MOAB, MOABITES mō’ ăb (מﯴאָ֖ב, מּﯴאָב׃֙ LXX Μωαβ; מﯴאָבִ֖י, מֹּ֣אָבִ֔י, or בְּנֵי מﯴאָב). A Trans-Jordanian state with its inhabitants, lying E of the Dead Sea and occupying the plateau between the Wadis Arnon and Zered. At certain periods the N boundary reached beyond the Wadi Arnon, and while the S extremities of Moab were never recorded, they prob. were marked by the Wadi el-Ḥesa.

1. Name and origin. The ancestor of the Moabites was Moab, the son of Lot by incestuous union with his eldest daughter (Gen 19:30-38). The son was born in the hills above Zoar, presumably in S Moab. Both the descendants of this man and the land were known as Moab, the predominant use of this term in the OT being of the people themselves, and only sporadically of the country. The inhabitants were also known as Moabites, a usage found in the Assyrian royal inscrs. and elsewhere. The MT gave no etymology of “Moab,” but the LXX added after the phrase “called his name Moab” (19:37) the explanatory gloss “saying, from my father,” which may reflect an addition in the Heb. text used by the LXX trs. No further mention of the progenitor of the Moabites occurs in the Bible.

2. Topography. The principal inhabited area of Moab was the plateau situated immediately E of the Dead Sea and about 4,300 ft. above the level of the Dead Sea. The core of Moab was located between the Wadi Arnon and the Wadi Zered, although during periods of national strength the extreme N to S extent of the country was a little over sixty m. in length. When the Moabites were weak, however, this distance was cut down to about one-half. The E to W extent of the terrain was some twenty-five m., though not all of this area could be cultivated, due to the presence of deep transverse gorges and portions of arid land to the E bordering on the desert.

The coastal regions of Moab contained several fertile lowland areas, particularly in the SW corner of the country and to the N of the Wadi Arnon. To the E of the coastal area were the Moabite highlands, which contained numerous fertile valleys and tablelands lying both N and S of the Wadi Arnon. Conditions in these areas were excellent for viticulture, agriculture, and the grazing of herds and flocks. During times when Moab was densely occupied, every available part of the land was cultivated, including some of the steep hillsides of the wadis. The raising of sheep was a major occupation in antiquity, with the flocks moving E to the Syrian desert during the lush spring season and returning W in the long hot summer. The inhabited regions of Moab were well watered by rainfall, particularly in the W region of the highlands, but to the E the rainfall average declined rapidly, making for a marked transition from cultivated terrain to desert land. All the wadis were in flood during the rainy winter season but became dry during the hot summer, when the people depended upon a few perennial springs and reservoirs or cisterns of water. Permanent springs were formed when the rain fell on the highland areas, filtered through the limestone to the solid layers of hard underlying rock, and flowed W along underground channels to the western slopes, or erupted in the valleys of the highlands. Despite these important natural reserves, the land of Moab was by no means amply supplied with water.

The most important river to the S, the Wadi el-Ḥesa, prob. formed the boundary between Moab and Edom, taking its rise from the latter. This wadi has frequently been identified with the “Brook Zered,” which divided the desert from the cultivated land. There is some doubt about this, however, since the Israelites camped at ’Iye-abarim in the desert E of Moab, and went from there to the valley of Zered. Since this was the last site prior to the crossing of the Wadi Arnon, it presents certain difficulties for the identification of the “Brook Zered” with the Wadi el-Ḥesa. For much of its length the wadi flows through a deep gorge, which became much shallower at its E end.

The ideal N border of Moab, which actually was seldom realized, stretched E from the Wadi Heshban and Khirbet er-Rufaiseh, about five m. N of the Dead Sea. At times the N boundary of Moab extended as far as the Wadi Nimrin, the N limit of a rich and well-watered area known as the Plains of Moab, which extended S for about eight m. to the Dead Sea. This territory was apparently occupied by the Moabites early in their political history, since it had already acquired its designation when the Amorite raider Sihon occupied Moabite territory S to the Wadi Arnon. However, at most periods of Moabite history this latter chasm frequently formed the N boundary for practical purposes.

3. Sources

a. Biblical. The main sources relating to the Moabites are unfortunately not Moabite in origin, but comprised records from neighboring peoples with whom the Moabites were often at war. However, such information is sufficiently objective in character to be used with confidence in the reconstruction of Moabite history and life. The primary source for such a task is the OT, and although the historiographic concerns of the various authors were different in character from those of writers in other times and cultures, their descriptions of events in Moabite history were decidedly objective, and therefore reliable. The Israelite feeling of disdain toward the Moabites seems reflected in the narrative describing their incestuous origin (Gen 19:30-38), since the offspring rather than the unnamed daughters of Lot were the object of discussion.

The itinerary in Numbers 21 included a battle against Sihon before the Hebrews reached the plains of Moab. Another account of the Israelite approach to Moab was furnished (Deut 2:8-29) and commented upon the relations between the Israelites and Moabites, as well as to some pre-Moabite inhabitants. According to the tradition preserved by this section, the Israelites passed the land of Edom to the E and went due N without entering Moabite territory. When Israel requested permission to travel along the “King’s Highway” which crossed the plateau, the Moabites refused (Judg 11:17), although they may have had some trading contacts with Israel (Deut 2:28, 29). Moses was prohibited from attacking the Moabites (2:9) despite their unfriendly behavior, even though from then on they were to be excluded from Israel (23:3-6; cf. Neh 13:1). Concern on the part of Balak, king of Moab, at the success of the Israelites prompted him to enlist a gifted Mesopotamian seer named Balaam to curse the enemy, at that time settled across the Wadi Arnon (Num 22:1ff.; Josh 24:9). Just before they crossed the Jordan the Israelites encamped in the Plains of Moab (Num 22:1; Josh 3:1), and were seduced by pagan Moabite and Midianite women so that they participated in idolatrous behavior.

The Book of Judges recorded that Eglon, king of Moab, invaded Canaan as far as Jericho and subjugated the Israelites for eighteen years before being assassinated by Ehud the Benjamite (Judg 3:12-30). The narrative of the Book of Ruth, which is admirably consonant with “the days when the judges ruled,” recorded that Elimelech of Bethlehem had migrated to Moab and had begotten sons, who subsequently married two Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. Under adverse circumstances the latter returned as a widow to Israelite territory, and subsequently married Boaz, thereby becoming the ancestress of David (Ruth 4:18-22).

The records of the early monarchy did not give particular prominence to the conflicts with Moab, with the result that the wars of Saul and David with this people were mentioned only in summarized form. No information was furnished regarding either the cause or the course of the war against the Moabites, but only the fact that they were defeated by Saul (1 Sam 14:47). David brought his parents to the king of Moab for protection when he was being pursued by Saul, and was accorded a courteous reception (22:3, 4). The account of a Moabite defeat at the hands of David (2 Sam 8:2, 11, 12) decribed the punitive measures of decimation adopted by the Israelite ruler, as well as mentioning the tribute which the Moabites had to pay. Information concerning Moab in the Book of Kings is also sparse, making it necessary on occasions for inferences to be drawn from the context. Solomon married a Moabite woman as one of his many wives (1 Kings 11:1, 7), and it would seem probable from 1 Kings 11:7 and 2 Kings 23:15 that he allowed her to build a high place where Chemosh, the Moabite deity, could be worshiped. After the death of Solomon the Moabites broke free from Israelite control, but were subdued in the time of Omri of Israel (885/4-874/3 b.c.).

Toward the end of the reign of Ahab of Israel (874/3-853 b.c.) the Moabites once again began to break free. In an attempt to regain control of the situation Jehoram, the son of Ahab, enlisted the help of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah and ruler of Edom, but the campaign proved abortive (2 Kings 1:1; 3:4-27). At a later time Judah itself was invaded by a coalition of Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites, but dissension broke out among the allies and Judah was delivered (2 Chron 20:1-30). This particular record constituted one of those campaigns in the life of Jehosphaphat which was not mentioned in the Book of Kings, and most prob. occurred after the events of 2 Kings 3:4-27.

A brief narrative (2 Kings 10:32, 33) recorded that Hazael, king of Aram, seized from Jehu of Israel the territory normally regarded as Moabite which lay to the N of the Wadi Arnon, and which still belonged to Moab at the time of Jehoram. In the year that Elisha died some Moabite companies carried out sporadic raids on Israelite territory (13:20), while in the time of Jeroboam II (782/81-753 b.c.) the expansion of Israelite holdings to the E of the Jordan must have involved the conquest of at least a part of Moabite territory (14:25). This campaign fulfilled the prophecy of Amos 2:1-3, which spoke of coming retribution for a particularly abhorrent crime.

During the latter part of the 8th cent. b.c. the Moabites were compelled to become tributaries to Assyria (Isa 15, 16), but when the Assyrian empire collapsed the Moabites were free from domination once again. In the days of Jehoiakim of Judah (609-597 b.c.) the Moabites made scattered incursions into Judah (2 Kings 24:2), and when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 587 b.c. some of its inhabitants fled to Moabite territory for safety, later returning to Judah when Gedaliah became governor (Jer 40:11). In postexilic references the Moabites were spoken of as a race (Ezra 9:1; Neh 13:1, 23), though from the 8th cent. b.c. in particular they were mentioned as the recipients of divine judgment (e.g. Isa 25:10-12; Jer 9:26; 25:31; 27:3; Ezek 25:8-11; Amos 2:1-3; Zeph 2:8-11).

b. Non-Biblical. Purely Moabite sources have come to light through archeological investigations, though nothing of importance has been uncovered which in any way compares with the finding of the stele of King Mesha at Dhiban (Dibon) in 1868. This black basalt inscr., the celebrated Moabite Stone, measuring almost four ft. high and two ft. wide, was made to commemorate the revolt of Mesha against Israel, and his subsequent rebuilding of many important towns (2 Kings 3:4, 5). It was discovered by a missionary on his travels through the territory once occupied by the tribe of Reuben E of the Dead Sea. Shortly afterwards, Clermont-Ganneau of the French Consulate in Jerusalem obtained a rough impression of the material contents by means of a “squeeze.” The interest of the archeologists in the stele prompted the local Arabs to break the stone up into fragments to be used as charms for the blessing of crops, but Clermont-Ganneau was able to recover several of the small pieces and ultimately reconstructed the stele, now in the Louvre. Out of an estimated 1100 letters in the original inscr. approximately 669 were recovered, but this loss was offset to a large extent by the original “squeeze,” which preserved the greater portion of the narrative. Because this stele is the only source in the Moabite tongue, it is of great value both for the study of Moabite history and the language. The inscr. is generally dated about the middle of the 9th cent. b.c.

Another fragmentary inscr. coming from the earlier part of the same cent. was also recovered from Dhiban and published in 1952. It was first thought to have been part of the Mesha stele, but further study showed that it prob. was part of a larger and different inscr. originally. The fragment is too small to throw any light on Moabite history, but its very existence shows that the Mesha stele was no isolated phenomenon in 9th cent. b.c. Moab.

A monument discovered in 1930 about fifteen m. N of Kir-hareseth and known as the Balu’ah stele has also survived from ancient Moab, though in badly weathered form. The first photographs of this stele were published in 1932, showing on the upper part an almost completely indecipherable inscr. of four lines in extent. Underneath this material were three figures depicted in relief. The inscr. has been assigned tentatively to the Early Bronze Age by Albright, though this date was reduced by over a millennium by Drioton, who placed it in the 12th cent. b.c. However, the indecipherable nature of the inscr. makes any attempt at dating unreliable. From a supposed correspondence with the Linear B script, Alt thought that the stele had been erected originally by the Emites migrating from W Pal., who were subsequently conquered by early Moabite settlers and absorbed into the native population. This suggestion, however, is purely speculative in nature.

c. Cuneiform texts. Some of the Assyrian kings came into contact with the Moabites during their forays in the land of Amurru, and these encounters were recorded in the Assyrian royal inscrs. Of interest is the fact that, while the latter were sparse when compared with OT references to the Moabites, they contained more names of Moabite rulers than the OT narratives, and this during a period when the OT took little notice of Moabite history. One such source was recovered during the excavations at Nimrud, comprising letters dealing with affairs in Syria and Pal. Of these, a diplomatic communication written during the last third of the 8th cent. b.c. had reference to an attack upon Moab by a marauding tribe, prob. Bedouin in nature. Another document from the same period spoke of Palestinian emissaries journeying to Nimrud with tribute. Other Moabite relations with Assyria were mentioned in the annals of Ashurbanipal, Sennacherib and Esarhaddon.

Egyptian sources for Moabite history are almost negligible, since there was no sedentary occupation of Moab when Egyp. influence in Pal. was at its height. However, the name Dibon (tpn) occurred on the city list of Thutmose III in the temple of Amun at Karnak. From the list itself the place was located in the area of Upper Retenu, and can thus be identified with Tell Dibbin. The name Moab has been thought to be present on the list of Rameses II in the temple of Luxor, and other Moabite designations have been recognized on ostraca, graffiti and papyrus fragments recovered from Saqqara in 1926.

Moab was mentioned occasionally in non-canonical Jewish literary sources such as the Heb. text of Ecclesiasticus 36:10, which reads, “crush the heads of Moab’s princes,” and preserves the general sentiments of the OT writers toward Moab. The country was mentioned five times in the Book of Judith, but the references are of no historical value. Josephus preserved a number of facts relating to the Moabites, one of which, concerning the destruction of Ammon and Moab by Nebuchadnezzar (Jos. Antiq. X. ix. 7) did not occur in the OT record. Though the event cannot be verified readily from other sources, there is no reason to dismiss it as necessarily untrustworthy.

4. History

a. Pre-Biblical. The most obvious pre-Biblical remains in Moab are the menhirs (large erect stones sometimes found in rows or circles) and the dolmens (stone chambers made from massive slabs of rock and frequently buried under a mound of earth or stones). Such monuments occur throughout Trans-Jordan, and the Moabite examples come from the Neolithic period (6000-4500 b.c.).

During the Early Bronze IV to Middle Bronze I era (c. 2200-1900 b.c.), there was a high level of sedentary occupation throughout Trans-Jordan, and Moab itself was intensively settled. The inhabitants protected themselves by building fortified cities along the caravan routes which crossed Trans-Jordan from N to S. Indications of firmly established agricultural settlements point to an advanced level of civilization. While the cultivation of crops often was carried on outside fortified sites, some fields of ten acres in area were walled in for purposes of defense. Cultivated lands generally were located near a spring or stream so as to insure a reasonably continuous water supply, and this careful use of land was in evidence throughout the sedentary periods in Moab. The pottery of the early settlers was a rough, handmade variety, of a character with its counterparts in contemporary W Pal.

In the period under study there was a well-established trading route through Moab, and when the army of Chedorlaomer traveled down this road as far as El-paran in Edom (Gen 14:5-7), it was able to reduce the fortified sites en route one by one. Ancient Moabite strongholds may originally have been built as the result of internal political disunity, and this factor doubtless contributed to defeat at the hands of the marauding Mesopotamians. Quite possibly also the invasion hastened the disappearance of the Emim, a group of the Rephaim said to have inhabited Moab prior to the Moabites (Deut 2:10, 11). At the end of the 19th cent. b.c. the established culture gradually dwindled, and between 1900 and 1300 b.c. there was apparently a break in sedentary occupation of the territory S from the River Jabbok. Political and economic factors seem to have been principally responsible, with the Amorite movement of Mesopotamia exerting a great influence in this direction. After 2200 b.c. Amorite nomads traversed the Fertile Crescent and went as far S as Egypt, and when sedentary occupation declined in Moab the Amorites had free access to the territory. This was an important consideration, since they depended upon pasturage for their herds and flocks. Studies in surface archeology thus far seem to indicate that the general picture of nomadic occupation described above existed in Moab until the 13th cent. b.c.

b. Biblical. The end of the Late Bronze Age witnessed a settling-down of the nomadic populace, along with the rise of the historic kingdoms of Edom, Ammon and Moab, and the “Amorite” regimes of Sihon and Og. Moab was mentioned in the topographical lists of Ramses II at Luxor, while in the OT Moab was placed in parallel form to the “sons of Sheth,” the latter perhaps being an archaic tribal name and the Heb. form of the Egyp. Shutu (š-w-t-w), the Amarna Age designation of an area of Pal. perhaps roughly equivalent to later Ammon and Moab.

The descent and settlement of the Moabites has not been preserved in any detail, for OT references simply described the final establishing of the Trans-Jordanian peoples as an event already accomplished by the time of their first contact with the Israelites. Nothing can be deduced from the etymology of the name Moab regarding their descent, though the fact that they were connected genealogically with the Ammonites (Gen 19:37, 38) and mentioned with them (Deut 23:3), would imply a common ancestor. It has been suggested that the earliest Moabites came from a group of nomadic tribes which lived in the Syrian-Arabian desert, occupying the territory of Moab in some strength during the 14th cent. b.c., though this is far from certain. At all events, it is probable that the new settlers occupied land unused by the Emites, and as they grew in numbers they subjugated the latter in the manner reflected in the Balu’ah stele. If, as the lack of direct archeological evidence seems to imply, the original Emite settlement failed to achieve significant depth, it would be a comparatively simple matter for a vigorous nomadic people to dispossess the sedentary inhabitants, or at the least to absorb them into their own cultural patterns without difficulty. Since the Moabites do not appear to have met such firm opposition in settling down as did the Israelites, the period of formal occupation of Moabite terrain would be correspondingly shorter and could well have begun early in the 14th cent. b.c., if not earlier.

The absence of Moab from the names mentioned in Genesis 10 can be taken as implying that it was one of the junior nations of the Near E, although it would appear that Moab became sedentary prior to the descendants of Abraham (ch. 19). That the social development of the Moabites was more advanced than that of Israel is apparent from the fact that when the Hebrews encountered them during the Exodus period they already were governed by a king. The surface archeological surveys conducted by Glueck in Trans-Jordan indicated that by the last quarter of the 13th cent. b.c. the kingdoms of Ammon, Edom and Moab were firmly established, a situation aided in part by the ending of the Egyp. domination of Pal. at the close of the 13th cent. b.c.

The Iron Age inhabitants of Moab defended their country by means of a strong chain of border forts. At the point where the plateau descended to the Wadi el-Ḥesa there were a number of fortified sites which protected the entrance of the King’s Highway into S Moab. The pass, some seventeen m. E of the place where the Wadi el-Ḥesa emptied into the Dead Sea, was important for purposes of trade and general communication, as well as being close to the fertile area watered by the springs of Aineh. One of the principal fortresses, el-Medeiyineh, was located on an almost impregnable hill, and was rectangular in form. It commanded a strategic position on the King’s Highway, since the latter had to skirt the fortress as it wound to the top of the plateau. Before gaining the high land the Highway was protected by a second fort, el-Akuzeh, built on a rocky outcrop overlooking the ancient caravan route. The strong walled fortress of Dhubab was located in the SW corner of the country, somewhat below the edge of the plateau. The fort known as Medinet er-Ras was located separately on a hill further N and on the plateau proper, and had an outer defensive wall some six and a half ft. thick. This complex formed an important bastion in the defense of SW Moab, and was linked with those which guarded the descent to the Dead Sea on the W border of Moab. Because of the way in which the E border merged with the desert, it was particularly important for strong defensive fortifications to be established there. The S extremity of the border was protected by the fortress of Mahaiy, a rectangular structure over 500 yards long, and between 100 and 250 yards wide. It was erected on the top of a steep hill which commanded a clear view of the desert areas to the N and NE, and controlled access to the slope leading to the Wadi el-Ḥesa. So strategic was the position of this fort that no large marauding band could enter Moab from the SE without coming into con tact with it.

To the N of Mahaiy, and frequently within sight of one another, were constructed numerous defensive positions reaching N along the entire E border of Moab. Some of these strong points were of major proportions, while others were in the nature of blockhouses designed to supplement the larger structures. A great many hills in the area still carry the remains of fortresses or watchtowers, most of which were built in the Iron Age. In the region of the Wadi Arnon the Moabites constructed several powerful fortresses in rather inaccessible and inhospitable terrain, and these doubtless needed to be provisioned from outside sources.

The border defenses of N Moab are less pronounced in character because of the rather fluid nature of the border itself. In any event, most of the major centers in the interior were strongly fortified, so that an invader from the N would be faced with the prospect of having to reduce them one by one in order to gain access to central Moab. The Iron Age population was dense, and all available land was tilled by the inhabitants. Whereas Early Bronze Age settlers had been forced to rely for their water upon the few springs or perennial streams in the country, the Iron Age inhabitants had mastered the technique of making water-tight cisterns by using a plaster compound of slaked lime. They were thus much more independent of natural sources of water, and were able to locate their settlements in strategic positions such as on hilltops. The cisterns which they built often were hewn out of the natural rock, and could be situated either on the hillside near the settlement or located close to the buildings themselves. A great number of these reservoirs have survived to the present, and have been cataloged by archeologists. Early Iron Age pottery in Trans-Jordan exhibited sufficient peculiarities to mark it out from contemporaneous W Palestinian forms. This situation has been attributed in part to Syrian influences, with the Moabite pottery showing high artistic and technical skill in manufacture. From the available evidence it would appear that contemporary Moabite culture was well advanced, and by no means inferior to that of W Pal.

By assimilating with the Emites and other indigenous elements, the Moabites had developed into a powerful nation by the 13th cent. b.c. The Israelites seem to have encountered them at the first stage of the Iron Age kingdom, shortly after an Amorite king named Sihon had defeated a Moabite ruler (Num 21:26) and occupied the N segment of the country as far as the Wadi Arnon. After this victory Sihon ruled over an area of Moabite territory which prob. reached N to the Plains of Moab. The taunt song (21:27-30) apparently alluded to the Amorite campaign against the Moabites, and although the Amorites claimed the destruction of “Ar of Moab,” they never actually controlled the territory to the S of the Wadi Arnon. Boundary lines at that period seldom were clearly defined, and it is quite probable that there were some Moabite settlements within the limits of Amorite occupation.

The Israelite itinerary through Trans-Jordan is far from easy to establish, but it would seem that the Hebrews had detoured round Edom and camped at Oboth (21:10). After this they moved to Iye-abarim, and subsequently to the valley of the Wadi Zered. After crossing the Wadi Arnon they camped in several locations (21:10-20; 33:41-49) before reaching a valley overlooked by a craggy ridge (happisgāh) W of the desert (21:20). The Israelite circuit of Edom may have led the Moabites to think themselves superior to the Hebrews and according to the address of Jephthah (Judg 11:17) they forbade the Israelites to approach their territory.

For their part the Hebrews were warned not to fight Moab, since they would not inherit the land (Deut 2:9). However, the Moabites of Ar had some trading relations with them a little later (2:28, 29), quite possibly convinced that Israelite non-aggression (Num 21:13; Judg 11:18) could be taken as establishing a tacit political agreement. The victory over Sihon, after which the Israelites sang the Amorite taunt song, and the conquest of Og, not merely gave the Hebrews access to Canaan but also showed that they were quite capable of defeating the Moabites alone if necessary. This threat to his land prompted Balak, king of the Moabites, to enlist the services of the Mesopotamian seer Balaam, with unfortunate prospects for Moab (Num 22-24). Greater success was encountered in enticing Israel into idolatrous practices (25:3) at a pagan festival. The resultant punishment kindled Israelite anger against Moab, and perpetuated a prohibition (Deut 23:3, 4). The grazing facilities of Moab attracted the attention of the Reubenites and Gadites, and on being allotted this territory they later rebuilt many former Moabite towns (Num 32:34-38). Just before the entrance into Canaan Moses died, and was buried in a Moabite valley opposite Beth-peor.

During the Judges period Moabite power increased, and Eglon invaded Canaan as far N as Jericho, subjugating the local populace for eighteen years. This action was reinforced when Eglon made an alliance with Amalekite and Ammonite groups, and deliverance for Israel only came with the work of Ehud (Judg 3:12-30). The Moabites were expelled from W Jordanian territory and a period of peace ensued. The Book of Ruth, which purports to describe events in the days “when the judges ruled” (Ruth 1:1) gives no information as to precisely where the family of Elimelech settled in Moab, though it seems clear that easy movement between Israel and Moab pointed to a time of friendly relations between the two people. Not merely were the Israelites periodically subjected to Moabite power in the Judges period but they were also in bondage to their gods, as well as those of neighboring people (Judg 10:6).

In the early monarchy the Moabites sought to exploit the temporary weakening of the Heb. forces resulting from the defeat of Nahash the Ammonite by Saul at Jabesh-gilead, a site little more than thirty m. N of N Moab. Accordingly the Moabites gained control of territory N of the Wadi Arnon, which resulted in Israel waging a defensive campaign against Moab, Ammon, Edom, and the king of Zobah in the NE (1 Sam 14:47). The Moabites were driven S beyond the Wadi Arnon, but were not made tributaries by Saul.

Prior to becoming king of Israel, David had friendly contacts with Moab (22:3-5), and attracted some support for his cause (1 Chron 11:46). During the civil war between David and Ish-bosheth (2 Sam 2-4), the Moabites apparently reasserted themselves, and were later subjugated by David (2 Sam 8:2; 1 Chron 18:2). This dominance was maintained during the reign of Solomon, and it is probable that part of N Moab fell within one of the twelve administrative districts (1 Kings 4:13, 14). The provision of a high place for Chemosh, “the abomination of Moab” (11:7) might imply that Solomon was sympathetic to, or at least tolerant toward the pagan worship of Moab.

An important period of Moabite history began shortly after the division of the united monarchy. Early in the 9th cent. b.c. Moab seems to have tried to regain its holdings N of the Wadi Arnon. Only when Omri came to the throne (885/4-874/3 b.c.) was Israel able to reassert control of the disputed territory, and that, according to the Moabite Stone, because Chemosh “was angry with his land.” The “forty years” of Moabite subjection mentioned in the inscr. are meant to indicate a generation, namely from the middle of the reign of Omri (c. 879 b.c.) to the middle of that of Ahab (874/3-853 b.c.) his son. If this was the case it does not seem necessary to interpret the “son” of the Moabite Inscription as “grandson” (the reference thus being to Jehoram [852-841 b.c.], the second eldest son of Ahab, rather than to Ahab himself). Omri did not in fact conquer all the land as far S as the Wadi Arnon, since Dibon and Aroer were Moabite holdings prior to the time of Mesha.

At the battle of Qarqar (853 b.c.) a coalition of peoples including Israel, Aram and Ammon confronted Shalmaneser III of Assyria, and the absence of Moab from this list shows that it was not then an independent state. Shortly afterward the Moabites, along with the Ammonites and some Meunites, invaded Judah from the S (2 Chron 20:1-3), perhaps prompted by Benhadad II of Syria. The allies penetrated Judah as far as Engedi on the W shore of the Dead Sea, but some dissension broke out and they began to fight one another (20:1-30). Just before the death of Ahab, Mesha of Moab rebelled against Israel (2 Kings 3:5-8), and about 850 b.c. Jehoram and Jehoshaphat allied and marched on Moab, inflicting a series of defeats on Mesha, but ultimately withdrawing (3:27). Subsequent to this, Mesha regained the land of Medeba and took the territory of Ataroth from the tribe of Gad. Nebo also was recaptured with heavy Israelite losses, and this victory marked the virtual recovery of Moabite independence. According to the stele, Mesha fortified various cities and began a program of public works to insure the prosperity of his land. After the death of Hazael, c. 796 b.c., Adadnirari III marched W and subdued Syria and Palestine, though apparently not Moab, which made periodic raids on Israelite territory (13:20). Despite Mesha’s success, Moab began to decline from the beginning of the 8th cent. b.c., even though circumstances favored a revival of Moabite and Ammonite power when in 743 b.c. Tiglath-pileser III made Menahem of Israel tributary. The limitations imposed on Moab when Amaziah of Judah campaigned successfully against Edom (14:7) and gained control of the S Arabian commercial trade were implemented when Uzziah rebuilt the port of Elath (14:22), made Ammon tributary, and most prob. subjugated Moab also. A further danger to the Moa bites lay in the resurgence of Assyrian power from 745 b.c. onward with the threat of invasion from the NE, and in 734 b.c. Moab became one of a number of Palestinian states to be subjugated by Tiglathpileser III. Moab seems to have been a member of a coalition which was defeated in 711 b.c. by Sargon, but was not mentioned by name in the Assyrian annals. In a Palestinian campaign a decade later, Sennacherib suppressed certain rebellious states and Moab was again involved. In a letter to Esar-haddon (681-669 b.c.), Moab was listed as paying only a small amount of tribute, along with building materials for the palace at Nineveh.

During a period of civil war in Assyria under Ashurbanipal (669-627 b.c.), Arab tribes invaded E Syria and Pal., and while they were mostly repulsed from Moabite territory, they seriously weakened the autonomy of Moab (cf. Isa 15; 16; Jer 48). While Ammon was strong in the time of Josiah, Moab was declining in influence, and when the Assyrian kingdom fell to the Babylonians, Moab, with Pal. proper, was assigned to Nabopolassar (626-605 b.c.), though it was not until after the Battle of Carchemish in 605 b.c. that Moab paid formal tribute to Babylon. When Jehoiakim revolted against Nebuchadnezzar, groups of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites and Ammonites raided Judah in reprisal (2 Kings 24:2). Shortly after 598 b.c. the Moabites found it politically desirable to ally with Egypt against the Babylonians, and this, combined with the revolt of Zedekiah against Nebuchadnezzar, made it necessary for the latter to march into Pal. In 587 b.c. Jerusalem was laid waste, and some Jews actually fled to Moab for refuge, only to return under Gedaliah (Jer 40:11, 12). According to Josephus (Jos. Antiq. X. ix. 7), Nebuchadnezzar ultimately conquered Moab, after which Bedouin tribes had free access to the land from the E. Their inroads compelled many Moabites who had remained in the hill country after the Judean exile to migrate to the depopulated land of Judah, where they would be safe from Bedouin attack.

During the Pers. period a considerable number of Moabites were to be found in Judah, and in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah a hostile attitude was adopted toward them (Ezra 9:1, 12; Neh 13:1, 2), in conformity with the provisions of the Torah (Deut 23:3). The name “Moabite” became equivalent to “sinner” and “impious,” reflecting the attitudes of earlier Judean prophets (Amos 2:1-3; Jer 9:26; 25:21, et al.), and the land itself was regarded by apocalyptic writers as the seat of iniquity. Several centuries intervened during which ancient Moab had no sedentary occupation, but from the second cent. b.c., if not earlier, the land once again was occupied by another dense population, that of the Nabateans. Unmentioned by name in the OT, these people were of Arab stock and originated in NW Arabia. Before entering Moabite and Edomite territory the Nabateans were typically Arab in character, traveling on camels, living in tents and feeding on dates and animal flesh. On becoming sedentary they inherited the trade routes of the Edomites, and their camel caravans traversed the whole of Pal. and even went as far NW as Asia Minor. Archeological evidence shows that they began to settle in Trans-Jordan in the 4th cent. b.c. in ancient Edom and Moab, and by the 1st cent. b.c. they had even infiltrated into the S Negeb. They reconstructed the fortress system of the earlier inhabitants, and extended it to the S and E. At first they were nominally subject to the Pers. regime, but became independent prior to the Gr. period. The Nabateans were notable for their agricultural zeal, a situation made necessary by the fact that, at its height, their population was twice as dense as that of the Moabites. They utilized every possible source of water, tilled previously uncultivated land, established settlements in thinly populated areas of the Negeb, worked the Edomite copper and iron mines and established trading relations with neighboring peoples. They flourished as a separate nation until a.d. 106, when almost all of the Nabatean territory was made into a Rom. province by order of Trajan.

Archeological remains have left no doubt as to the advanced nature of ancient Moabite culture. Typical Moabite pottery found S of the Wadi Arnon and elsewhere is comparable in quality and design with the best contemporary Palestinian ceramic ware. While Egyp. influence was present in the early stages of Moabite history, the land had its own skilled artisans who developed native styles. The writing on the stelae resembles the old Heb. script and was executed with considerable dexterity, testifying to the artistic abilities of the Moabite craftsmen. Although there are obvious traces of Syro-Phoen. influence upon Moabite culture, there is a sufficient degree of independence evident to warrant the conclusion that for centuries, it pursued a vigorous individual pattern of development.

5. Language. The only major inscr. in Moabite, a language closely related to Biblical Heb., is the stele of King Mesha. The forms of the letters are important to the epigraphist in illustrating the development of Canaanite scripts during the second half of the 9th cent. b.c. Grammatically, Moabitic had elements in common with Ugaritic, Phoenician, Aramaic and Arabic, while it shared with Heb. such important features as the waw consecutive, the use of the relative particle suffixes attached to nouns and verbs the accusative particle ’eṯ, and other familiar Heb. forms. Words were divided by means of points, following the pattern of the Siloam inscr. and a few others from 8th-cent. b.c. Aram. sources. The use of matres lectionis or vowel letters was the exception rather than the rule in the Mesha stele, as opposed to the orthography of some later Heb. documents such as 1QIS^a. Regarding the Heb. “diphthongs” ay and aw, the Moabite language contracted them to e and o respectively. Whereas in Heb. the final consonant of masculine pl. and dual forms was m, in Moabitic it was replaced by an n. Again it is difficult to tell from the Moabite Stone whether a feminine noun with a pronominal suffix is sing. or pl. in number, a distinction which is made clear in Biblical Heb.

6. Religion. As with their history and language, the religion of the Moabites reflected their relationship with the other inhabitants of ancient Pal. Again, unfortunately, just as Moabite history has had to be reconstructed largely from non-native sources, so their religious beliefs and practices have to be inferred from statements in the writings of other peoples, since there are hardly any sources dealing with Moabite religion proper. Quite obviously, therefore, the nature of their views on theological concepts such as sin, grace, immortality and the like cannot be ascertained from what is known of Moabite religion.

Much of the present information concerning their beliefs comes from an early period in the history of Moab, and largely on the strength of this evidence scholars have seen marked similarities between Moabite and Canaanite religious forms. Sacrificial procedures were mentioned in the Balaam narratives (Num 22:40), apparently in honor of a local deity. The seduction of the Israelites near Shittim and their participation in the sacrificial rites of Baal-peor (23:1-4, 14; 25:1-5) has important elements in common with Canaanite cultic worship, but nothing specific can be deduced about its nature from the etymology of the name Baal-peor.

Pottery figurines of male deities sometimes depicted them as mounted on horseback, while female statuettes generally represented the mother goddess Astarte, and as such were similar to those from other areas of Pal. From the Iron Age artifacts found at Khirbet ’Ayin Musa, Kerak and elsewhere, the female deity, named Ashtar-Chemosh in the Mesha inscr., often was depicted as clutching some sacred object in front of her upper torso, possibly a symbol of fertility. Pottery fragments of animal figurines found by Glueck could perhaps have formed the pedestals for images of gods and goddesses. The mother goddess was worshiped in Moab in conjunction with Chemosh, and the Balu’ah stele relief may indicate that these two deities were being worshiped when Moabite tribes first entered the land. Chemosh was mentioned in the Amorite mocking song (21:27-30), one of the most ancient sources relating to the Moabites, and gives ground for the contention that he was the pre-eminent deity in Moab. Although revered as the god of warfare who subdued all his enemies (cf. Judg 11:24), he also was recognized as the one who provided for all aspects of daily life. Unlike the later Hebrews, the Moabites did not hesitate to address their deity by his personal name. He was worshiped at altars of unhewn stone erected on hilltops. Presumably temples were built in his honor in Moab yet it remains true that though a Bronze Age temple has been found, no comparable structure from the Iron Age has been excavated to date.

There are no indications of a priestly hierarchy in the cult of Chemosh, which evidently was headed by the reigning king, as illustrated by the position of Balak in seeking the help of Balaam. This situation had not changed in the time of King Mesha, who, according to the Moabite Stone, acted under the direct instructions of Chemosh, and took the lead in the rite involving the sacrifice of his eldest son. Canaanite kings generally possessed priestly authority, and the Moabite rulers were no exception to this rule. In early Moabite sacrifice, bulls and rams were offered (Num 23:1, 14, 29), and these animals have been represented in figurines from Khirbet el-Medeiyineh and Saliyeh. As with the Heb. tradition, only the best quality sacrificial animals were acceptable to Chemosh, though more specific prescriptions relating to Moabite sacrifice are unknown. Whether incense was burned during cultic rites is also uncertain, since no altars of incense similar to those occurring in Canaan have been recovered from Moab.

As with other Near Eastern nations, the Moabites practiced the institution known as the “ban” (ḥerem), in which the spoils of war were devoted to the god of the victors. Brutality and ruthlessness in destruction were common features of Amarna age life in the Near E, and even later it was the normal practice for captured warriors to be killed, and the inhabitants of entire cities to be put to the sword. Generally speaking, such slaughter was deemed necessary for conciliating an angry god, and in this regard the Moabites were no exception. Nor did their religion survive the collapse of other pagan faiths in the ancient world.

Bibliography N. Glueck, AASOR, XIV (1933); XV (1934); XVIII-XIX (1939); XXV-XXVIII, Parts I and II (1951); idem., The Other Side of the Jordan (1940); idem., The River Jordan (1945); F. M. Abel, Géographie de la Palestine (1933), I, 278-281; F. V. Winnett, BASOR (1952), No. 125, 7-20; A. D. Tushingham, BASOR (1954), No. 133, 6-26; W. F. Albright, The Archaeology of Palestine (1956); M. du Buit, Geógraphie de la Terre Sainte (1958), 142, 143; D. Baly, The Geography of the Bible (1958); E. D. Grohman, IDB, III, 409-419; A. H. Van Zyl, The Moabites (1960).