A) THE LAND OF MOAB.

B) PRINCIPAL TOWNS.

C) THE TRIBE OF MOAB (MOABITES).

 

 

A) THE LAND OF MOAB

 

 

The land of Moab (Jer. 48:24), called also the “country of Moab” (Ruth 1:2 & 6; 2:6), is on the east side of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, and is south of the Arnon river (Deu. 3:8; 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 Belka, or Kerak (Deu. 2:10-11).  The Moabite territory was 40 miles long and 12 miles wide.  Afterward, Sihon, king of the Amorites, drove them south of the river of Amon, now called, the “wady el Mojib” (Num. 21:13 & 26-30; Jud. 11:13 & 18), which thenceforward was their northern boundary.

 

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 miles.  It is a high tableland, averaging some 3,000 feet above the level of the Mediterranean, and 4,300 feet 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 feet deep and two or more miles in width at the level of the tableland.  It was however, 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, such that several valleys are formed of diminishing depth as they approach the desert border.  These are referred to in Numbers 21:14as, the “valleys of the Arnon.”

 

The “valley of Zered,” Numbers 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, it is of the same nature in its lower reaches -- very difficult to cross -- dividing it into two branches.  However, it is at a point much nearer to the Dead Sea.

 

The stream is not as large as the Arnon, but is quite abundant 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 Seaare 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.

 

 

B) PRINCIPAL TOWNS

 

 

The principal towns mentioned in the Bible are:

 

Ar (Num. 21:15);

Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Nebo (Num. 32:3);

Beth-peor (Deu. 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 (Jos. 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 Madeba, and has become noted for the discovery of a medieval map of Palestine, in mosaic, of considerable archaeological value.  Rabbath-moab and Heshbon (modern Rabba and Hesba’n) 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 (Num. 32:3-4).

 

According to historian Noldeke, he states that the extinction of the Moabites was about 200 A.D., at the time when the Yemen tribes of Galib and Gassara entered the eastern districts of the Jordan.  Since 536 A.D., 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.

 

 

C) THE TRIBE OF MOAB (MOABITES)

 

 

The tribe of Moab came about do to incest with Lots first-born daughter (see Gen. 19:30-37).  The language of the Moabites was discovered to be practically the same as the Hebrew.  This is clear from the inscription on the “Moabite Stone,” a monument of Mesha, king of Moab, erected in about B.C. 850, and discovered among the ruins of Dibon in 1868.  From the “International Standard Bible Encyclopedia,” we learn:  “It contains 34 lines of about 9 words each, written in the old Phoenician and Hebrew characters, corresponding to the Siloam inscription and those found in Phoenicia, showing that it is a dialect of the Semitic tongue prevailing in Palestine.”

 

From a passage in Deuteronomy 2:10 we learn that the tribe of “Emim” dwelt in the land preceding the Moabites.  Therefore, at some point the Moabites must have conquered and taken over the land.  They were not without their own troubles in keeping the land they wanted to claim as their own.  According to Genesis 36:35, the Midianites overran Moab.  And from Numbers 21:21-31 (at the time of the Exodus) we learn that at this time the Amorites had taken over the northern section of Moab as far as the Arnon.  Therefore, when Israel was also coming into and towards the land of the Moabites, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab became alarmed a called for Balaam, of which we have the famous account about, in the Book of Numbers, Chapters 22-24.

 

The chief deity of Moab was “Chemosh” (Num. 21:29; 1Ki. 11:7 & 33; 2Ki. 23:13; Jer. 48:13 & 46), of which God pronounces a “Woe” upon Moab for its worship of this false god.  “Chemosh” is also mentioned upon the “Moabite Stone.”  From Second Kings 3:27 we learn that the Moabites even performed child sacrifice to this deity.

 

Moab appears again with the mention of Eglon, king of Moab, along with the help of the Ammonites and the Amalekites, who oppressed Israel (Jud. 3:13-14).  However, Eglon was assassinated by Ehud and the Moabite yoke was abated for 18 years.  We also learn in First Samuel 14:47, that king Saul smote Moab; but he was not able to subdue them.  Then in a twist, David, evading king Saul, puts his father and mother under the protection of the king of Moab (1Sa. 22:3-4).  However, once David became king he made war upon Moab and completely subjugated it (2Sa. 8:2).

 

The Moabites revolted many times (see 1Ki. 1:1; 3:5; 13:20).  However, according to Isaiah 15:1-9, most likely during the time of king Jeroboam II (see the “International Standard Bible Encyclopedia”) the Moabites were eventually wiped out.  And according to the “International Standard Bible Encyclopedia:”  “At a later date Moab was overrun by the Nabathean Arabs who ruled in Petra and extended their authority on the east side of Jordan even as far as Damascus (Josephus, Ant., XIII, xv, 1, 2).  The Moabites lost their identity as a nation and were afterward confounded with the Arabs, as we see in the statement of Josephus (XIII, xiii, 5), where he says that Alexander (Janneus) overcame the Arabians, such as the Moabites and the Gileadites.  Alexander built the famous stronghold of Macherus in Moab, on a hill overlooking the Dead Sea, which afterward became the scene of the imprisonment and tragical death of John the Baptist (Josephus, BJ, VII, vi, 2; Ant., XVIII, v, 2; Mar. 6:21-28).  It was afterward destroyed by the Romans.  Kir became a fortress of the Crusaders under the name of Krak (Kerak), which held out against the Moslems until the time of Saladin, who captured it in 1188 AD.”

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