Subject: Ammonites and Moabites today? |
Bible Note: Hi, Brother John... I think that might be speculative leap regarding God's judgment of Moab and Ammon. We really don't have that stated in Scripture. We even have Biblical instances of God protecting them (Deuteronomy 29:1). On the other hands, we have a lot -- no pun intended -- of other good reasons to know that God was not pleased with these people (Isaiah 16:6-7). Josephus, in his "Antiquities of the Jews" writes, "But his daughters, thinking that all mankind were destroyed, approached to their father, though taking care not to be perceived. This they did, that human kind might not utterly fail: and they bare sons; the son of the elder was named Moab, Which denotes one derived from his father; the younger bare Ammon, which name denotes one derived from a kinsman. The former of whom was the father of the Moabites, which is even still a great nation; the latter was the father of the Ammonites; and both of them are inhabitants of Celesyria." Josephus is reflecting the Rabbinic consensus that their efforts were rooted in fundamentally good intentions. Although they tend to agree that Lot dropped the ball, by allowing his family to become integrated into the culture around them without properly instructing his family. Of course, you have to take all of that with a grain of salt... a kosher one of course. In Him, Doc |