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Meaning, origin and etymology of the name Moab


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Moab Moab / Moab

Moab is the incestuous son of Lot with his oldest daughter. Moab is the father of the Moabites. A famous Moabite is Ruth, the ancestor of Jesus.
In similar fashion Lot's youngest daughter bore Ben-ammi, the father of the Ammonites.

The etymology and original meaning of the name Moab is unknown. The word moab is foreign to Hebrew and, reports BDB, Moab is known in other ancient languages as Ma'aba, Ma'bu, Mu'aba, etc.

However, to a creative Hebrew audience, the name may have sounded like a compilation of ma (me 1149), what or mi (mi 1189), who, plus the word ab (ab 4a), father. Thus the name Moab would carry the meaning of Who's Your Daddy? or What's Your Father? a rhetorical question to which the story may easily give rise.



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