The Ancient Moabites
Ancient Manners and Customs, Daily Life,
Cultures, Bible Lands
Painting by Raphael of Lot and His
Daughters Fleeing from Sodom and Gomorrah
Moab was the area east of the Dead Sea, extending northward for about 50 miles and inland for about 30 miles. Originally the territory of ancient Moab was dominated by a race of giants known as the Emim. At the time when Moses came to the area with the children of Israel Moab was an area that ranged from the brook Zered on the South, and the river Arnon on the North. During the period of Old Testament history there were numerous cities within this region, and we know this from the Scriptures and also from the famous Moabite stone. The cities mentioned were Dibon, Nebo, Beth-diblaim, Kerioth, and Zoar. According to the Bible in Genesis 19:30-37 Abrahams nephew Lot was enticed into committing incest with his daughter. His daughter had believed that the end of the world had come because of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and she and her sister got her father drunk and slept with him. Her child's name was Moab and he was the father of the Moabites. Moab was a constant thorn and in Israel's side, and their relationship was marked by constant enmity.
And the LORD said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession. - Deuteronomy 2:9
Moses and the Moabites
It started with Balak the King of
Moab when he hired a Mesopotamian diviner named to Balaam to
sabotage the Israelites (Numbers 22,24).
The Judges and the Moabites
During the time of the Judges of
Israel the Moabites had constantly oppressed the Israelites for 18
years, until finally Eglon the King of Moab was assassinated by Ehud
one of the Israelite judges (Judges 3:12-30).
David and the Moabites
During the time of King David the Moabites were vassals of Israel (2 Samuel 8:2) and they remained vassals until the civil war broke out between Israel and Judah, this gave the Moabites the perfect opportunity to revolt.
Israel and the Moabites
Later King Omri of the northern kingdom of Israel reconquered Moab. But that was not the end of their conflicts with the Moabites, because many times severe problems grew between the Moabites and the Israelites.
Later History of the Moabites
When the southern kingdom of Judah finally fell under the power of the Babylonians and King Nebuchadnezzar, Moab fled the area and over time their identity was lost. (See Map)
THE LAND OF MOAB lay east and south-east 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." The Moabites were gross idolaters, worshipping Chemosh and Baal peor with obscene rites, and sometimes with human sacrifices. On the approach of Israel from Egypt, the Moabites acted with great inhumanity, (Num. 22:24—Deut. 2:8, 9) ; and though God spared them from conquest, he excluded them and their seed even to the tenth generation from the peculiar privileges of His people. The Moabites were descended from Moab, the son of Lot. - Ancient Geography
Map of the Territory of the Ancient
Moabites East of the Dead Sea
Background of the Event
After Abraham and Lot decided to part ways, Abraham gave him the
choice of which part of the land he would like to dwell in, and
Abraham would dwell in the other part of the land. Lot shows the
beautiful lush valley of the Jordan, the city of Sodom. Sodom turned
out to be a very wicked city, and one day three strangers came to
visit Abraham while he was in Mamre. One of the strangers turned out
to be the LORD Himself, and he told Abraham of his plans to destroy
the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham stood in the way to
prevent this and he interceded for the cities, asking the Lord why
he would destroy the righteous with the wicked. But the cities were
too wicked and were going to be destroyed, yet Abrahams nephew Lot
and his family were spared.
Lot's Incest
Lot and his daughters first
took refuge in the village of Zoar, but they were afraid of the
possibility of more destruction and moved to higher ground in the
mountains. The Bible records that Lot committed incest with his
daughters and the children who were born to them were Moab and Ben
Ammi whose descendents were the Moabites And the Ammonites of the
Bible. It is interesting that Ruth was a Moabite and she was King
David's great grandmother, and she was mentioned in the genealogy of
Jesus in Matthew chapter one.
The Dead Sea
The Dead Sea with the Ancient Moabite
Territory in the Distance
The Territory of the Moabites in Ancient
Times
Ancient Moab
Moabites in Easton's Bible
Dictionary
the seed of
the father, or, according to others, the desirable land, the eldest
son of Lot (Gen. 19:37), of incestuous birth. (2.) Used to denote
the people of Moab (Num. 22:3- 14; Judg. 3:30; 2 Sam. 8:2; Jer.
48:11, 13). (3.) The land of Moab (Jer. 48:24), called also the
"country of Moab" (Ruth 1:2, 6; 2:6), on the east of Jordan and the
Dead Sea, and south of the Arnon (Num. 21:13, 26). In a wider sense
it included the whole region that had been occupied by the Amorites.
It bears the modern name of Kerak. In the Plains of Moab, opposite
Jericho (Num. 22:1; 26:63; Josh. 13:32), the children of Israel had
their last encampment before they entered the land of Canaan. It was
at that time in the possession of the Amorites (Num. 21:22). "Moses
went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the
top of Pisgah," and "died there in the land of Moab, according to
the word of the Lord" (Deut. 34:5, 6). "Surely if we had nothing
else to interest us in the land of Moab, the fact that it was from
the top of Pisgah, its noblest height, this mightiest of the
prophets looked out with eye undimmed upon the Promised Land; that
it was here on Nebo, its loftiest mountain, that he died his
solitary death; that it was here, in the valley over against Beth-peor,
he found his mysterious sepulchre, we have enough to enshrine the
memory in our hearts."
Read Full
Article
Moabites in Fausset's Bible Dictionary
("from father"), i.e. the incestuous offspring of Lot's older
daughter, near Zoar, S.E. of the Dead Sea (Genesis 19:37).
Originally the Moabites dwelt due E. of the Dead Sea, from whence
they expelled the Emims. Their territory was 40 miles long, 12 wide,
the modern Belka or Kerak (Deuteronomy 2:10-11). Afterward, Sihon
king of the Amorites drove them S. of the river Amon, now wady el
Mojib (Numbers 21:13; Numbers 21:26-30; Judges 11:13; Judges 11:18),
which thenceforward was their northern boundary. Israel was
forbidden to meddle with them (Judges 11:9; Judges 11:19) on account
of the tie of blood through Lot, Abraham's nephew, for Jehovah gave
Ar unto the children of Lot, having dispossessed the giant Emims. It
was only when Moab seduced Israel to idolatry and impurity (Numbers
25), and hired Balaam to curse them, that they were excluded from
Jehovah's congregation to the tenth generation (Deuteronomy 23:3-4).
Ammon was more roving than Moab and occupied the pastures to the
N.E. outside the mountains. Moab was more settled in habits, and
remained nearer the original seat Zoar. Its territory after the
Amorite conquest was circumscribed, but well fortified by nature
(Numbers 21:20, margin); called "the field of Moab" (Rth 1:1-63, and
"the corner of Moab" (Numbers 24:17; Jeremiah 48:45). The country N.
of Arnon, opposite Jericho reaching to Gilead, was more open; vast
prairie-like plains broken by rocky prominences; "the land of Moab"
(Deuteronomy 1:5; Deuteronomy 32:49). Besides there was the Arboth
Moab, "plains (rather deep valley) of Moab," the dry sunken valley
of Jordan (Numbers 22:1). Outside of the hills enclosing Moab proper
on the S.E. are the uncultivated pastures called midbar,
"wilderness," facing Moab (Numbers 21:11). Through it Israel
advanced. The song (Exodus 15:15) at the Red Sea first mentions the
nation, "trembling shall take hold upon ... the mighty men of Moab."
Israel's request for a passage through Edom and Moab, and liberty to
purchase bread and water, was refused (Judges 11:17; Numbers
20:14-21). In Israel's circuitous march round the two kingdoms they
at last, when it suited their own selfish ends and when they could
not prevent Israel's march, sold them bread and water (Deuteronomy
2:28- 29; Deuteronomy 23:3-4). The exclusion of a Moabite from the
congregation only forbade his naturalization, not his dwelling in
Israel nor an Israelite marrying a Moabitess. Ruth married Naomi's
son, but became a proselyte. The law of exclusion it is clear could
never have been written after David's time, whose great grandmother
was a Moabitess. Israel was occupying the country N. of Arnon which
Moab had just lost to Sihon, and which Israel in turn had wrested
from him, and with its main force had descended from the upper level
to the Shittim plains, the Arboth Moab, in the Jordan valley, when
Balak, alarmed for his already diminished territory, induced the
Midianite "elders" to join him and hired Balak; virtually, though
never actually, "warring against Israel" (Joshua 24:9; Judges
11:25). The daughters of Moab, mentioned in Numbers 25:1, were those
with whom Israel "began whoredom," but the main guilt was Midian's,
and on Midian fell the vengeance (Numbers 25:16-18; Numbers
31:1-18). Moab's licentious rites furnished the occasion, but Midian
was the active agent in corrupting the people. Balak (contrast, "the
former king of Moab," Numbers 21:26) was probably not hereditary
king but a Midianite; the Midianites taking advantage...
Read Full
Article
Moabites in Hitchcock's Bible
Dictionary
their secret; their cement
Read Full
Article
Moabites in Naves Topical Bible
1. Son
of Lot Ge 19:37 -2. Plains of Israelites come in De 2:17,18 Military
forces numbered in Nu 26:3,63 The law rehearsed in, by Moses Nu 35;
36; De 29; 30; 31; 32; 33 The Israelites renew their covenant in De
29:1 The land of promise allotted in Jos 13:32
Read Full
Article
Moabites in Smith's Bible Dictionary
(of his father), Mo'abites. Moab was the son of the Lot's eldest
daughter, the progenitor of the Moabites. Zoar was the cradle of the
race of Lot. From this centre the brother tribes spread themselves.
The Moabites first inhabited the rich highlands which crown the
eastern side of the chasm of the Dead Sea, extending as far north as
the mountain of Gilead, from which country they expelled the Emims,
the original inhabitants, De 2:11 but they themselves were afterward
driven southward by the warlike Amorites, who had crossed the
Jordan, and were confined to the country south of the river Arnon,
which formed their northern boundary. Nu 21:13; Jud 11:18 The
territory occupied by Moab at the period of its greatest extent,
before the invasion of the Amorites, divided itself naturally into
three distinct and independent portions:-- (1) The enclosed corner
or canton south of the Arnon was the "field of Moab." Ru 1:1,2,6
etc. (2) The more open rolling country north of the Arnon, opposite
Jericho, and up to the hills of Gilead, was the "land of Moab." De
1:5; 32:49 etc. (3) The sunk district in the tropical depths of the
Jordan valley. Nu 22:1 etc. The Israelites, in entering the promised
land, did not pass through the Moabites, Jud 11:18 but conquered the
Amorites, who occupied the country from which the Moabites had been
so lately expelled. After the conquest of Canaan the relations of
Moab with Israel were of a mixed character, sometimes warlike and
sometimes peaceable. With the tribe of Benjamin they had at least
one severe struggle, in union with their kindred the Ammonites. Jud
3:12-30 The story of Ruth, on the other hand, testifies to the
existence of a friendly intercourse between Moab and Bethlehem, one
of the towns of Judah. By his descent from Ruth, David may be said
to have had Moabite blood in his veins. He committed his parents to
the protection of the king of Moab, when hard pressed by Saul. 1Sa
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. 2Sa 8:2; 1Ch 18:2 At the disruption of the
kingdom Moab seems to have fallen to the northern realm. At the
death of Ahab the Moabites refused to pay tribute and asserted their
independence, making war upon the kingdom of Judah. 2Ch 22:1 ... As
a natural consequence of the late events, Israel, Judah and Edom
united in an attack on Moab, resulting in the complete overthrow of
the Moabites. Falling back into their own country, they were
followed and their cities and farms destroyed. Finally, shut up
within the walls of his own capital, the king, Mesha, in the sight
of the thousands who covered the sides of that vast amphitheater,
killed and burnt his child as a propitiatory sacrifice to the cruel
gods of his country. Isaiah, chs. Isa 15,16,25:10-12 predicts the
utter annihilation of the Moabites; and they are frequently
denounced by the subsequent prophets. For the religion of the
Moabites see CHEMOSH; MOLECH; PEOR. See also Tristram's "Land of
Moab." Present condition. --(Noldeke says that the extinction of the
Moabites was about A.D. 200, at the time when the Yemen tribes Galib
and Gassara entered the eastern districts of the Jordan. Since A.D.
536 the last trace of the name Moab, which lingered in the town of
Kir-moab, has given place to Kerak, its modern name. Over the whole
region are scattered many ruins of ancient cities; and while the
country is almost bare of larger vegetation, it is still a rich
pasture-ground, with occasional fields of grain. The land thus gives
evidence of its former wealth and power. --ED.)
Read Full
Article
Moabites in the ISBE Bible
Encyclopedia
mo'-ab,
mo'-ab-its (Moab, mo'abh, Moabite Stone, M-'-B; Greek (Septuagint)
Moab, he Moabeitis, Moabitis; Moabite, mo'abhi; Moabites, bene
mo'abh): 1. The Land: Moab was the district East of the Dead Sea,
extending from a point some distance North of it to its southern
end. The eastern boundary was indefinite, being the border of the
desert which is irregular. The length of the territory was about 50
miles and the average width about 30. It is a high tableland,
averaging some 3,000 ft. above the level of the Mediterranean and
4,300 ft. above that of the Dead Sea. The aspect of the land, as one
looks at it from the western side of the Dead Sea, is that of a
range of mountains with a very precipitous frontage, but the
elevation of this ridge above the interior is very slight. Deep
chasms lead down from the tableland to the Dead Sea shore, the
principal one being the gorge of the river Arnon, which is about
1,700 ft. deep and 2 or more miles in width at the level of the
tableland, but very narrow at the bottom and with exceedingly
precipitous banks. About 13 miles back from the mouth of the river
the gorge divides, and farther back it subdivides, so that several
valleys are formed of diminishing depth as they approach the desert
border. These are referred to in Nu 21:14 as the "valleys of the
Arnon." The "valley of Zered" (Nu 21:12), which was on the southern
border, drops down to the southern end of the Dead Sea, and although
not so long or deep as the Arnon, is of the same nature in its lower
reaches, very difficult to cross, dividing into two branches, but at
a point much nearer the sea. The stream is not so large as the Arnon,
but is quite copious, even in summer. These gorges have such
precipitous sides that it would be very difficult for an army to
cross them, except in their upper courses near the desert where they
become shallow. The Israelites passed them in that region, probably
along the present Hajj road and the line of the Mecca Railway. The
tableland is fertile but lacks water. The fountains and streams in
the valleys and on the slopes toward the Dead Sea are abundant, but
the uplands are almost destitute of flowing water. The inhabitants
supply themselves by means of cisterns, many of which are ancient,
but many of those used in ancient times are ruined. The population
must have been far greater formerly than now. The rainfall is
usually sufficient to mature the crops, although the rain falls in
winter only. The fertility of the country in ancient times is
indicated by the numerous towns and villages known to have existed
there, mentioned in Scripture and on the Moabite Stone, the latter
giving some not found elsewhere. The principal of these were: Ar (Nu
21:15); Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Nebo (Nu 32:3); Beth-peor (Dt
3:29); Beth-diblaim, Bozrah, Kerioth (Jer 48:22-24); Kir (Isa 15:1);
Medeba, Elealeh, Zoar (Isa 15:2,4,5); Kirheres (Isa 16:11); Sibmah
(Josh 13:19); in all, some 45 place- names in Moab are known, most
of the towns being in ruins. Kir of Moab is represented in the
modern Kerak, the most important of all and the government center of
the district. Madeba now represents the ancient Medeba, and has
become noted for the discovery of a medieval map of Israel, in
mosaic, of considerable archaeological value. Rabbath-moab and
Heshbon (modern Rabba and Hesban) are miserable villages, and the
country is subject to the raids of the Bedouin tribes of the
neighboring desert, which discourages agriculture. But the land is
still good pasture ground for cattle and sheep, as in ancient times
(Nu 32:3,4). 2. The People: The Moabites were of Semitic stock and
of kin to the Hebrews, as is indicated by their descent from Lot,
the nephew of Abraham (Gen 19:30-37), and by their language which is
practically the same as the Hebrew. This is clear from the
inscription...
Read
Full Article
The Bible Mentions the Moabites Often
2 Kings
23:13 - And the high places that [were] before Jerusalem,
which [were] on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which
Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination
of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the
Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of
Ammon, did the king defile.
2 Kings
24:2 - And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees,
and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites,
and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to
destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by his
servants the prophets.
2 Samuel
8:2 - And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line,
casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to
put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And [so] the
Moabites became David's servants, [and] brought gifts.
Ezra 9:1
- Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying,
The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not
separated themselves from the people of the lands, [doing] according
to their abominations, [even] of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the
Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites,
the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
1 Kings
11:33 - Because that they have forsaken me, and have
worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god
of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of
Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do [that which is] right
in mine eyes, and [to keep] my statutes and my judgments, as [did]
David his father.
1 Kings
11:1 - But king Solomon loved many strange women, together
with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites,
Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, [and] Hittites;
Deuteronomy 2:9 - And the LORD said unto me, Distress not
the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for
I will not give thee of their land [for] a possession; because I
have given Ar unto the children of Lot [for] a possession.
Deuteronomy 2:29 - (As the children of Esau which dwell in
Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto
me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the LORD our
God giveth us.
2 Kings
3:22 - And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun
shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water
on the other side [as] red as blood:
Numbers
22:4 - And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall
this company lick up all [that are] round about us, as the ox
licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor [was]
king of the Moabites at that time.
Judges 3:28
- And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath
delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.
And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward
Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.
2 Kings
3:21 - And when all the Moabites heard that
the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that
were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border.
2 Kings
13:20 - And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands
of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of
the year.
2 Kings
3:18 - And this is [but] a light thing in the sight of the
LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your
hand.
1
Chronicles 18:2 - And he smote Moab; and the Moabites
became David's servants, [and] brought gifts.
Genesis
19:37 - And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name
Moab: the same [is] the father of the Moabites unto
this day.
Deuteronomy 2:11 - Which also were accounted giants, as the
Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims.
2 Kings
3:24 - And when they came to the camp of Israel, the
Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that
they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the
Moabites, even in [their] country.
The Bible Mentions Also Mentions Moab
Judges 3:12
- And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the
LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab
against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.
Judges 10:6
- And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the
LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and
the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods
of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and
forsook the LORD, and served not him.
Jeremiah
48:36 - Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab
like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of
Kirheres: because the riches [that] he hath gotten are perished.
2 Kings
3:13 - And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I
to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the
prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay:
for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them
into the hand of Moab.
Judges
11:17 - Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom,
saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of
Edom would not hearken [thereto]. And in like manner they sent unto
the king of Moab: but he would not [consent]: and
Israel abode in Kadesh.
2 Kings 3:4
- And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and
rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an
hundred thousand rams, with the wool.
2
Chronicles 20:23 - For the children of Ammon and Moab
stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and
destroy [them]: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of
Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
Judges 3:15
- But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD
raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man
lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto
Eglon the king of Moab.
Jeremiah
48:11 - Moab hath been at ease from his youth,
and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from
vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his
taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
Jeremiah
27:3 - And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of
Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the
king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the
messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;
Isaiah 15:8
- For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab;
the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto
Beerelim.
Zephaniah
2:9 - Therefore [as] I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the
children of Ammon as Gomorrah, [even] the breeding of nettles, and
saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall
spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.
2 Samuel
8:2 - And he smote Moab, and measured them
with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines
measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive.
And [so] the Moabites became David's servants, [and]
brought gifts.
Deuteronomy 34:8 - And the children of Israel wept for Moses
in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of
weeping [and] mourning for Moses were ended.
1 Samuel
12:9 - And when they forgat the LORD their God, he sold them
into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the
hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab,
and they fought against them.
Jeremiah
48:33 - And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful
field, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused
wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting;
[their] shouting [shall be] no shouting.
Jeremiah
9:26 - Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon,
and Moab, and all [that are] in the utmost corners,
that dwell in the wilderness: for all [these] nations [are]
uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel [are] uncircumcised in
the heart.
Jeremiah
48:45 - They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon
because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon,
and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of
Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous
ones.
Deuteronomy 32:49 - Get thee up into this mountain Abarim,
[unto] mount Nebo, which [is] in the land of Moab,
that [is] over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which
I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:
Isaiah 16:4
- Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a
covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is
at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of
the land.
Isaiah
16:14 - But now the LORD hath spoken, saying, Within three
years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab
shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant
[shall be] very small [and] feeble.
Judges 3:17
- And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab:
and Eglon [was] a very fat man.
Deuteronomy 2:8 - And when we passed by from our brethren
the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the
plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the
way of the wilderness of Moab.
Deuteronomy 29:1 - These [are] the words of the covenant,
which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel
in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made
with them in Horeb.
2 Samuel
23:20 - And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a
valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two
lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a
lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow:
1 Kings
11:7 - Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the
abomination of Moab, in the hill that [is] before
Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
Numbers
22:7 - And the elders of Moab and the elders
of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and
they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
Ruth 1:22
- So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her
daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of
Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of
barley harvest.
Jeremiah
48:1 - Against Moab thus saith the LORD of
hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled:
Kiriathaim is confounded [and] taken: Misgab is confounded and
dismayed.
Jeremiah
48:28 - O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the
cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove [that] maketh
her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth.
More Ancient Moabite Resources
Ancient Altars - Sketches
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bible Study and Faith
"The Bible is the most priceless possession of the human race." - Henry H. Halley
"This handbook is dedicated to the proposition that every Christian should be a constant and devoted reader of the Bible, and that the primary business of the church and ministry is to lead, foster, and encourage their people in the habit."
"The vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts."
"Great has been the blessing from consecutive, diligent, daily study. I look upon it as a lost day when I have not had a good time over the word of God." - George Muller
"I prayed for faith, and thought that some day faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the 10th chapter of Romans, 'Now faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.' I had closed my Bible, and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible, and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since." - D. L. Moody
-H. H. Halley "Halley's Bible
Handbook" (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1960) p. 4, 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archaeological Study of the Bible
"A substantial proof for the accuracy of the Old Testament text has
come from archaeology. Numerous discoveries have confirmed the
historical accuracy of the biblical documents, even down to the
obsolete names of foreign kings... Rather than a manifestation of
complete ignorance of the facts of its day, the biblical record thus
reflects a great knowledge by the writer of his day, as well as
precision in textual transmission."
-Norman L. Geisler, William Nix "A General Introduction to the
Bible" 5th Edition (Chicago: Moody Press 1983) p. 253
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------