מוֹאָב
𐤌𐤅𐤀𐤁
Moav
H4124 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Moab: the personal name of the son born to Lot from his eldest daughter, and subsequently the eponymous ancestor of the people and region known as Moab, east of the Dead Sea; by extension, the name of the territory settled by his descendants, as well as the nation-state and its population throughout its history. Semantic range includes (1) the progenitor figure in Israelite narrative; (2) the geographic region; (3) the Moabite people collectively; (4) members of this people individually; (5) poetic or metonymic use for the nation or its land.
Semantic Range
progenitor figure (Lot's son), national eponym (ancestor of a people), name of the Transjordanian kingdom and its territory, collective designation for an ethnic group, individual member of the Moabite people, personified nation
Root / Etymology
Root uncertain. The etymology reflected in the biblical narrative (Genesis 19:37) suggests a popular folk explanation as 'from [my] father' (מֵאָב), linking to the circumstances of Lot's daughter's naming of the child, but linguistically, the construction is unusual in Hebrew and may be etymologizing a non-Hebrew name. The actual etymon behind 'Moab' is debated among scholars and may reflect a Transjordanian, Northwest Semitic, or even non-Semitic origin, with the folk-etymology produced secondarily in the text.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Moab (מוֹאָב) denotes several overlapping referents in biblical Hebrew: as an individual (the son of Lot—Genesis 19:37), as a national or ethnic collective (the Moabite people), and as a region or kingdom (east of the Dead Sea). In biblical narratives, this identity is consistently distinguished from the Israelites, often as a neighbor and rival, sometimes with hostile or ambivalent relations, especially in Numbers, Judges, Kings, and the prophetic literature. The biblical tradition asserts kinship through Lot, emphasizing this tension. Archaeological evidence and extra-biblical inscriptions (e.g., the Mesha Stele) confirm Moab as a distinct kingdom with its own language and polity in the Iron Age. The identification of Moab and its people is often ethnic and geographic, not religious in the sense of later Jewish/Israelite identity. English translations sometimes use 'Moabite(s)', 'Moab', or simply 'people of Moab'; the term 'Jew' is not applicable to this context. The meaning remains stable from the earliest narratives through exilic and post-exilic texts, though later references may be more historical or symbolic.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from a prolonged form of the prepositional prefix m-and אָב; from (her (the mother's)) father; Moab, an incestuous son of Lot; also his territory and descendants; Moab.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
אב (Avi) — to beget, to bring forth, to father
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H2 | אַב | your fathers |
| H21 | אֲבִי | my father |
| H29 | אֲבִיָּה | My Father is Yah |
| H39 | אֲבִימָאֵל | Father-of-Mael |
Word Forms
7 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4124-03 |
מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav | 160 |
H4124-02 |
לְ/מוֹאָ֖ב | lemoav | HR/Np |
for Moab | to Moab | to Moav | 10 |
H4124-06 |
וּ/מוֹאָ֜ב | umoav | HC/Np |
and Moab | and Moab | and Moav | 4 |
H4124-01 |
בְּ/מוֹאָ֣ב | bemoav | HR/Np |
in Moab | in Moab | in Moav | 3 |
H4124-05 |
וּ/מִ/מּוֹאָב֙ | umimoav | HC/R/Np |
and from Moab | and from Moab | and from Moav | 2 |
H4124-04 |
וּ/לְ/מוֹאָ֥ב | ulemoav | HC/R/Np |
and-for-Moab | and to Moab | and to Moav | 1 |
H4124-07 |
וּ/בְ/מוֹאָ֖ב | uvemoav | HC/R/Np |
and in Moab | and in Moab | and in Moav | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
181 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4124-03 |
Judges 3:14 | מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Judges 3:15 | מוֹאָֽב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Judges 3:17 | מוֹאָ֑ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Judges 3:28 | מוֹאָ֖ב | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-02 |
Judges 3:28 | לְ/מוֹאָ֔ב | lemoav | HR/Np |
to Moab | to Moab | to Moav |
H4124-03 |
Judges 3:29 | מוֹאָ֜ב | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Judges 3:30 | מוֹאָב֙ | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Judges 10:6 | מוֹאָ֗ב | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Judges 11:15 | מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Judges 11:17 | מוֹאָ֛ב | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Judges 11:18 | מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Judges 11:18 | מוֹאָ֔ב | moav-2 | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Judges 11:18 | מוֹאָ֔ב | moav-3 | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Judges 11:18 | מוֹאָֽב | moav-4 | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Judges 11:25 | מוֹאָ֑ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
1 Samuel 12:9 | מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-01 |
1 Samuel 14:47 | בְּ/מוֹאָ֣ב | bemoav | HR/Np |
against Moab | in Moab | in Moav |
H4124-03 |
1 Samuel 22:3 | מוֹאָ֑ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
1 Samuel 22:3 | מוֹאָ֗ב | moav-2 | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
1 Samuel 22:4 | מוֹאָ֑ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Samuel 8:2 | מוֹאָ֗ב | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Samuel 8:2 | מוֹאָב֙ | moav-2 | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-05 |
2 Samuel 8:12 | וּ/מִ/מּוֹאָב֙ | umimoav | HC/R/Np |
and from Moab | and from Moab | and from Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Samuel 23:20 | מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
1 Kings 11:7 | מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
1 Kings 11:33 | מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 1:1 | מוֹאָב֙ | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 3:4 | מוֹאָ֖ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 3:5 | מוֹאָ֖ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 3:7 | מוֹאָב֙ | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 3:7 | מוֹאָ֖ב | moav-2 | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 3:10 | מוֹאָֽב | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 3:13 | מוֹאָֽב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 3:18 | מוֹאָ֖ב | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 3:21 | מוֹאָב֙ | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 3:22 | מוֹאָ֥ב | moav | HNp |
Moabites | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 3:23 | מוֹאָֽב | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 3:24 | מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 3:24 | מוֹאָֽב | moav-2 | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 3:26 | מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 13:20 | מוֹאָ֛ב | moav | HNp |
Moabites | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 23:13 | מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
2 Kings 24:2 | מוֹאָ֗ב | moav | HNp |
Moabites | Moab | Moav |
H4124-06 |
Isaiah 11:14 | וּ/מוֹאָב֙ | umoav | HC/Np |
and Moab | and Moab | and Moav |
H4124-03 |
Isaiah 15:1 | מוֹאָ֑ב | moav | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Isaiah 15:1 | מוֹאָב֙ | moav-2 | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Isaiah 15:1 | מוֹאָ֖ב | moav-3 | HNp |
of Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Isaiah 15:2 | מוֹאָ֣ב | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-03 |
Isaiah 15:4 | מוֹאָב֙ | moav | HNp |
Moab | Moab | Moav |
H4124-02 |
Isaiah 15:5 | לְ/מוֹאָ֣ב | lemoav | HR/Np |
for Moab | to Moab | to Moav |