MOAB, mii'ab, the ancestor of a Semitic people who occupied a region east of the Dead Sea and the Jordan (its other boundaries vary ing) from an early period till the Christian era. In the Old Testament (Gen. xix, 37) he is said to be the son of Lot by his elder daugh ter. The "plains of Moab" spoken of in Num bers are the hot plains of the Jordan Valley. The region to which the Moabites were con fined by the Amorites was strongly fortified on every side by nature, and was noted for its rich pastures and its wine. The institution of monarchy was of much earlier introduction among the Moabites than among the Israelites, but the religion of Moab seems to have been very similar to that of their more celebrated neighbors and kinsfolk. Their supreme god was Chemosh, who held among them much the same position as Jehovah among the Israelites and they seem to have had something akin to the priesthood and general theocratic organ ization of the Israelites, only that the inhabit ants of conquered cities were massacred in his honor. The Moabites were for a time trib
utary to Israel, but regained independence in Rehoboam's reign, They were afterward harassed by the Assyrians, but at one period they assisted the latter against the Jews. Moab is mentioned about the 6th century A.D., but the people, as distinct from their neighbors, have long passed out of existence. The extensive ruins which now cover their country bear wit ness to their former greatness. The language of Moab was closely akin to that of Israel. Consult Tristram, 'The Land of Moab' (New York 1874); and Smith, George Adams, 'The Historical Geography of the Holy Land' (Lon don 1897).