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MOAB

(Heb. môʾāḇ)

Khirbat al-Mudayna al-ʿAliya, Iron I site on the eastern frontier of ancient Moab.
The ancient roadway in the foreground turns left at the quarry/dry moat (right center);
a huge defensive wall/tower forces entry into the site along the narrow roadway
(Photo by Reuben G. Bullard, Jr.; courtesy Bruce E. Routledge, Moab Marginal Agricultural Project)

A small Iron Age kingdom in Transjordan, sharing a border with the Ammonites to the north and Edomites to the south. According to the OT, each of these ancient peoples had frequent contact with the Hebrews over a long sweep of biblical history, and all were frequently at war with each other. Specific information about the origins of these Transjordanian states is lacking, but the most important background of Ammon, Moab, and Edom was the Bronze Age occupants who lived in a small number of towns on Transjordan’s tableland. The Iron Age states evolved from earlier, less organized regional groupings, as each of the Transjordanian peoples came into regular contact with and absorbed cultural features from their neighbors. The Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites spoke related Semitic languages and shared certain aspects of material culture, but there were many differences that made each group aware of its own political, economic, and religious identity. These separate identities are reflected in the archaeological and literary evidence, and scholars are still trying to catalog the inventory of each region’s material culture.

At the height of its power, Moab included an area that measured ca. 88 km. (55 mi.) from north to south and ca. 32 km. (20 mi.) from west to east. The Moabite territory was located on the high plateau immediately E of the Dead Sea, and the rim of the escarpment soars up to 1395 m. (4570 ft.) above the floor of the Jordan Valley. Moabite control sometimes extended to the north of Wadi Mujib (biblical Arnon), beyond Dibon (modern Dhībān) as far as the region of Heshbon (Hisban). Ceramic evidence, the Bible, and inscriptions (including the Mesha inscription or Moabite Stone) confirm the extent of what may be called “Greater Moab.” In weaker periods, however, the Moabites controlled only their undisputed heartland between Wadi Mujib and Wadi el-µesa (Zered), a territory that stretched ca. 48 km. (30 mi.) from north to south. For all practical purposes, Moab was that narrow strip of cultivable land which extended less than 32 km. (20 mi.) from the edge of the plateau on the west to the “desert fringe” on the east, beyond which lived nomadic tribes.

The Moabite landscape was gently rolling, sparsely wooded tableland (Heb. mîšôr), sometimes called the “tableland of Medeba,” and was cut into small segments by extensive wadi systems — or canyons — that drained the region’s winter precipitation. The Great Rift Valley (including the Jordan River and Dead Sea), which separated Moab from Judah on the west, was an effective boundary, and the Syrian Desert established the limit of sedentary occupation on Moab’s eastern border. Along the well-watered crest of the plateau was the route of the “King’s Highway” (cf. Num. 20:17; 21:22). Moab’s climate is Mediterranean, but its eastern frontier and the Dead Sea Valley are arid. The greatest annual precipitation generally ranges between 30.5 and 35.5 cm. (12-14 in.) in the central highlands, but this amount drops off rapidly on both east and west. In spite of Moab’s topographic isolation and relatively dry environment, the Moabites managed to make a living through dry farming, pastoral activities (cf. 2 Kgs. 3:4-5), and exchanging trade goods with their neighbors.

According to the Bible, Moab, the eponymous ancestor of the Moabites, was the son of Lot (Gen. 19:37), but evidence of human occupation in this region dates back to the Paleolithic period. Deut. 2:10-11 names the Emim as giant, pre-Moabite occupants of this land. Hundreds of archaeological sites reflect a relatively continuous settlement history down to the present, though the intensity of sedentary occupation fluctuated dramatically from period to period. The 3rd millennium is well represented in the archaeological record (and in the Dead Sea Valley at sites like Bab edh-Dhraʿ and Numeira), but there was a decline in settled life during much of the Middle Bronze and Late Bronze Ages, from ca. 1900 to 1300. There is no clear explanation for this pattern, but the number of permanent sites increased steadily from the very end of LB until the end of the Iron Age. The sparse nature of Moab’s LB occupation has entered into the debate concerning the date of the Hebrew Exodus and Conquest.

The Bible records regular interaction — often hostile — between Moab and the Israelites, from the time of Moses (e.g., Num. 21-24; Judg. 3:12-30; 11:26) and Ruth into the Persian period (e.g., Ezra 9:1; Neh. 13:1, 23). Most of these contacts were hostile, from the Hebrew migration through the reigns of Saul, David (1 Sam. 14:47; 2 Sam. 8:2), and the Omride dynasty (cf. 2 Kgs. 3). Solomon had Moabite women in his harem and built a shrine for their chief deity, Chemosh (1 Kgs. 11:1, 7, 33). Apart from the Bible, the most important literary evidence pertaining to the Moabites is the Mesha inscription, a basalt monument discovered at Dhībān in 1868. This 34-line Moabite text dates to ca. 930 and reports King Mesha’s victory over Moab’s Israelite oppressors (cf. 2 Kgs. 3). Another fragmentary memorial stela, found at Kerak in 1958, mentions Chemoshyat(ti), who also ruled at Dibon and was probably Mesha’s father.

During the 8th and 7th centuries, from the time of Tiglath-pileser III through the reign of Assurbanipal, the Moabites served as a vassal state of the Assyrians. From Neo-Assyrian texts, we learn the names of four more Moabite kings (Shalamanu, Kamoshnadab, Musuri, and Kamoshʿasa), but no precise chronology can be constructed. The Hebrew prophets frequently denounced the Moabites (e.g., Isa. 15–16; Jer. 9:25-26; 48:1-47; Amos 2:1-3; Zeph. 2:8-11), who — according to Josephus — fell to the Babylonians in 582. The Moabite state disappeared for good and its people were absorbed into the broad sweep of history during the Persian, Classical, and Islamic periods. During the Roman and Byzantine periods, the town and villages of Moab flourished, and the Nabatean Arabs (usually associated with Petra and the Edomite southland) were well represented in the former Moabite territory.

As noted, the archaeological evidence from Moab reflects a people whose material culture shared many features with surrounding regions. In fact, there is evidence of trade and mutual influence throughout the region. Recently excavated Moabite architecture — at sites like Khirbet al-Mudayna on Wadi eth-Themed, Khirbet al-Mudayna ʿAliya, and Mudaybiʿ — includes elements that are known elsewhere in the Levant (e.g., pillared buildings, multichamber gates, proto-Ionic capitals). However, some pottery forms and decorative techniques (e.g., banded painting) are distinctive to this region.

Two important basalt sculptures have been found in this territory — the Baluʿ stela and the Shihan Warrior stela; they date to the LB II-Iron I transition and the 8th century, respectively. These artistic monuments reflect Moab’s international contacts in the portrayal of Egyptianized human figures and a warrior-figure carved in North Syrian style.

Moabite religion was polytheistic, but the god Chemosh was almost certainly viewed as a national god. According to Num. 21:29; Jer. 48:46 the Moabites were known as the “people of Chemosh”; the appearance of this deity’s name in personal names is another indication of his significance. Num. 22–24 points to the Moabites’ use of diviners, and a Moabite priesthood was mentioned by Jeremiah (Jer. 48:7). The existence of Moabite sanctuaries is taken for granted in the Mesha inscription, which refers to a high place for Chemosh in Qarhoh (probably part of ancient Dibon), and the OT (1 Kgs. 11:7-8; 2 Kgs. 23:13). Lines 12-13, 17 of the Mesha inscription speak of Chemosh’s demand that Moab’s enemies be killed in his honor; this language is virtually identical to the Hebrew notion of sacred warfare, which was often commanded by Yahweh (e.g., Deut. 7:2; 20:16-17; Josh. 6:17-19, 21; 1 Sam. 15:3, 13).

Archaeological research in this region has increased dramatically in recent decades, and much new light has been shed on Moabite history and culture. Major steps in exploration and scholarly research were made by Ulrich Seetzen (1806), Ludwig Burckhardt (1812), Henry Baker Tristram (1872), Rudolf Brünnow and Alfred von Domaszewski (1890s), and Alois Musil (1896-1902). Modern archaeological work was launched by William F. Albright (1924 and 1933), Reginald Head (1930), John W. Crowfoot (1933), and Nelson Glueck (beginning in 1933). Glueck, in particular, serves as a foundation for more recent surveys (e.g., the work of J. Maxwell Miller, Jack M. Pinkerton, and S. Thomas Parker) and archaeological excavations. Significant excavations were undertaken recently at Dhībān, ʿArāʿir, Khirbet Mudaynah al-Muʿrrajeh, Khirbet Faris, and Lejjûn. Digging continues at Tell µesbān, Madaba/Medeba, Tell Jalûl, Khirbet Iskander, Khirbet al-Mudayna on Wadi eth-Themed, Lehun, Khirbet al-Bālūʿ, Khirbet al-Mudayna ʿAliya, and Mudaybiʿ. The ancient site of Mephaath (Josh. 21:37; 1 Chr. 6:79[MT 64]; Jer. 48:21), which was located in Moabite territory, has been identified with modern Umm er-Reṣaṣ by means of an inscription on a 7th-century church mosaic. Many important questions remain unanswered, but ancient Moab is no longer terra incognita.

Bibliography. “The Archaeology of Moab,” BA 60 (1997): 194-248 [six articles]; P. Bienkowski, ed., Early Edom and Moab (Sheffield, 1992); J. A. Dearman, ed., Studies in the Mesha Inscription and Moab. SBLABS 2 (Atlanta, 1989); G. L. Mattingly, “Moabites,” in Peoples of the Old Testament World, ed. A. J. Hoerth, Mattingly, and E. M. Yamauchi (Grand Rapids, 1994), 317-33; J. M. Miller, ed., Archaeological Survey of the Kerak Plateau. ASOR Archaeological Reports 1 (Atlanta, 1991).

Gerald L. Mattingly

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

MOAB

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)