People of the Bible

Moab, son of Lot

The name Moab means “of his father.” Moab is mentioned in 149 verses of the Bible, first in Genesis 19:37. Also called Moabitess,Moabitish,Moabites.

Family of Moab

Who was Moab?

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.”

Biography adapted from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), public domain, linked via Theographic Bible Metadata.

Key verses about Moab

  • 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.

  • Ruth 1:1

    Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth–lehem–judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

  • Ruth 1:2

    And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth–lehem–judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.

  • Ruth 1:4

    And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.

  • 2 Kings 1:1

    Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

  • Jeremiah 48:40

    For thus saith the Lord; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.

Timeline of Moab's life

DateEvent
1359 BCDeliverance by Ehud
All 149 verses mentioning Moab