Such an altar could be offensive for several reasons. One instance involved the construction of a large altar near the Jordan. These places for the most part lie north of Moabite territory as the Bible defines it, but the Mesha Stele makes it clear that the Moabites themselves by no means accepted this fact.ĭisputes also arose between the Israelites of Canaan and the tribes that settled to the east among their Moabite cousins. And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and destroyed the Amorites who were in it. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt. And the Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh and Kiriathaim, as well as Nebo and Baal Meon (these names were changed) and Sibmah. The Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and built pens for their flocks. It is noteworthy that while Deuteronomy 2:9 specifies that God does not authorize the Israelites to take any Moabite territory, Numbers 32:34-39 states: The 'altar of witness' built by the tribes of Reuben and Gad, who settled among the Moabites This would explain why these tribes asked to remain east of the Jordan rather than entering Canaan with the other Israelites. Some scholars hold that elements of Reuben and Gad may have remained in Moab while the other Israelites migrated to Egypt, or even that they were Moabite clans who were later adopted into the Israelite federation. The Moabites had apparently close ties to the clans of Jacob’s sons Reuben and Gad, which settled in the Transjordan region of Moab, together with part of the tribe of Manasseh. This rule, however, must belong to a later time, for Israel's most pious king, David was of Moabite descent with only three generations intervening. Intermarriage between Israelites and Moabites was not forbidden as it was concerning Canaanite tribes, but children of mixed marriages with Moabites or Ammonites were considered mamzers, meaning that they could not enter fully into the 'congregation' of Israel until the tenth generation. Haran was the father of Lot, who was the father of Moab and Ammon. In the biblical narrative, the Moabites were relatives of the Israelites, sharing a common ancestor, Terah, the father of the brothers Abraham and Haran. In some sources they are identified as Arabs. The Moabites disappear from the historical record sometime after the Jews returned from their Babylonian exile. The biblical account of the result of this rebellion seems to be at odds with what is claimed on the Moabite document known as the Mesha Stele, in which the king of Moab boasts of victory over Israel. Later it rebelled against Israel's dominance.

It remained a vassal to the northern Kingdom of Israel after Israel and Judah separated. King David conquered Moab and forced it to become a vassal state. King David was of Moabite lineage through his great-grandmother, Ruth.Ī Moabite king reportedly conquered parts of Israel during the period of the judges. The Israelite tribes of Reuben and Gad settled among them, sometimes living peacefully and occasionally causing concern of disloyalty among other tribes. In the Bible, the Moabites are said to be descended from Abraham's nephew, Lot, and were thus not included among the peoples to be driven out by the Israelites when they entered Canaan. Their capital was Dibon, located next to the modern Jordanian town of Dhiban. The Moabites were a historical people, whose existence is attested to by numerous archaeological finds, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over an unnamed son of King Omri of Israel ( 2 Kings 3). In ancient times, it was home to the kingdom of the Moabites, a people often in conflict with their Israelite neighbors to the west. Moab (Hebrew: מוֹאָב - Moʾav Greek: Μωάβ) is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in modern-day Jordan running along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea.

A theoretical map of the region around 830 B.C.E.

Ancient kingdom of the dead sea