Reference: Moab, Moabites
Hastings
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 Ge 19, 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 Ge 19:37 (Septuagint) is not philological, and modern guesses are uncertain.
The narrative of Ge 19 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 Aram
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The firstborn gave birth to a son and named him Moab, and he is the ancestor of the Moabites to this day.
Later, Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who conveyed this request: "Permit us to pass through your land. We won't trespass in your fields or vineyards. We won't drink water from any well, and we'll only travel along the King's Highway until we've passed through your territory." read more. Instead of letting Israel pass through his territory, Sihon mustered his entire army and marched out to meet them in the wilderness. He arrived at Jahaz and attacked Israel. But Israel defeated him in battle and took possession of all his lands from Arnon to Jabbok, including the Ammonites, even though the border of the Ammonites was strong. So Israel captured all of those cities, occupied all the Amorite cities in Heshbon, and all its towns. Heshbon was the capital city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who fought against the previous king of Moab and captured all his land from his capital city to Arnon. Therefore the ones who speak in proverbs say: Come to Heshbon and let it be built! Let the city of Sihon be established! A fire has gone out from Heshbon, and a flame from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab and the lords of the high places who lived in Arnon. Woe to you, Moab! You are destroyed, you people of Chemosh! He has given up his sons as fugitives and his daughters have gone into captivity to Sihon, king of the Amorites. We've fired at them. Heshbon has perished as far as Dibon. We've destroyed them as far as Nophah even as far as Medeba. So Israel lived in Amorite territory.
Then Moses ordered the judges of Israel, "Each one of you is to execute the men in his own tribe who joined the Baal-peor cult."
"Look! These women were the same ones who were counseled by Balaam to cause the Israelis to commit a grievous sin against the LORD at Peor. As a result, that plague infected the LORD's community.
"Then the LORD told me, "Don't harass Moab or provoke them to war, because I won't give you any part of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their property.
Get ready and set out for the Wadi Arnon. Look! I've given into your control Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, along with his land. Prepare to take possession by provoking him to war. Starting today I will begin to instill fear and terror of you on the part of every nation under heaven who hears reports about you. They'll tremble in anguish before you.'" read more. "I sent messengers from the desert of Kedemoth to King Sihon of Heshbon with this message of peace: "Let me pass through your territory. I'll stay on the main road. I won't turn to the right or left. Sell me food for cash, so I can eat and give me water for cash, so I can drink. Just let me pass through on foot, as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir did for me, as did the Moabites who live in Ar. I'll pass through, until I will have crossed the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is about to give us.' But King Sihon of Heshbon did not allow us to pass through, because the LORD your God had hardened his spirit and made him arrogant, in order to deliver him into your control today. "Then the LORD told me, "See, I've begun to deliver Sihon and his territory over to you. Prepare to take possession of his land.' "Sihon came out to meet us, including his entire army, at the battle of Jahaz. The LORD our God delivered him to us, so we attacked him, his son, and his whole army. We captured all his towns at that time. We utterly destroyed every town the men, the women, and the children leaving no survivors. We only appropriated the livestock for our use, along with plunder from the cities that we captured.
because they didn't come to meet you with food and water along the way as you were coming out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Beor's son Balaam from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.
Their allocation was from the border of Aroer on the edge of the Arnon valley (including the city that is located in the valley, as well as the entire plain next to Medeba), Heshbon and all of its cities that are on the plain, including Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, read more. Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, Kiriathaim, Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar on the hill in the valley, Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth-jeshimoth, all of the cities of the plain, the entire kingdom of King Sihon of the Amorites, who used to reign in Heshbon and whom Moses attacked, along with the chiefs of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, nobles of Sihon who lived in the land.
Now Moses had made an allotment in Bashan to one half-tribe of Manasseh, but Joshua made an allotment west of the Jordan River to the other half-tribe of their relatives. So when Joshua sent them on their way back to their tents, he also blessed them by saying
The Israelis again practiced evil in full view of the LORD. So the LORD strengthened Eglon king of Moab in his control over Israel, because they had practiced evil in full view of the LORD. Eglon assembled together the Ammonites and the Amalekites, proceeded to attack Israel, and captured the cities of palms. read more. So the Israelis served king Eglon of Moab for eighteen years. But when the Israelis cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up Gera's son Ehud, a left-handed descendant of Benjamin, as a deliverer for them. The Israelis paid tribute through him to king Eglon of Moab. Ehud forged a double-edged sword that was one cubit long, tied it to his right thigh under his cloak, and went to present the tribute to King Eglon of Moab. Now Eglon happened to be a very obese man. As he finished presenting the tribute, Ehud sent away the people who had been carrying it. He had turned away from the idols that were at Gilgal. So he told Eglon, "I have a secret message for you, king." King Eglon responded "Silence!" and all of his attendants left him. Ehud approached him while he was sitting by himself in the cool roof chamber of his palace. He said, "I have a message from God for you!" So when Eglon got up from his seat, Ehud used his left hand to take the sword from his right thigh and then plunged it into Eglon's abdomen. The hilt also penetrated along with the sword blade, and Eglon's fat closed in over the blade. Because he did not withdraw the sword from Eglon's abdomen, the sword point exited from Eglon's entrails. Then Ehud left the cool chamber in the direction of the vestibule, shutting and locking the doors behind him. After he left, Eglon's attendants came to look, but the doors to the cool chamber were locked! So they said, "He must be relieving himself in the inner part of the cool chamber." They waited until they were embarrassed, since he never opened the doors to the chamber. Eventually they took a key, opened the doors, and found their master dead on the ground. Meanwhile, Ehud escaped while they were delayed, passed by the idols, and escaped in the direction of Seirah. When he arrived there, he sounded a trumpet in the mountainous region of Ephraim. While the Israeli army accompanied Ehud from the mountainous regions, he told them, "Attack them, because the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your control." So the Israeli army followed after him, seized the fords of the Jordan River opposite Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross. At that time they attacked about 10,000 Moabites, all of whom were strong and valiant men. Not one man escaped. As a result, Moab was subdued under the control of Israel, and the land remained quiet for 80 years.
Also ask yourselves: do you have a better case than Zippor's son Balak, king of Moab? Did he ever have a quarrel with Israel or ever win a fight against them?
When Saul became king over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side against Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Everywhere he turned he was victorious.
David went from there to Mizpah of Moab, and he told the king of Moab, "Please let my father and mother come and stay with you until I know what God is going to do for me."
Sometime later, David defeated and subdued the Philistines, taking Metheg-ammah away from the Philistines. David also conquered Moab, then measured them with a cord, making them lie down on the ground. He executed everyone measured out in each two lengths' measurement of the cord, but spared the ones measured out by every third length. Then the Moabites were placed under servitude to David, and made to pay tribute.
including from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and spoil from King Hadadezer, Rehob's son from Zobah.
But King Solomon married many foreign women besides the daughter of Pharaoh: women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidonia, along with Hittite women, too,
Later, Solomon even constructed a high place on the mountain east of Jerusalem that was dedicated to Chemosh, that detestable Moabite idol, and to Molech, the detestable Ammonite idol.
Ahab's son Jehoram ascended to the throne of Israel at Samaria during the eighteenth year of the reign of Judah's King Jehoshaphat. He reigned for twelve years,
So he took his firstborn son, whom he intended to reign after him, and offered him up as a burnt offering on the wall. There subsequently came great anger against Israel, so they abandoned the attack and returned to their homeland.
Later, Elisha died and was buried. Now at that time, various Moabite marauders had been invading the land each spring.
The LORD sent raiding parties from the Chaldeans, Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonites against Jehoiakim. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, in keeping with the message from the LORD that he had spoken through his servants, the prophets.
But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repair work on the Jerusalem wall was progressing and that its breaches were being repaired, they flew into a rage.
For they adopted the worship of Baal Peor and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
"This is what the Lord GOD says: "Because Moab and Seir are claiming, "Judah's citizens are just like every other nation,"
This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Moab because they cremated the bones of the king of Edom, burning them to lime. So I will send down fire upon Moab, and it will devour the fortified citadels of Kerioth. Moab will die in the uproar of battle, with a war cry and with the trumpeting of the ram's horn. read more. I will execute their rulers among them, killing all of their officials as well," says the LORD.
"I've heard Moab's insults and the curses from those Ammonites by which they defame my people and boast about their territory. Therefore as I'm alive and living," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, "Moab will surely become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a place overrun by weeds and salty marshes, unpopulated forever. The survivors of my people will confiscate their property, and those who remain of my nation will inherit what was theirs. read more. This they will have in lieu of their pride, because they have insulted and mocked the people of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. The LORD will incite them to terror, because he will cause all the gods of the earth to waste away. They will worship him, every person in his own home, including even the coastlands of the nations."