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68-646: The land of Karak Governorate was the home of the Kingdom of Moab , during the first millennium BC. Their capital and stronghold is believed to be near the city of Al Karak , which was known as the Qir of Moab. For a brief period of time, the territory came under Persian rule, then the Nabateans took control of it, until the Romans invaded the Levant and occupied their capital, Petra . In

136-537: A "high place" for Chemosh on the hill before Jerusalem ( 1 Kings 11:7 ), which the Bible describes as "this detestation of Moab". The altar was not destroyed until the reign of Josiah ( 2 Kings 23:13 ). The Moabite Stone also mentions (line 17) a female counterpart of Chemosh, Ashtar-Chemosh . The Moabite language was spoken in Moab. It was a Canaanite language closely related to Biblical Hebrew , Ammonite and Edomite , and

204-767: A Muslim majority in the Levant is presumed to have been reached by the 13th century. The majority of Levantine Muslims are Sunnis adhering to the four madhhabs ( Hanafi , Shafi'i , Hanbali and Maliki ). Islamic minorities include the Alawites and Nizari Ismailis in Syria, and Twelver Shiites in Lebanon . Levantine Christian groups include Greek Orthodox ( Antiochian Greek ), Syriac Orthodox , Eastern Catholic ( Syriac Catholic , Melkite and Maronite ), Roman Catholic ( Latin ), Nestorian , and Protestant . Armenians mostly belong to

272-465: A braided hairstyle like the Shasu from later reliefs that contained the name Moab; a possible explanation is that Mw-i-bw, if it was indeed the land of Moab, was at that time inhabited by a pre-Moabite population, whereas the historical Moabites settled in the area only in the 12th century BCE. Na'aman concluded, however, that the identification of Mw-i-bw with the biblical land of Moab can no longer be upheld;

340-559: A corruption of "seed of a father", or as a participial form from "to desire", thus connoting "the desirable (land)". Rashi explains the word Mo'ab to mean "from the father", since ab in Hebrew and Arabic and other Semitic languages means "father". He writes that as a result of the immodesty of Moab's name, God did not command the Israelites to refrain from inflicting pain upon the Moabites in

408-684: A mixed character, sometimes warlike and sometimes peaceable. With the tribe of Benjamin they had at least one severe struggle, in union with their kindred the Ammonites and the Amalekites ( Judges 3:12–30 ). The Benjaminite shofet Ehud ben Gera assassinated the Moabite king Eglon and led an Israelite army against the Moabites at a ford of the Jordan river, killing many of them. The Book of Ruth testifies to friendly relations between Moab and Bethlehem , one of

476-467: A return to the law because men had been marrying women who had not been converted at all ( Ezra 9:1–2 , 12; Nehemiah 13:23–25 ). The heir of King Solomon was Rehoboam , the son of an Ammonite woman, Naamah ( 1 Kings 14:21 ). On the other hand, the marriages of the Bethlehem Ephrathites (of the tribe of Judah ) Mahlon and Chilion to the Moabite women Orpah and Ruth ( Ruth 1:2–4 ), and

544-602: A series of nations conquered during a campaign. Four inscriptions from the time of Ramesses II mention Mw-i-bw as a rebellious place that refuses to recognize Egypt's control over Canaan and, together with the Shasu of Mount Seir , conducted raids in Egypt. Pharaoh sent troops to the area and suppressed the rebellion - in the inscriptions of Ramesses II, the inhabitants are shown as having hairstyles identical to those of neighboring Canaanites (long hair collected and arranged) and not

612-518: A variety of Arabic descended from the pre-Islamic Arabic dialects of Syria and Hejazi Arabic , but retaining significant influence from Western Middle Aramaic . Levantine Arabic is usually classified as North Levantine Arabic in Lebanon, Syria, and parts of Turkey, and South Levantine Arabic in Palestine and Jordan. Each of these encompasses a spectrum of regional or urban/rural variations. In addition to

680-474: A war against the Moabites, who were under tribute to Israel. The Moabites were subdued, but seeing Mesha 's act of offering his own son (and singular heir) as a propitiatory human sacrifice on the walls of Kir of Moab filled Israel with horror, and they withdrew and returned to their own land. According to the Book of Jeremiah , Moab was exiled to Babylon for his arrogance and idolatry. According to Rashi , it

748-523: Is a term used to define the historical and geographical subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west and core West Asia , or by the political term, Middle East to the east . In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is equivalent to Cyprus and a stretch of land bordering the Mediterranean Sea in western Asia: i.e.

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816-534: Is also used for modern events, peoples, states or parts of states in the same region, namely Cyprus , Egypt , Iraq , Israel , Jordan , Lebanon , Palestine , Syria , and Turkey are sometimes considered Levant countries (compare with Near East , Middle East , Eastern Mediterranean and West Asia ). Several researchers include the island of Cyprus in Levantine studies, including the Council for British Research in

884-502: Is literally "rising", deriving from Latin orior 'rise'. The notion of the Levant has undergone a dynamic process of historical evolution in usage, meaning, and understanding. While the term "Levantine" originally referred to the European residents of the eastern Mediterranean region, it later came to refer to regional "native" and "minority" groups. The term became current in English in

952-509: Is mentioned as tributary to Assyria . Sargon II mentions on a clay prism a revolt against him by Moab together with Philistia , Judah , and Edom ; but on the Taylor prism , which recounts the expedition against Hezekiah , Kammusu-Nadbi ( Chemosh-nadab ), King of Moab, brings tribute to Sargon as his suzerain. Musuri, King of Moab, paid too a tribute to Assarhaddon at the same time as Manasseh of Judah , Qosgabar of Edom and other kings of

1020-621: Is situated along the south eastern coast of the Dead Sea and the mountain chain known as the Mountains of Moab. Wadi Mujib , biblically known as Arnon River , flows through the mountains of Karak Governorate and ends in the Dead Sea. The cities in the governorate are located at elevations ranging from over 1000 meters above sea level in the South Mazar Department to 800 meters above sea level in

1088-892: Is the only university in the governorate, located in the city of Mu'tah , and is one of the largest universities in Jordan by number of students. Karak Governorate is divided into 10 departments according to article 7 of the 46th Administrative Divisions System of 2000: [REDACTED] Capital Department [REDACTED] South Mazar Department [REDACTED] South Aghwar Department [REDACTED] Qasr Department [REDACTED] Ghor Al-Mazra'a Department [REDACTED] Faqou' Department [REDACTED] Aii Department [REDACTED] Moab Department [REDACTED] Qatraneh Department [REDACTED] Moujeb Department 31°09′53″N 35°45′43″E  /  31.16472°N 35.76194°E  / 31.16472; 35.76194 Moab Moab ( / ˈ m oʊ æ b / )

1156-1025: Is ultimately from the Latin word levare , meaning 'lift, raise'. Similar etymologies are found in Greek Ἀνατολή Anatolē ( cf. Anatolia 'the direction of sunrise'), in Germanic Morgenland ( lit.   ' morning land ' ), in Italian (as in Riviera di Levante , the portion of the Liguria coast east of Genoa ), in Hungarian Kelet ('east'), in Spanish and Catalan Levante and Llevant , ('the place of rising'), and in Hebrew מִזְרָח mizraḥ ('east'). Most notably, "Orient" and its Latin source oriens meaning 'east',

1224-637: The Armenian Apostolic Church . There are also Levantines or Franco-Levantines who adhere to Roman Catholicism . There are also Assyrians belonging to the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church . Other religious groups in the Levant include Jews , Samaritans , Yazidis and Druze . Most populations in the Levant speak Levantine Arabic ( شامي , Šāmī ),

1292-690: The Caucasus Mountains, or any part of the Arabian Peninsula proper. Cilicia (in Asia Minor) and the Sinai Peninsula (Asian Egypt) are sometimes included. As a name for the contemporary region, several dictionaries consider Levant to be archaic today. Both the noun Levant and the adjective Levantine are now commonly used to describe the ancient and modern culture area formerly called Syro-Palestinian or Biblical: archaeologists now speak of

1360-400: The Kingdom of Israel until the death of Ahab which according to E. R. Thiele 's reckoning was in about 853 BCE, when the Moabites refused to pay tribute and asserted their independence, making war upon the kingdom of Judah ( 2 Chronicles 22:1 ). After the death of Ahab in about 853 BCE, the Moabites under Mesha rebelled against Jehoram , who allied himself with Jehoshaphat , King of

1428-619: The Kingdom of Judah , and with the King of Edom. According to the Bible, the prophet Elisha directed the Israelites to dig a series of ditches between themselves and the enemy, and during the night these channels were miraculously filled with water which appeared red as blood in the morning light. According to the biblical account, the crimson color deceived the Moabites into thinking that the Israelites, and their allies, had attacked one another. Eager to acquire plunder, they were ambushed and defeated by

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1496-525: The Levant . They send building materials to Nineveh . Moab militarily supported Assurbanipal during his campaign against Egypt and the pharaoh Taharqa . The status of vassal of Assyria allows Moab to benefit in return from the support of Assyria against the nomadic tribes of the Arabian desert , and in particular against the Qedarites. King Kamōš-ʿaśa seemed to have defeated Ammuladi, king of Qedar . After

1564-564: The Levant Company to trade with the Ottoman Empire . The name Levant States was used to refer to the French mandate over Syria and Lebanon after World War I . This is probably the reason why the term Levant has come to be used more specifically to refer to modern Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and the island of Cyprus . Some scholars mistakenly believed that it derives from

1632-496: The Roman conquest of the Levant by Pompey in 63 BCE, Moab lost its distinct identity through assimilation. Early modern travellers in the region included Ulrich Jasper Seetzen (1805), Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (1812), Charles Leonard Irby and James Mangles (1818), and Louis Félicien de Saulcy (1851). According to the biblical account, Moab and Ammon were born to Lot and Lot's elder and younger daughters, respectively, in

1700-711: The Southern Levant . While the usage of the term "Levant" in academia has been restricted to the fields of archeology and literature, there is a recent attempt to reclaim the notion of the Levant as a category of analysis in political and social sciences. Two academic journals were launched in the early 2010s using the word: the Journal of Levantine Studies , published by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and The Levantine Review , published by Boston College . The word Levant has been used in some translations of

1768-446: The prophetical books ( Isa 25:10 ; Ezek 25:8–11 ; Amos 2:1–3 ; Zephaniah 2:8–11 ). Two chapters of Isaiah (15 and 16) and one of Jeremiah (48) are devoted to the "burden of Moab". Its prosperity and pride, which the Israelites believed incurred the wrath of God , are frequently mentioned ( Isa 16:6 ; Jer 48:11–29 ; Zephaniah 2:10 ), and their contempt for Israel is once expressly noted ( Jer. 48:27 ). Moab would be dealt with during

1836-475: The river Jordan . These Amorites, described in the Bible as being ruled by King Sihon , confined the Moabites to the country south of the river Arnon, which formed their northern boundary ( Numbers 21:13 ; Judges 11:18 ). God renewed his covenant with the Israelites at Moab before the Israelites entered the Promised Land ( Deuteronomy 29:1 ). Moses died there ( Deut 34:5 ), prevented by God from entering

1904-622: The 16th century, along with the first English merchant adventurers in the region; English ships appeared in the Mediterranean in the 1570s, and the English merchant company signed its agreement (" capitulations ") with the Ottoman Sultan in 1579. The English Levant Company was founded in 1581 to trade with the Ottoman Empire , and in 1670 the French Compagnie du Levant  [ fr ]

1972-779: The 4th century, a Roman legion , the Legio IV Martia , had a headquarter fortress at Betthorus (now el-Lejjun) in Karak. Around 530 the Byzantine Empire established a vassal state ruled by the Ghassanids . The city of Mu'tah was the site of the first clash between the Muslim Arabs under Muhammad and the Byzantines at the Battle of Mu'tah in 629 AD. With the coming of the crusaders ,

2040-480: The Bible refers to them as the "people of Chemosh" ( Num 21:29 ; Jer 48:46 ). During the Iron Age, several Moabite cultic sites have been found in places such as Deir Alla , Damiyah , Ataruz or Khirbet al-Mudayna. According to II Kings , at times, especially in dire peril, human sacrifices were offered to Chemosh, as by Mesha, who gave up his son and heir to him ( 2 Kings 3:27 ). Nevertheless, King Solomon built

2108-558: The Book of Ruth to settle the dispute as the rule had been forgotten since the time of Boaz . Another interpretation is that the Book of Ruth is simply reporting the events in an impartial fashion, leaving any praise or condemnation to be done by the reader. The Babylonian Talmud in Yevamot 76B explains that one of the reasons was the Ammonites did not greet the Children of Israel with friendship and

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2176-565: The Holy of Holies" (Ex R. viii. 3). He was assassinated by two of his servants, one of whom was the son of an Ammonite woman and the other the offspring of a Moabite ( 2 Chron. 24:26 ); for God said: "Let the descendants of the two ungrateful families chastise the ungrateful Joash" ( Yalk. , Ex. 262). Moab and Ammon were the two offspring of Lot 's incest with his two daughters as described in Gen. 19:30–38 . Jehoshaphet subsequently joined Jehoram of Israel in

2244-564: The Israelite religion. According to the Hebrew Bible, the Moabites were not hospitable to the Israelites who exited Egypt and hired Balaam to curse them. As a consequence, male Moabites were excluded by Torah law from marrying Jewish women. The term "tenth generation" used in connection with that prohibition is considered an idiom, used for an unlimited time, as opposed to the third generation, which allows an Egyptian convert to marry into

2312-527: The Israelites ( 2 Kings 3 ). According to Mesha's inscription on the Mesha Stele , however, he was completely victorious and regained all the territory of which Israel had deprived him. This battle is the last important date in the history of the Moabites as recorded in the Bible. In the year of Elisha's death they invaded Israel ( 2 Kings 13:20 ) and later aided Nebuchadnezzar in his expedition against Jehoiakim ( 2 Kings 24:2 ). Allusions to Moab are frequent in

2380-586: The Israelites is linked to the conquests by the Jewish Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus . During that period, the Moabites were called the "Arabian Moabites". In Ezekiel 25:9 the boundaries are given as being marked by Beth-jeshimoth (north), Baal-meon (east), and Kiriathaim (south). That these limits were not fixed, however, is plain from the lists of cities given in Isaiah 15–16 and Jeremiah 48 , where Heshbon , Elealeh , and Jazer are mentioned to

2448-505: The Levant share not only geographic position, but cuisine , some customs, and history . They are often referred to as Levantines . The term Levant appears in English in 1497 , and originally meant 'the East ' or 'Mediterranean lands east of Italy'. It is borrowed from the French levant 'rising', referring to the rising of the sun in the east, or the point where the sun rises. The phrase

2516-525: The Levant , the UCLA Near Eastern Languages and Cultures department, Journal of Levantine Studies and the UCL Institute of Archaeology, the last of which has dated the connection between Cyprus and mainland Levant to the early Iron Age . Archaeologists seeking a neutral orientation that is neither biblical nor national have used terms such as Levantine archaeology and archaeology of

2584-580: The Levant and of Levantine archaeology ; food scholars speak of Levantine cuisine ; and the Latin Christians of the Levant continue to be called Levantine Christians . The Levant has been described as the "crossroads of Western Asia , the Eastern Mediterranean, and Northeast Africa ", and in geological ( tectonic ) terms as the "northwest of the Arabian Plate ". The populations of

2652-484: The Moabites hired Balaam to curse them. The difference in the responses of the two people led to God allowing the Jewish people to harass the Moabites (but not go to war) but forbade them to even harass the Ammonites ( Deuteronomy 23:3–4 ). Jehoash was one of the four men who pretended to be gods. He was persuaded thereto particularly by the princes, who said to him. "Wert thou not a god thou couldst not come out alive from

2720-678: The Principality of Kerak was established, after which Kerak was a center front between the Ayyubids and the crusaders. From the 15th century until 1917, Karak was under Ottoman rule, and then later under the Emirate of Transjordan . After the creation of the administrative governorates system in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Karak became a governorate on 16 January 1966, with Waheeb al-Bitar as its first governor. The land of Karak Governorate

2788-403: The Promised Land. He was buried in an unknown location in Moab and the Israelites spent a period of thirty days there in mourning ( Deuteronomy 34:6–8 ). According to the Book of Judges, the Israelites did not pass through the land of the Moabites ( Judges 11:18 ), but conquered Sihon's kingdom and his capital at Heshbon . After the conquest of Canaan the relations of Moab with Israel were of

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2856-525: The aftermath of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah . The Bible refers to both the Moabites and Ammonites as Lot's sons, born of incest with his daughters ( Genesis 19:37–38 ). The Moabites first inhabited the rich highlands at the eastern side of the chasm of the Dead Sea, extending as far as Wadi Mujib to Wadi Hasa , from which country they expelled the Emim , the original inhabitants ( Deuteronomy 2:11 ), but they themselves were afterward driven southward by warlike tribes of Amorites , who had crossed

2924-414: The boundaries of the Levant as follows. A distinction is made between the main subregions of the Levant, the northern and the southern: The island of Cyprus is also included as a third subregion in the archaeological region of the Levant: The vast majority of Levantines are Muslims . After the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 7th century, Islam was first introduced into the region. However,

2992-428: The community. The Talmud expresses the view that the prohibition applied only to male Moabites, who were not allowed to marry born Jews or legitimate converts. Female Moabites, when converted to Judaism, were permitted to marry with only the normal prohibition of a convert marrying a kohen (priest) applying. However, the prohibition was not followed during the Babylonian captivity , and Ezra and Nehemiah sought to compel

3060-403: The countries along the Eastern Mediterranean shores, extending from Greece in Southern Europe to Egypt and Cyrenaica (Eastern Libya) in Northern Africa . In the 13th and 14th centuries, the term levante was used for Italian maritime commerce in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Greece, Anatolia , Syria-Palestine , and Egypt , that is, the lands east of Venice . Eventually

3128-426: The district below sea level in the tropical depths of the Jordan valley ( Numbers 22:1 ). References to the religion of Moab are scant. Most of the Moabites followed the ancient Semitic religion like other ancient Semitic-speaking peoples , and the Book of Numbers says that they induced the Israelites to join in their sacrifices ( Num 25:2 ; Judges 10:6 ). Their chief god seems to have been Chemosh , and

3196-400: The former was more likely well to the north. An 8th-century BCE inscription seems to indicate that the Kingdom of Moab expanded into the eastern part of the Jordan Valley after a successful campaign against the Ammonites . In the Nimrud clay inscription of Tiglath-pileser III (r. 745–727 BCE), the Moabite king Salmanu (perhaps the Shalman who sacked Beth-arbel in Hosea 10:14 )

3264-443: The historical region of Syria ("Greater Syria"), which includes present-day Israel , Jordan , Lebanon , Syria , the Palestinian territories and most of Turkey southwest of the middle Euphrates . Its overwhelming characteristic is that it represents the land bridge between Africa and Eurasia . In its widest historical sense, the Levant included all of the Eastern Mediterranean with its islands; that is, it included all of

3332-503: The male-to-female ratio was 50.38 to 49.62. Of the non-Jordanians, the male-to-female ratio was 55.19 to 44.81. The estimated population as of 2010 is about 239,000. Muslim form the majority of the Karak Governorate with 70% of its total population and Christians are 30% of its population. Karak presents a practical model of peaceful coexistence between Muslim and Christians. The next census is scheduled for 2014 The population of districts according to census results: Mutah University

3400-423: The manner in which he did with regard to the Ammonites . Fritz Hommel regards Moab as an abbreviation of Immo-ab = "his mother is his father". Despite a scarcity of archaeological evidence, the existence of the Kingdom of Moab prior to the rise of the Israelite state has been deduced from a colossal statue erected at Luxor by pharaoh Ramesses II , in the 13th century BCE. The statue lists Mu'ab among

3468-400: The marriage of the latter, after her husband's death, to Boaz ( Ruth 4:10–13 ) who by her was the great-grandfather of David , are mentioned with no shade of reproach. The Talmudic explanation, however, is that the language of the law applies only to Moabite and Ammonite men (Hebrew, like all Semitic languages, has grammatical gender ). The Talmud also states that the prophet Samuel wrote

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3536-510: The name of Lebanon. Today the term is often used in conjunction with prehistoric or ancient historical references. Another term for "Syria-Palestine" is Ash- Shaam ( Arabic : ٱلشَّام , /ʔaʃ.ʃaːm/ ), the area that is bounded by the Taurus Mountains of Turkey in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the north Arabian Desert and Mesopotamia in the east, and Sinai in the south (which can be fully included or not). Typically, it does not include Anatolia (also known as Asia Minor),

3604-467: The north of Beth-jeshimoth; Madaba , Beth-gamul , and Mephaath to the east of Baalmeon ; and Dibon , Aroer , Bezer , Jahaz , and Kirhareseth to the south of Kiriathaim. The principal rivers of Moab mentioned in the Bible are the Arnon , the Dibon or Dimon, and the Nimrim . In the north are a number of long, deep ravines , and Mount Nebo , famous as the scene of the death of Moses ( Deuteronomy 34:1–8 ). The territory occupied by Moab at

3672-590: The north. Two minority languages are recognized: Armenian , and Cypriot Maronite Arabic , a hybrid of mostly medieval Arabic vernaculars with strong influence from contact with Turkish and Greek, spoken by approximately 1,000 people. Western Neo-Aramaic is additionally spoken in three villages in Syria: Maaloula , Jubb'adin and Bakhah . Among diaspora communities based in the Levant, Greek , Armenian and Circassian are also spoken. According to recent ancient DNA studies, Levantines derive most of their ancestry from ancient Semitic-speaking peoples of

3740-420: The northern departments to about 330 meters below sea level at Ghor Al-Safi Department. The governorate is connected to the rest of Jordan by two highways: In 2004, according to the Jordan National Census of that year, the population of the Karak Governorate was 204,185, i.e. 4% of the population of Jordan. The male-to-female ratio was 50.6 to 49.4, Jordanian citizens made up 95.42% Among the Jordanian citizens

3808-421: The period of its greatest extent, before the invasion of the Amorites , divided itself naturally into three distinct and independent portions: the enclosed corner or canton south of the Arnon, referred to in the Bible as "field of Moab" ( Ruth 1:1,2,6 ). The more open rolling country north of the Arnon, opposite Jericho and up to the hills of Gilead , called the "land of Moab" ( Deuteronomy 1:5; 32:49 ) and

3876-441: The place instead of any one culture. The French mandate of Syria and Lebanon (1920–1946) was called the Levant states. Today, "Levant" is the term typically used by archaeologists and historians with reference to the history of the region. Scholars have adopted the term Levant to identify the region due to its being a "wider, yet relevant, cultural corpus" that does not have the "political overtones" of Syria-Palestine. The term

3944-412: The rule of an Israelite governor during this period; among the exiles who returned to Judea from Babylonia were a clan descended from Pahath-Moab , whose name means "ruler of Moab". The Moabite Ruth is regarded as a prototype of a convert to Judaism . At the disruption of the kingdom under the reign of Rehoboam , Moab seems to have been absorbed into the northern realm. It continued in vassalage to

4012-468: The term ash-Shām as used by the organization known as ISIL, ISIS, and other names , though there is disagreement as to whether this translation is accurate. In The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000–332 BCE (OHAL; 2013), the definition of the Levant for the specific purposes of the book is synonymous to that of the Arabic " bilad al-sham , 'the land of sham [Syria]'", translating in Western parlance to greater Syria . OHAL defines

4080-428: The term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine and Egypt. The term entered English in the late 15th century from French. It derives from the Italian levante , meaning "rising", implying the rising of the Sun in the east, and is broadly equivalent to the term al-Mashriq ( Arabic : ٱلْمَشْرِق , [ʔal.maʃ.riq] ), meaning "the eastern place, where the Sun rises". In 1581, England set up

4148-412: The time of the Messiah's rulership according to the prophets. The book of Zephaniah states that Moab would become "a permanent desolation". Moab is also made reference to in the 2 Meqabyan , a book considered canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church . In that text, a Moabite king named Maccabeus joins forces with Edom and Amalek to attack Israel, later repenting of his sins and adopting

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4216-471: The towns of the tribe of Judah . By his descent from Ruth, David may be said to have been part Moabite. He committed his parents to the protection of the king of Moab (who may have been his kinsman), when hard pressed by King Saul . (1 Samuel 22:3,4) But here all friendly relations stop forever. The next time the name is mentioned is in the account of David's war, who made the Moabites tributary ( 2 Samuel 8:2 ; 1 Chronicles 18:2 ). Moab may have been under

4284-400: The varieties normally grouped together as "Levantine", a number of other varieties and dialects of Arabic are spoken in the Levant area, such as Levantine Bedawi Arabic (by Bedouins ) and Mesopotamian Arabic (in eastern Syria). Of the languages of Cyprus , the two official languages are Turkish and Greek. The most used languages by population are Greek in the south followed by Turkish in

4352-424: Was Dibon . According to the Hebrew Bible , Moab was often in conflict with its Israelite neighbours to the west. The etymology of the word Moab is uncertain. The earliest gloss is found in the Koine Greek Septuagint ( Genesis 19:37 ) which explains the name, in obvious allusion to the account of Moab's parentage, as ἐκ τοῦ πατρός μου ("from my father"). Other etymologies which have been proposed regard it as

4420-445: Was also due to their gross ingratitude even though Abraham , Israel's ancestor, had saved Lot , Moab's ancestor from Sodom . Jeremiah prophesies that Moab's captivity will be returned in the end of days . The book of Zephaniah states that "Moab will assuredly be like Sodom, and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah—Ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines, and a permanent desolation." (2:9). The prophecy regarding their defeat by

4488-444: Was an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territory is today located in southern Jordan . The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea . The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archaeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele , which describes the Moabite victory over an unnamed son of King Omri of Israel , an episode also noted in 2 Kings 3 . The Moabite capital

4556-436: Was founded for the same purpose. At this time, the Far East was known as the "Upper Levant". In early 19th-century travel writing , the term sometimes incorporated certain Mediterranean provinces of the Ottoman Empire , as well as independent Greece (and especially the Greek islands ). In 19th-century archaeology, it referred to overlapping cultures in this region during and after prehistoric times, intending to reference

4624-515: Was written using a variant of the Phoenician alphabet . Most of our knowledge of it comes from the Mesha Stele , which is the only known extensive text in this language. In addition, there are the three line El-Kerak Inscription and a few seals. The following is a list of rulers of the ancient kingdom of Moab. 31°30′06″N 35°46′36″E  /  31.50167°N 35.77667°E  / 31.50167; 35.77667 Levant The Levant ( / l ə ˈ v æ n t / lə- VANT )

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