Reference: Moabites
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Descendants of Moab the son of Lot, Ge 19:30-38. The land of Moab lay east and southeast of the Dead Sea, and chiefly south of the river Arnon. At one period, however, it extended north as far as the Jabbok, and for a long time the region beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho retained the name of "the plains of Moab," Nu 22:1; De 1:5; 29:1; Jos 13:32. The Moabites had dispossessed a race of giants called Emin, De 2:11, and had themselves been expelled by the Amorites from the territory north of the Arnon, Nu 21:13,26; Jg 11:13-18, which was again conquered by Moses, and assigned to the tribe of Reuben. On the approach of Israel from Egypt, the Moabites acted with great inhumanity, Nu 22-24; De 2:8-9; and though God spared them from conquest, he excluded them and their seed even to the tenth generation form the peculiar privileges of his people, De 23:3-6. They were gross idolaters, worshipping Chemosh and Baal-peor with obscene rites, Nu 25; 2Ki 3:27. See MOLOCH. At times, as in the days of Ruth, there was peace between them and Israel; but a state of hostility was far more common, as in the time of Eglon, Jg 3:12-30; of Saul, 1Sa 14:47; of David, 2Sa 8:2,12; of Joram and Jeroboam, 2Ki 3:13,20; 14:25. They aided Nebuchadnezzar against the Jews, 2Ki 24:2; Eze 25:6-11; and after these began to be carried captive, appear to have regained their old possessions north of the Arnon, Isa 15-16. The Jewish prophets recorded many threatenings against these hereditary enemies of God and his people, Nu 24:17; Ps 60:12; 83:6; Jer 25:9-21; 48; Am 2:1-3; and all travelers concur in attesting the fulfillment of these predictions. Desolation and gloom, brood over the mountains of Moab, and its fruitful valleys are for the most part untilled. It is under Turkish government, but is inhabited chiefly by migratory Arabs, Zep 2:8-9. Few travelers have ventured to traverse it in modern times. They describe it as abounding in ruins, such as shattered tombs, cisterns walls, temples, etc., proving that it was once densely populated. See "KEITH ON PROPHECY."
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And Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he feared to dwell in Zoar; and he lived in a cave, he and his two daughters. The elder said to the younger, Our father is aging, and there is not a man on earth to live with us in the customary way. read more. Come, let us make our father drunk with wine, and we will lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring (our race) through our father. And they made their father drunk with wine that night, and the older went in and lay with her father; and he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she arose. Then the next day the firstborn said to the younger, See here, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drunk with wine tonight also, and then you go in and lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring (our race) through our father. And they made their father drunk with wine again that night, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. The older bore a son, and named him Moab [of a father]; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. The younger also bore a son and named him Ben-ammi [son of my people]; he is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
From there they journeyed and encamped on the other side of [the river] Arnon, which is in the desert or wilderness that extends from the frontier of the Amorites; for [the river] Arnon is the boundary of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as [the river] Arnon.
The Israelites journeyed and encamped in the plains of Moab, on the east side of the Jordan [River] at Jericho.
I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but He is not near. A star (Star) shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter (Scepter) shall rise out of Israel and shall crush all the corners of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth [Moab's sons of tumult].
Beyond (east of) the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying,
So we passed on from our brethren the sons of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, away from the Arabah (wilderness), and from Elath and from Ezion-geber. We turned and went by the way of the wilderness of Moab. And the Lord said to me, Do not trouble or assault Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot for a possession.
These also are known as Rephaim [of giant stature], as are the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim.
An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation their descendants shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord forever, Because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came forth out of Egypt, and because they hired Balaam son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia against you to curse you. read more. Nevertheless, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing to you, because the Lord your God loves you. You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.
These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.
These are the inheritances which Moses distributed in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan east of Jericho.
And the Israelites again did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. And [Eglon] gathered to him the men of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and they possessed the City of Palm Trees (Jericho). read more. And the Israelites served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years. But when the Israelites cried to the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjamite, a left-handed man; and by him the Israelites sent tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Ehud made for himself a sword, a cubit long, which had two edges, and he girded it on his right thigh under his clothing. And he brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried it. He himself went [with them] as far as the sculptured [boundary] stones near Gilgal, and then turned back and came to Eglon and said, I have a secret errand to you, O king. Eglon commanded silence, and all who stood by him went out from him. When Ehud had come [near] to him as he was sitting alone in his cool upper apartment, Ehud said, I have a commission from God to execute to you. And the king arose from his seat. Then Ehud put forth his left hand and took the sword from his right thigh and thrust it into Eglon's belly. And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed upon the blade, for [Ehud] did not draw the sword out of his belly, and the dirt came out. Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the upper room upon [Eglon] and locked them. When [Ehud] had gone out, [Eglon's] servants came. And when they saw the doors of the upper room were locked, they thought, Surely he [is seeking privacy while he] relieves himself in the closet of the cool chamber. They waited a long time until they became embarrassed and uneasy, but when he still did not open the doors of the upper room, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their master fallen to the floor, dead! Ehud escaped while they delayed and passed beyond the sculptured [boundary] stones (images) and escaped to Seirah. When he arrived, he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down from the hill country, with him at their head. And he said to them, Follow me, for the Lord has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and permitted not a man to pass over. They slew at that time about 10,000 Moabites, all strong, courageous men; not a man escaped. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel, and the land had peace and rest for eighty years.
The Ammonites' king replied to the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land [which was not true] when they came up out of Egypt [300 years before], from the Arnon even to Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore, restore those lands peaceably. And Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the Ammonites read more. And said to him, Thus says Jephthah, Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. But when [Israel] came up from Egypt, [they] walked through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Let us, we pray, pass through your land, but the king of Edom would not listen. Also they sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh. Then they went through the wilderness and went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon; but they came not within the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab.
When Saul took over the kingdom of Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he made it worse for them.
He defeated Moab, and measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground; two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.
From Syria, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
And Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your [wicked] father Ahab and your [wicked] mother Jezebel. But the king of Israel said to him, No, for the Lord has called [us] three kings together to be delivered into the hand of Moab.
In the morning, when the sacrifice was offered, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.
Then he [Moab's king] took his eldest son, who was to reign in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall [in full view of the horrified enemy kings]. And there was great indignation, wrath, and bitterness against Israel; and they [his allies Judah and Edom] withdrew from [Joram] and returned to their own land.
Jeroboam restored Israel's border from the entrance of Hamath to the [Dead] Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath-hepher.
The Lord sent against Jehoiakim bands of Chaldeans, of Syrians, of Moabites, and of Ammonites. And He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by His servants the prophets.
Through God we shall do valiantly, for He it is Who shall tread down our adversaries.
Behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, says the Lord, and I will send for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, My servant [or agent to fulfill My designs], and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will devote them [to God] and utterly destroy them and make them an amazement, a hissing, and perpetual and agelong desolations. Moreover, I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones [grinding out the meal] and the light of the candle [which every home burned throughout the night]. read more. And this whole land shall be a waste and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then when seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, says the Lord, for their iniquity, and will make the land [of the Chaldeans] a perpetual waste. And I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall make bondmen of them, even them [the Chaldeans who enslaved other nations]; and I will recompense [all of] them according to their deeds and according to the work of their [own] hands. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to me: Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. They shall drink and reel to and fro and be crazed because of the sword that I will send among them. Then I [Jeremiah] took the cup from the Lord's hand and made all the nations drink it to whom the Lord had sent me: [that is,] Jerusalem and the cities of Judah [being most guilty because their privileges were greatest], its kings and princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is to this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, all his people, And all the mixed foreign population; all the kings of the land of Uz; and all the kings of the land of the Philistines and [their cities of] Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; Edom, Moab, and the children of Ammon;
For thus says the Lord God: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped with the feet and rejoiced [in heart] with all the contempt, malice, and spite that is in you against the land of Israel, Therefore behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and will hand you over for a prey and a spoil to the nations, and I will cut you off from the peoples and will cause you to perish and be lost out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then will you know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. read more. Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab says, as does Seir [Edom], Behold, the house of Judah is like all the [heathen] nations, Therefore behold, I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontiers and in every quarter, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim. I will give it along with the children of Ammon to the people of the East for a possession, that it and the children of Ammon may not be [any more seriously] remembered among the nations. And I will execute judgments and punishments upon Moab, and they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service].
Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Moab [descendants of Lot] and for four [for multiplied delinquencies], I will not reverse the punishment of it or revoke My word concerning it, because he burned the bones of the king of Edom [Esau's descendant] into lime. So I will send a fire upon Moab and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth, and Moab shall die amid uproar, shouting, and the sound of the trumpet. read more. And I will cut off the ruler from its midst and will slay all its princes with him, says the Lord.
I have heard the taunts of Moab and the revilings of the Ammonites by which they have reproached My people, and magnified themselves and made boasts against their territory. Therefore, as I live, says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and wild vetches and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The remnant of My people shall make a prey of them and what is left of My nation shall possess them.