qedar]].<ref>James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 1969</ref>

=== Decline ===
After the [[Roman Republic|Roman]] conquest of the Levant by [[Pompey]] in 63 BCE,<ref name="roman2">{{Cite book |last1=Parker |first1=Samuel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PVZfx3Y6o5IC&pg=PA573 |title=The Roman Frontier in Central Jordan: Final Report on the Limes Arabicus Project |last2=Betlyon |first2=John |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks |year=2006 |isbn=9780884022985 |page=573 |access-date=3 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410044112/https://books.google.com/books?id=PVZfx3Y6o5IC&pg=PA573 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> Moab lost its distinct identity through assimilation{{what?|date=February 2025}}.<ref name="AEM">{{cite conference |last1=LaBianca |first1=Oystein S. |last2=Younker |first2=Randall W. |date=1995 |title=The Kingdoms of Ammon, Moab, and Edom: The Archaeology of Society in Late Bronze/Iron Age Transjordan (ca. 1400–500 BCE) |url=https://www.academia.edu/744029 |publisher=Leicester University Press |page=411 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809031715/https://www.academia.edu/744029 |archive-date=9 August 2021 |access-date=16 June 2018 |book-title=The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land |editor=Thomas Levy |url-status=live}}</ref>

===19th-century travellers===
Early modern travellers in the region included [[Ulrich Jasper Seetzen]] (1805), [[Johann Ludwig Burckhardt]] (1812), [[Charles Leonard Irby]] and [[James Mangles (Royal Navy officer)|James Mangles]] (1818), and [[Louis Félicien de Saulcy]] (1851).<ref>{{cite book |editor1=George Ernest Wright |editor2=Frank Moore Cross |editor3=Edward Fay Campbell |title=The Biblical Archaeologist |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcslAQAAIAAJ |year=1997 |publisher=American Schools of Oriental Research |chapter=Ancient Moab: Still Largely Unknown |first=Max |last=Miller |volume=60 |issue=4 |pages=194–204 |doi=10.2307/3210621 |jstor=3210621 |s2cid=163824020 |quote=Among the travellers who traversed the whole Moabite plateau including Moab proper prior to 1870 and whose published observations deserve special mention are Ulrich Seetzen (1805), Ludwig Burckhardt (1812), Charles Irby and James Mangles (1818), and Louis de Saulcy (1851). Both Seetzen and Burckhardt died during the course of their travels, and their travel journals were edited and published posthumously by editors who did not always understand the details. Burckhardt's journal was published first, in 1822, and served as the basis for the Moab segment of Edward Robinson's map of Palestine published in 1841. |access-date=2018-03-19 |archive-date=2020-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806033730/https://books.google.com/books?id=vcslAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Biblical narratives==
According to the biblical account, Moab and [[Ammon]] were born to [[Lot (biblical)|Lot]] and Lot's elder and younger daughters, respectively, in the aftermath of the destruction of [[Sodom and Gomorrah]]. The Hebrew Bible refers to both the Moabites and Ammonites as Lot's sons, born of incest with his daughters ({{bibleverse||Genesis|19:37–38|NIV}}).

The Moabites first inhabited the rich highlands at the eastern side of the chasm of the Dead Sea, extending as far as [[Wadi Mujib]] to [[Wadi Hasa]],<ref name="auto">{{cite book |author=وزارة التربية والتعليم |title=التاريخ الجزء الأول الصف 8 |publisher=المملكة الاردنية الهاشمية: إدارة المناهج والكتب |edition=2021 |page=8}}</ref> from which country they expelled the [[Emite|Emim]], the original inhabitants ([[Deuteronomy]] {{Bibleverse||Deut|2:11|1000|2:11}}), but they themselves were afterward driven southward by warlike tribes of [[Amorites]], who had crossed the [[river Jordan]]. These Amorites, described in the Bible as being ruled by King [[Sihon]], confined the Moabites to the country south of the river Arnon, which formed their northern boundary ([[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] {{Bibleverse||Num|21:13|1000|21:13}}; [[Book of Judges|Judges]] {{Bibleverse||Judges|11:18|1000|11:18}}).

God renewed his [[Covenant (biblical)|covenant]] with the Israelites at Moab before the Israelites entered the [[Promised Land]] ({{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|29:1|NIV}}). Moses died there ({{bibleverse||Deut|34:5|NIV}}), prevented by God from entering the Promised Land. He was buried in an unknown location in Moab and the Israelites spent a period of thirty days there in [[Bereavement in Judaism|mourning]] ({{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|34:6–8|NIV}}).

According to the Book of Judges, the Israelites did not pass through the land of the Moabites ({{bibleverse||Judges|11:18|NIV}}), but conquered Sihon's kingdom and his capital at [[Heshbon]]. After the conquest of [[Canaan]] the relations of Moab with Israel were of a mixed character, sometimes warlike and sometimes peaceable. With the [[tribe of Benjamin]] they had at least one severe struggle, in union with their kindred the Ammonites and the [[Amalek]]ites ({{bibleverse|Judges|3:12–30}}). The Benjaminite [[shofet]] [[Ehud ben Gera]] assassinated the Moabite king [[Eglon (king)|Eglon]] and led an Israelite army against the Moabites at a ford of the Jordan river, killing many of them.

[[File:Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld- Ruth im Feld des Boaz.jpg|thumb|''Ruth in the fields of Boaz'' by [[Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld]]]]

The [[Book of Ruth]] testifies to friendly relations between Moab and [[Bethlehem]], one of the towns of the [[tribe of Judah]]. By his descent from Ruth, [[King David|David]] may be said to have been part Moabite. He committed his parents to the protection of the king of Moab (who may have been his kinsman), when hard pressed by [[King Saul]]. (1 Samuel 22:3,4) But here all friendly relations stop forever. The next time the name is mentioned is in the account of David's war, who made the Moabites tributary ([[Books of Samuel|2 Samuel]] {{Bibleverse||2 Sam|8:2|1000|8:2}}; [[Books of Chronicles|1 Chronicles]] {{Bibleverse||1 Chr|18:2|1000|18:2}}). Moab may have been under the rule of an Israelite governor during this period; among the exiles who returned to Judea from [[Babylonia]] were a clan descended from [[Pahath-Moab]], whose name means "ruler of Moab". The [[Moabites|Moabite]] Ruth is regarded as a prototype of a convert to [[Judaism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ostmeyer |first=Karl-Heinrich |chapter=No Citizenship for Ruth? Names as Access Permissions in the Scroll of Ruth |series=Religion and Human Rights |date=2021 |volume=8 |isbn=978-3-030-83277-3 |pages=245–272 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-83277-3_13 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-83277-3_13 |title=Religion, Citizenship and Democracy |s2cid=245688505 |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-83277-3}}</ref>

At the disruption of the kingdom under the reign of [[Rehoboam]], Moab seems to have been absorbed into the northern realm. It continued in vassalage to the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]] until the death of [[Ahab]] which according to [[E. R. Thiele|Edwin Richard Thiele]]'s reckoning was in about 853 BCE,<ref>Edwin Thiele, ''[[The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings]]'', (1st ed.; New York: Macmillan, 1951; 2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965; 3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983). {{ISBN|0-8254-3825-X}}, 9780825438257.</ref> when the Moabites refused to pay tribute and asserted their independence, making war upon the kingdom of Judah ({{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|22:1|NIV}}).

After the death of [[Ahab]] in about 853 BCE, the Moabites under [[Mesha]] rebelled against [[Jehoram of Israel|Jehoram]], who allied himself with [[Jehoshaphat]], King of the [[Kingdom of Judah]], and with the King of Edom. According to the Bible, the prophet [[Elisha]] directed the Israelites to dig a series of ditches between themselves and the enemy, and during the night these channels were miraculously filled with water which appeared red as blood in the morning light.

According to the biblical account, the crimson color deceived the Moabites into thinking that the Israelites, and their allies, had attacked one another. Eager to acquire plunder, they were ambushed and defeated by the Israelites ({{bibleverse|2|Kings|3|NIV}}). According to Mesha's inscription on the [[Mesha Stele]], however, he was completely victorious and regained all the territory of which Israel had deprived him. This battle is the last important date in the history of the Moabites as recorded in the Bible. In the year of Elisha's death they invaded Israel ({{bibleverse|2|Kings|13:20|NIV}}) and later aided Nebuchadnezzar in his expedition against [[Jehoiakim]] ({{bibleverse|2|Kings|24:2|NIV}}).

Allusions to Moab are frequent in the [[Nevi'im|prophetical books]] ({{bibleverse||Isa|25:10|NIV}}; {{bibleverse||Ezek|25:8–11|NIV}}; {{bibleverse||Amos|2:1–3|NIV}}; {{bibleverse||Zephaniah|2:8–11|NIV}}). Two chapters of Isaiah (15 and 16) and one of Jeremiah (48) are devoted to the "burden of Moab". Its prosperity and pride, which the Israelites believed incurred the wrath of [[Yahweh|God]], are frequently mentioned ({{bibleverse||Isa|16:6|NIV}}; {{bibleverse||Jer|48:11–29|NIV}}; {{bibleverse||Zephaniah|2:10|NIV}}), and their contempt for Israel is once expressly noted ({{bibleverse|Jer.|48:27}}).  Moab would be dealt with during the time of the Messiah's rulership according to the prophets.<ref>{{bibleverse||Num|24:14|NASB}}, {{bibleverse||Num|24:17|NASB}}, {{bibleverse||Isa|11:14|NASB}}.</ref> The [[book of Zephaniah]] states that Moab would become "a permanent desolation".<ref>{{bibleverse||Zephaniah|2:9|NASB}}</ref>

Moab is also made reference to in the [[Meqabyan#Second Book of Ethiopian Maccabees (2 Meqabyan)|2 Meqabyan]], a book considered [[Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon|canonical]] in the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://torahofyeshuah.blogspot.com/2015/07/book-of-meqabyan-i-iii.html |title=Torah of Yeshuah: Book of Meqabyan I - III |access-date=2019-11-10 |archive-date=2019-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923192431/http://torahofyeshuah.blogspot.com/2015/07/book-of-meqabyan-i-iii.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In that text, a Moabite king named Maccabeus joins forces with Edom and Amalek to attack Israel, later repenting of his sins and adopting the Israelite religion.

===In Jewish tradition===
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Moabites were not hospitable to the Israelites who exited [[Egypt]] and hired [[Balaam]] to curse them. As a consequence, male Moabites were excluded by [[Torah]] law<ref>{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|23:4|HE}}</ref> from marrying Jewish women.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Klein |first1=Reuven Chaim |year=2015 |title=The Iniquities of Ammon and Moab
 | url=https://jbqnew.jewishbible.org/assets/Uploads/432/jbq_432_kleinmoab.pdf |journal=Jewish Bible Quarterly
|volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=93–100 |issn=0792-3910}}</ref>

The term "tenth generation" used in connection with that prohibition is considered an idiom, used for an unlimited time, as opposed to the third generation, which allows an Egyptian convert to marry into the community. The [[Talmud]] expresses the view that the prohibition applied only to male Moabites, who were not allowed to marry born Jews or legitimate converts. Female Moabites, when converted to Judaism, were permitted to marry with only the normal prohibition of a convert marrying a kohen (priest) applying. However, the prohibition was not followed during the [[Babylonian captivity]], and Ezra and Nehemiah sought to compel a return to the law because men had been marrying women who had not been converted at all ({{bibleverse||Ezra|9:1–2|HE}}, 12; {{bibleverse||Nehemiah|13:23–25|HE}}). The heir of King Solomon was [[Rehoboam]], the son of an Ammonite woman, [[Naamah (wife of Solomon)|Naamah]] ({{bibleverse|1|Kings|14:21|HE}}).

On the other hand, the marriages of the [[Bethlehem]] [[Ephrath]]ites (of the [[tribe of Judah]]) [[Mahlon and Chilion]] to the Moabite women [[Orpah]] and [[Ruth (biblical figure)|Ruth]] ({{bibleverse||Ruth|1:2–4|HE}}), and the marriage of the latter, after her husband's death, to [[Boaz]] ({{bibleverse||Ruth|4:10–13|HE}}) who by her was the great-grandfather of [[David]], are mentioned with no shade of reproach. The Talmudic explanation, however, is that the language of the law applies only to Moabite and Ammonite ''men'' (Hebrew, like all Semitic languages, has [[grammatical gender]]). The Talmud also states that the prophet [[Samuel]] wrote the Book of Ruth to settle the dispute as the rule had been forgotten since the time of [[Boaz]]. Another interpretation is that the [[Book of Ruth]] is simply reporting the events in an impartial fashion, leaving any praise or condemnation to be done by the reader.

The Babylonian Talmud in [[Yevamot]] 76B explains that one of the reasons was the Ammonites did not greet the Children of Israel with friendship and the Moabites hired [[Balaam]] to curse them. The difference in the responses of the two people led to God allowing the Jewish people to harass the Moabites (but not go to war) but forbade them to even harass the Ammonites ({{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|23:3–4|HE}}).

[[Jehoash of Judah|Jehoash]] was one of the four men who pretended to be gods.<ref>The other three were Pharaoh; Hiram and Nebuchadnezzar (Louis Ginzberg's The Legends of the Jews From Moses to Esther; Notes for Volumes Three and Four(p.423)</ref> He was persuaded thereto particularly by the princes, who said to him. "Wert thou not a god thou couldst not come out alive from the Holy of Holies" (Ex R. viii. 3). He was assassinated by two of his servants, one of whom was the son of an Ammonite woman and the other the offspring of a Moabite ({{bibleverse|2|Chron.|24:26|HE}}); for God said: "Let the descendants of the two ungrateful families chastise the ungrateful Joash" ([[Yalk.]], Ex. 262). Moab and Ammon were the two offspring of [[Lot (biblical person)|Lot]]'s incest with his two daughters as described in {{bibleverse||Gen.|19:30–38|HE}}.

Jehoshaphet  subsequently joined [[Jehoram of Israel]] in a war against the Moabites, who were under tribute to Israel. The Moabites were subdued, but seeing [[Mesha]]'s act of offering his own son (and singular heir) as a [[Propitiation|propitiatory]] [[human sacrifice]] on the walls of [[Kir of Moab]] filled Israel with horror, and they withdrew and returned to their own land.<ref>''Bible'' [[2 Kings 3#Verses 4–27|2 Kings 3:4–27]]</ref>

According to the [[Book of Jeremiah]], Moab was exiled to [[Babylon]] for his arrogance and idolatry. According to [[Rashi]], it was also due to their gross ingratitude even though [[Abraham]], Israel's ancestor, had saved [[Lot (biblical person)|Lot]], Moab's ancestor from [[Sodom and Gomorrah|Sodom]]. Jeremiah prophesies that Moab's captivity will be returned in the [[Jewish eschatology|end of days]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Jeremiah 48, Tanach |publisher=ArtScroll |location=Brooklyn, New York |pages=1187}}</ref>

The book of Zephaniah states that "Moab will assuredly be like Sodom, and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah—Ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines, and a permanent desolation." (2:9). The prophecy regarding their defeat by the Israelites is linked to the conquests by the Jewish [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean]] king [[Alexander Jannaeus]]. During that period, the Moabites were called the "Arabian Moabites".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Zephaniah 2 Commentary: Gill's Exposition |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/zephaniah/2.htm |website=Biblehub}}</ref>

===Boundaries in the Hebrew Bible===
In {{bibleverse||Ezekiel|25:9|HE}} the boundaries are given as being marked by [[Beth-jeshimoth]] (north), [[Baal-meon]] (east), and [[Kiriathaim]] (south). That these limits were not fixed, however, is plain from the lists of cities given in {{bibleverse||Isaiah|15–16|HE}} and [[Jeremiah]] {{Bibleverse||Jeremiah|48|1000|48}}, where [[Heshbon]], [[Elealeh]], and [[Jazer]] are mentioned to the north of Beth-jeshimoth; [[Madaba]], [[Beth-gamul]], and [[Mephaath]] to the east of [[Baalmeon]]; and [[Dibon]], [[Aroer]], [[Bezer]], [[Jahaz]], and [[Kirhareseth]] to the south of Kiriathaim. The principal rivers of Moab mentioned in the [[Bible]] are the [[Arnon (western Jordan)|Arnon]], the [[Dibon]] or Dimon,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lcckAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA68 p. 68]</ref> and the [[Nimrim]]. In the north are a number of long, deep [[ravine]]s, and [[Mount Nebo (Jordan)|Mount Nebo]], famous as the scene of the death of [[Moses]] ([[Deuteronomy]] {{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|34:1–8|HE|34:1–8}}).

The territory occupied by Moab at the period of its greatest extent, before the invasion of the [[Amorites]], divided itself naturally into three distinct and independent portions: the enclosed corner or canton south of the Arnon, referred to in the Bible as "field of Moab" ([[Book of Ruth|Ruth]] {{Bibleverse||Ruth|1:1,2,6|1000|1:1,2,6}}). The more open [[rolling hills (geology)|rolling country]] north of the Arnon, opposite [[Tell es-Sultan|Jericho]] and up to the hills of [[Gilead#Hebrew Bible|Gilead]], called the "land of Moab" ([[Deuteronomy]] {{Bibleverse||Deut|1:5; 32:49|1000|1:5; 32:49}}) and the district below [[sea level]] in the tropical depths of the [[Jordan valley]] ([[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] {{Bibleverse||Num|22:1|1000|22:1}}).

==Religion==
References to the religion of Moab are scant. Most of the Moabites followed the [[ancient Semitic religion]] like other [[ancient Semitic-speaking peoples]], and the [[Book of Numbers]] says that they induced the Israelites to join in their [[sacrifice]]s ({{bibleverse||Num|25:2|HE}}; {{bibleverse||Judges|10:6|HE}}). Their chief god seems to have been [[Chemosh]],<ref>Holm, Tawny L. (2005). [https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/moabite-religion#:~:text=MOABITE%20RELIGION%20.,escarpment%20and%20the%20Arabian%20Desert. «Moabite Religion»]. ''Encyclopedia of Religion''. 30 Jul. 2022 https://www.encyclopedia.com.</ref> and the Bible refers to them as the "people of Chemosh" ({{bibleverse||Num|21:29|HE}}; {{bibleverse||Jer|48:46|HE}}). During the Iron Age, several Moabite cultic sites have been found in places such as [[Deir Alla]], [[Tall Damiyah|Damiyah]], [[khirbat Ataruz|Ataruz]] or Khirbet al-Mudayna.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Iron Age Cultic Sites in Transjordan |journal=[[Religions (journal)|Religions]] |last=Steiner |first=Margreet L. |issue=3 |volume=10 |pages=145 |doi=10.3390/rel10030145 |year=2019 |issn=2077-1444|doi-access=free }}</ref>

According to [[II Kings]], at times, especially in dire peril, [[human sacrifice]]s were offered to Chemosh, as by Mesha, who gave up his son and heir to him ({{bibleverse|2|Kings|3:27|HE}}). Nevertheless, [[King Solomon]] built a "high place" for Chemosh on the hill before Jerusalem ({{bibleverse|1|Kings|11:7|HE}}), which the Bible describes as "this detestation of Moab". The altar was not destroyed until the reign of [[Josiah]] ({{bibleverse|2|Kings|23:13|HE}}). The Moabite Stone also mentions (line 17) a female counterpart of Chemosh, [[Ashtar-Chemosh]].

==Language==
The [[Moabite language]] was spoken in Moab. It was a [[Canaanite language]] closely related to [[Biblical Hebrew]], [[Ammonite language|Ammonite]] and [[Edomite language|Edomite]],<ref name="Glottolog4.3">{{cite web |last1=Hammarström |first1=Harald |last2=Forke |first2=Robert |last3=Haspelmath |first3=Martin |last4=Bank |first4=Sebastian |year=2020 |title=Moabite |work=Glottolog 4.3 |url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/moab1234 |access-date=2020-10-24 |archive-date=2018-12-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211001658/https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/moab1234 |url-status=live }}</ref> and was written using a variant of the [[Phoenician alphabet]].<ref name="ISBE">{{cite encyclopedia |first=Geoffrey W. |last=Bromiley |encyclopedia=The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=2007 |page=395 |title=Moab |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zkla5Gl_66oC&pg=PA395 |isbn=9780802837851 |access-date=2016-03-01 |archive-date=2014-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628120753/http://books.google.com/books?id=Zkla5Gl_66oC&pg=PA395 |url-status=live }}</ref> Most of our knowledge of it comes from the [[Mesha Stele]],<ref name="ISBE"/> which is the only known extensive text in this language. In addition, there are the three line [[El-Kerak Inscription]] and a few seals.

==List of rulers==
{{more citations needed|section|date=August 2023}}
The following is a list of rulers of the ancient kingdom of Moab.

=== Iron Age ===

* Kamōš-ayat,{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} {{citation needed span|date=October 2021|c. 900-870 BCE}}
* [[Mesha]], {{citation needed span|date=October 2021|c. 870-840 BCE}}
* [[Salmanu]], {{citation needed span|date=October 2021|c. 744-727 BCE}}
* [[Kammusu-nadbi]], c. 704 BCE<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vkrp.org/studies/historical/assyrian-moabite/info/why-in-the-world.asp |title=Virtual Karak Resources Project: Historical Study |access-date=2011-05-16 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120917112912/http://www.vkrp.org/studies/historical/assyrian-moabite/info/why-in-the-world.asp |archive-date=2012-09-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== [[Assyria]]n period ===

* [[Muṣuri]], fl. {{citation needed span|date=October 2021|c. 670-668 BCE}}
* [[Kamas-halta]], {{citation needed span|date=October 2021|c. 668-633 BCE}}

==Explanatory notes==
{{notelist}}

==See also==
* [[Plains of Moab]], region along the Jordan across from Jericho

==References==
<references group="وزارة التربية والتعليم"/>
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Bienkowski |first1=Piotr |year=1992 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HytpQgAACAAJ |title=Early Edom and Moab: The Beginning of the Iron Age in Southern Jordan |publisher=J. R. Collis |isbn=9780906090459}}
* {{cite book |last1=Dearman |first1=John Andrew |year=1989 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=idMNAAAAYAAJ |title=Studies in the Mesha Inscription and Moab |publisher=Scholars Press |isbn=9781555403577}}
* Many comparisons of [[Biblical Hebrew]] with the language of the Mêša˓ inscription appear in [[Wilhelm Gesenius]]' Hebrew grammar, e.g. {{Cite GHG|2|d |notitle=1}}, {{Cite GHG|5|d |notitle=1}}, {{Cite GHG|7|b |notitle=1}}, {{Cite GHG|7|f |notitle=1}}, {{Cite GHG|49|a |notitle=1}}, {{Cite GHG|54|l |notitle=1}}, {{Cite GHG|87|e |notitle=1}}, {{Cite GHG|88|c |notitle=1}}, {{Cite GHG|117|b |notitle=1}}, etc.
* Jacobs, Joseph and [[Louis Herbert Gray|Louis H. Gray]]. [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=679&letter=M&search=Moab "Moab"]. ''[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]]''. Funk and Wagnalls, 1901–1906, which cites to the following bibliography:
** {{cite book |last=Tristram |first=H. B.|author-link=Henry Baker Tristram |year=1874 |title=The Land of Moab: Travels and Discoveries on the East Side of the Dead Sea and the Jordan |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.03601 |edition=Second |location=London |publisher=John Murray}}
* {{Cite book |title=A History of Ancient Moab from the Ninth to First Centuries BCE |last=MacDonald |first=Burton |publisher=SBL Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-62837-268-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RGUXyQEACAAJ}} 
* {{cite book |last1=Routledge |first1=Bruce |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SBWmAwOJI2UC |title=Moab in the Iron Age: Hegemony, Polity, Archaeology |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=9780812238013}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Moab}}
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14405/14405.txt Gutenberg E-text of ''Patriarchal Palestine''] by Archibald Henry Sayce (1895)
* [http://www.studylight.org/dic/sbd/view.cgi?word=moab&action=Lookup Moab entry] in ''[[Smith's Bible Dictionary]]''

{{Ancient states and regions of the Levant|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|31|30|06|N|35|46|36|E|display=title}}

[[Category:Moab|*]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples of the Near East]]
[[Category:Semitic-speaking peoples]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 13th century BC]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 4th century BC]]
[[Category:Torah places]]
[[Category:Vayeira]]
[[Category:Former kingdoms]]
[[Category:Canaanite people]]