Kingdom of Moab 𐤌𐤀𐤁 | |
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| c. 13th century BCE – c. 400 BCE | |
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| Status | Monarchy |
| Capital | Dibon |
| Common languages | Moabite |
| Religion | Canaanite religion |
| History | |
• Established | c. 13th century BCE |
• Collapsed | c. 400 BCE |
| Today part of | Jordan |
Moab[a] (/ˈmoʊæb/) was an ancientLevantine kingdom whose territory is today located in southernJordan. The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of theDead Sea. The existence of theKingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archaeological findings, most notably theMesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over an unnamed son ofKingOmri ofIsrael, an episode also noted in2 Kings 3. The Moabite capital wasDibon. According to theHebrew Bible, Moab was often in conflict with itsIsraelite neighbours to the west.
The etymology of the word Moab is uncertain. The earliestgloss is found in theKoine GreekSeptuagint (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)".[1]
Rashi explains the wordMo'ab to mean "from the father", sinceab 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 theIsraelites to refrain from inflicting pain upon the Moabites in the manner in which he did with regard to theAmmonites.Fritz Hommel regardsMoab as an abbreviation ofImmo-ab = "his mother is his father".[2]
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The existence of the Kingdom of Moab prior to the rise of theIsraelite state has been deduced from acolossal statue erected atLuxor by pharaohRamesses II, in the 13th century BCE. The statue listsMu'ab among a series of nations conquered during a campaign.[3][4] The nucleus of the early Moabite state appears to have been located in several settlements betweenWadi el-Wale andWadi Mojib which originated in theLate Bronze Age.[5]: 487
Four inscriptions from the time of Ramesses II mentionMw-i-bw as a rebellious place that refuses to recognize Egypt's control overCanaan and, together with theShasu ofMount 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 neighboringCanaanites (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 thatMw-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.Na'aman argued, however, that the identification ofMw-i-bw with the biblical land of Moab can no longer be upheld; the former was more likely well to the north.[6]Kenneth Kitchen later responded to Na'aman, reasserting the identification ofMw-i-bw with Moab.[7]
The 9th century BCEMesha Stele recounts that KingMesha built up an open sanctuary in Qeriho (cultic area ofDibon), conquered the Israelite territory north of Wadi el-Wale with the cities ofMedeba,Ataroth andNebo as well asJahaz (east of Moab) and rebuilt the towns ofBaal-meon, Kirjaton,Aroer, Beth-bamoth,Bezer, Medeba, Diblaton and his hometown Dibon.[5]: 488
An 8th-century BCE inscription seems to indicate that the Kingdom of Moab expanded into the eastern part of theJordan Valley after a successful campaign against theAmmonites.[8]
In theNimrud clay inscription ofTiglath-pileser III (r. 745–727 BCE), the Moabite kingSalmanu (perhaps the Shalman who sackedBeth-arbel inHosea10:14) is mentioned as tributary toAssyria.Sargon II mentions on aclay prism a revolt against him by Moab together withPhilistia,Judah, andEdom; but on theTaylor prism, which recounts the expedition againstHezekiah,Kammusu-Nadbi (Chemosh-nadab), King of Moab, brings tribute to Sargon as his suzerain.[5]: 489
Musuri, King of Moab, paid too a tribute toAssarhaddon at the same time asManasseh of Judah,Qosgabar of Edom and other kings of theLevant. They send building materials toNineveh. Moab militarily supportedAssurbanipal during his campaign against Egypt and the pharaohTaharqa. The status ofvassal of Assyria allows Moab to benefit in return from the support of Assyria against the nomadic tribes of theArabian desert, and in particular against the Qedarites. KingKamas-halta seemed to have defeated Ammuladi, king ofQedar.[9]
After theRoman conquest of the Levant byPompey in 63 BCE,[10] Moab lost its distinct identity through assimilation[clarification needed].[11]
Early modern travellers in the region includedUlrich Jasper Seetzen (1805),Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (1812),Charles Leonard Irby andJames Mangles (1818), andLouis Félicien de Saulcy (1851).[12]
According to the biblical account, Moab andAmmon were born toLot and Lot's elder and younger daughters, respectively, in the aftermath of the destruction ofSodom and Gomorrah. The Bible refers to both the Moabites and Ammonites as Lot's sons, born of incest with his daughters (Genesis 19:37–38).
The Moabites first inhabited the rich highlands at the eastern side of the chasm of the Dead Sea, extending as far asWadi Mujib toWadi Hasa,[13] from which country they expelled theEmim, the original inhabitants (Deuteronomy2:11), but they themselves were afterward driven southward by warlike tribes ofAmorites, who had crossed theriver Jordan. These Amorites, described in the Bible as being ruled by KingSihon, confined the Moabites to the country south of the river Arnon, which formed their northern boundary (Numbers21:13;Judges11:18).
God renewed hiscovenant with the Israelites at Moab before the Israelites entered thePromised Land(Deuteronomy 29:1). Moses died there (Deut 34:5), 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 inmourning (Deuteronomy 34:6–8).
According to the Book of Judges, the Israelites did not pass through the land of the Moabites (Judges 11:18), but conquered Sihon's kingdom and his capital atHeshbon. After the conquest ofCanaan the relations of Moab with Israel were of a mixed character, sometimes warlike and sometimes peaceable. With thetribe of Benjamin they had at least one severe struggle, in union with their kindred the Ammonites and theAmalekites (Judges 3:12–30). The BenjaminiteshofetEhud ben Gera assassinated the Moabite kingEglon and led an Israelite army against the Moabites at a ford of the Jordan river, killing many of them.
TheBook of Ruth testifies to friendly relations between Moab andBethlehem, one of the towns of thetribe of Judah. By his descent from Ruth,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 byKing 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 (2 Samuel8:2;1 Chronicles18:2). Moab may have been under the rule of an Israelite governor during this period; among the exiles who returned to Judea fromBabylonia were a clan descended fromPahath-Moab, whose name means "ruler of Moab". TheMoabite Ruth is regarded as a prototype of a convert toJudaism.[14]
At the disruption of the kingdom under the reign ofRehoboam, Moab seems to have been absorbed into the northern realm. It continued in vassalage to theKingdom of Israel until the death ofAhab which according toE. R. Thiele's reckoning was in about 853 BCE,[15] when the Moabites refused to pay tribute and asserted their independence, making war upon the kingdom of Judah (2 Chronicles 22:1).
After the death ofAhab in about 853 BCE, the Moabites underMesha rebelled againstJehoram, who allied himself withJehoshaphat, King of theKingdom of Judah, and with the King of Edom. According to the Bible, the prophetElisha 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 (2 Kings 3). According to Mesha's inscription on theMesha 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 (2 Kings 13:20) and later aided Nebuchadnezzar in his expedition againstJehoiakim (2 Kings 24:2).
Allusions to Moab are frequent in theprophetical books (Isa 25:10;Ezek 25:8–11;Amos 2:1–3;Zephaniah 2:8–11). 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 ofGod, are frequently mentioned (Isa 16:6;Jer 48:11–29;Zephaniah 2:10), and their contempt for Israel is once expressly noted (Jer. 48:27). Moab would be dealt with during the time of the Messiah's rulership according to the prophets.[16] Thebook of Zephaniah states that Moab would become "a permanent desolation".[17]
Moab is also made reference to in the2 Meqabyan, a book consideredcanonical in theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.[18] 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.
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Moabites were not hospitable to the Israelites who exitedEgypt and hiredBalaam to curse them. As a consequence, male Moabites were excluded byTorah law[19] from marrying Jewish women.[20]
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. TheTalmud 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 theBabylonian 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 (Ezra 9:1–2, 12;Nehemiah 13:23–25). The heir of King Solomon wasRehoboam, the son of an Ammonite woman,Naamah (1 Kings 14:21).
On the other hand, the marriages of theBethlehemEphrathites (of thetribe of Judah)Mahlon and Chilion to the Moabite womenOrpah andRuth (Ruth 1:2–4), and the marriage of the latter, after her husband's death, toBoaz (Ruth 4:10–13) who by her was the great-grandfather ofDavid, are mentioned with no shade of reproach. The Talmudic explanation, however, is that the language of the law applies only to Moabite and Ammonitemen (Hebrew, like all Semitic languages, hasgrammatical gender). The Talmud also states that the prophetSamuel wrote the Book of Ruth to settle the dispute as the rule had been forgotten since the time ofBoaz. Another interpretation is that theBook 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 inYevamot 76B explains that one of the reasons was the Ammonites did not greet the Children of Israel with friendship and the Moabites hiredBalaam 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 (Deuteronomy 23:3–4).
Jehoash was one of the four men who pretended to be gods.[21] 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 (2 Chron. 24:26); 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 ofLot's incest with his two daughters as described inGen. 19:30–38.
Jehoshaphet subsequently joinedJehoram of Israel in a war against the Moabites, who were under tribute to Israel. The Moabites were subdued, but seeingMesha's act of offering his own son (and singular heir) as apropitiatoryhuman sacrifice on the walls ofKir of Moab filled Israel with horror, and they withdrew and returned to their own land.[22]
According to theBook of Jeremiah, Moab was exiled toBabylon for his arrogance and idolatry. According toRashi, it was also due to their gross ingratitude even thoughAbraham, Israel's ancestor, had savedLot, Moab's ancestor fromSodom. Jeremiah prophesies that Moab's captivity will be returned in theend of days.[23]
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 JewishHasmonean kingAlexander Jannaeus. During that period, the Moabites were called the "Arabian Moabites".[24]
InEzekiel 25:9 the boundaries are given as being marked byBeth-jeshimoth (north),Baal-meon (east), andKiriathaim (south). That these limits were not fixed, however, is plain from the lists of cities given inIsaiah 15–16 andJeremiah48, whereHeshbon,Elealeh, andJazer are mentioned to the north of Beth-jeshimoth;Madaba,Beth-gamul, andMephaath to the east ofBaalmeon; andDibon,Aroer,Bezer,Jahaz, andKirhareseth to the south of Kiriathaim. The principal rivers of Moab mentioned in theBible are theArnon, theDibon or Dimon,[25] and theNimrim. In the north are a number of long, deepravines, andMount Nebo, famous as the scene of the death ofMoses (Deuteronomy34:1–8).
The territory occupied by Moab at the period of its greatest extent, before the invasion of theAmorites, 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" (Ruth1:1,2,6). The more openrolling country north of the Arnon, oppositeJericho and up to the hills ofGilead, called the "land of Moab" (Deuteronomy1:5; 32:49) and the district belowsea level in the tropical depths of theJordan valley (Numbers22:1).
References to the religion of Moab are scant. Most of the Moabites followed theancient Semitic religion like otherancient Semitic-speaking peoples, and theBook of Numbers says that they induced the Israelites to join in theirsacrifices (Num 25:2;Judges 10:6). Their chief god seems to have beenChemosh,[26] and the Bible refers to them as the "people of Chemosh" (Num 21:29;Jer 48:46). During the Iron Age, several Moabite cultic sites have been found in places such asDeir Alla,Damiyah,Ataruz or Khirbet al-Mudayna.[27]
According toII Kings, at times, especially in dire peril,human sacrifices were offered to Chemosh, as by Mesha, who gave up his son and heir to him (2 Kings 3:27). Nevertheless,King Solomon built a "high place" for Chemosh on the hill before Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:7), which the Bible describes as "this detestation of Moab". The altar was not destroyed until the reign ofJosiah (2 Kings 23:13). The Moabite Stone also mentions (line 17) a female counterpart of Chemosh,Ashtar-Chemosh.
TheMoabite language was spoken in Moab. It was aCanaanite language closely related toBiblical Hebrew,Ammonite andEdomite,[28] and was written using a variant of thePhoenician alphabet.[29] Most of our knowledge of it comes from theMesha Stele,[29] which is the only known extensive text in this language. In addition, there are the three lineEl-Kerak Inscription and a few seals.
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The following is a list of rulers of the ancient kingdom of Moab.
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.
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