A History of Ancient Moab from the Ninth to First Centuries BCE
About this ebook
A History of Ancient Moab from the Ninth to First Centuries BCE incorporates archaeological, epigraphic, biblical, and postbiblical evidence to construct a picture of the formation of Moabite society, polity, religion, and economy. MacDonald prioritizes the archaeological evidence as our most secure source for constructing Moabite history, while drawing on the ninth-century Mesha Inscription, later Assyrian texts, the Hebrew Bible, and Josephus’s Jewish Antiquities to supplement the historical account. MacDonald presents the argument that the Moabites were indigenous Transjordanian, agro-pasturalists called Shûtu or Shasu in Egyptian sources. When provided an opening by warring neighbors, Moab emerged as a nation on the international stage and prospered from the eighth to early sixth centuries under the Assyrian Empire until the rise of the Neo-Babylonians led to their demise.
Features:
- Maps specifying archaeological sites, survey areas, and locations mentioned in texts and inscriptions
- Images of Moabite architectural features and other important artifacts
- An analysis of Neo-Babylonian trade routes that shifted eastward, leading to Moab’s decline
About the author
Burton MacDonald is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Religious Studies at St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. He is the author of a number of books on archaeology, the Bible, and Jordan, including Ammon, Moab and Edom: Early States/Nations of Jordan in the Biblical Period (1994), East of the Jordan: Territories and Sites of the Hebrew Scriptures (2000), and Pilgrimage in Early Christian Jordan (2010).