Moabites
Summary
The Moabites were the people descended from Moab, Lot's son, who inhabited the territory east of the Dead Sea and maintained a contentious relationship with Israel characterized by alternating hostility and intermarriage.
☩Origins and Character
The Moabites traced their descent from Moab, son of Lot by his elder daughter, making them related to Israel through Abraham's nephew. They dispossessed the giant Emim from the territory east of the Dead Sea and established themselves on the fertile highlands. Their language, as evidenced by the Moabite Stone, was virtually identical to Hebrew, confirming their Semitic kinship. Though called 'the people of Chemosh' after their chief deity, they also worshipped Baal at various high places with licentious rites.
☩Conflicts with Israel
The Moabites refused passage to Israel during the Exodus and hired Balaam to curse them, resulting in their permanent exclusion from the congregation of Israel to the tenth generation. During the judges period, King Eglon of Moab oppressed Israel for eighteen years until Ehud's assassination delivered them. Under the kings, warfare continued intermittently, with Saul fighting them, David subjugating them, and later conflicts under Jehoram and Jehoash.
☩Cultural Interactions
Despite political hostility, peaceful contacts occurred, as shown in Ruth's story of a Moabitess who became David's great-grandmother and an ancestress of Christ. David himself sought refuge in Moab and entrusted his parents to its king during Saul's persecution. Solomon had Moabite wives who introduced their god Chemosh into Israel. After the exile, intermarriage between Jews and Moabites had become common enough to require Ezra's reform measures.
☩Later History and Decline
The Moabites aided Nebuchadnezzar against Judah but were themselves subjugated by Babylon five years after Jerusalem's destruction. Jewish prophets repeatedly pronounced judgment against Moab for its pride, hostility, and rejoicing over Israel's calamity. By the early centuries AD, the Moabites as a distinct people had disappeared, their name being absorbed into the general Arab population of the region.
Related Verses38 mentions
See Also
References
- 1.John Kitto, "Moabites," in A Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, vol. II (Mark H. Newman, 1845).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Moabitess," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.American Tract Society, "Moabites," in American Tract Society Bible Dictionary (American Tract Society, 1859).