Page 46 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Student Textbook

Moabites:
Moab was the son of Abraham’s nephew Lot. His descendants settled east of the Jordan river as well.
The eastern boundary of Moab was Arnon (Judges 11:17-19). Ruth was a Moabitess. The disdain of the
Israelites for her is clear. It was to be expected as there was a history of bloodshed between these
peoples. Intermarriage was forbidden with non-Israelites. This was partially due to the impact of pagan
idol worship on the people of God. The Moabites for instance worshiped Chemosh (Numbers 21:29,
Judges 11:24-25). All of this is true, but Ruth was to be in the lineage of Jesus. This is a clear
demonstration that God does not hold ethnicity or past enmity against the repentant.

Ammonites:
The Encyclopedia Britannica explains that an Ammonite was “any member of an ancient Semitic people
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whose principal city was Rabbath Ammon, in Palestine.” The peoples east of the Jordan River were
Edom in the southeast. Just north of Edom was Moab. To the north of that was Ammon. These three
peoples fell to the Jews during the conquest of Canaan. The primary deity of Moab was Malcam, better
known as Molech. Molech was the deity the Old Testament is clear about child sacrifice by fire being a
part of the required worship. Yahweh is clear that it is forbidden and unwanted practice (Leviticus 18:21,
20:30, Deuteronomy 12:30-31, and 18:10). Israel kept falling into these practices and Yahweh judged
them for it. Psalm 106:33-38 makes this clear:

“They did not destroy the peoples, as the LORD commanded them, but they mixed with the
nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them.
They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land
was polluted with blood.” (ESV)

The king of the Ammonites was the one Jephthah defeated in battle in Judges 11. It was against this king
that he made his famous rash vow to God. Some have said that Jephthah had to fulfill his vow because
he had made it. This is clearly not accurate as Leviticus 5:4-13 made it clear that there was a provision
for sacrifices in which God would release a person from a rashly made vow. The problem was that
Jephthah was not raised among Yahweh fearing Israelites. His view of God was more informed by
Canaanite deities than the Torah. As a result of not knowing the true nature of Yahweh, he followed
what most local deities would demand, a child sacrifice, rather than making the provided for atonement
for the rash vow.

Amorites:
The Amorites were a people who settled east of the Jordan and north of Ammon. They were defeated in
the conquest.

Jebusites:
The Jebusites are a Canaanite people that is often overlooked. They lived in the mountains of Canaan.
They are known for being able to resist the Israelites (Joshua 15:63 and Judges 1:21). They also resisted
the march of David to Jerusalem when he was proclaimed King (2 Samuel 5:6-8). David eventually took
over their land.

85 “Ammonite” in The Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ammonite

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