Ammon
THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
Amnon of Mayence
extremely narrow strip of Inud, comprising only the uortheustern (iimrter of the re<;ion eiilled. at presAceoriling to llie Moiilnle stone, the ent, El-Helkii. southeaslern i|UiirIer, attributed by many scholars to Amnion, could not have belonged to it; and nothing is known concerning an extension north of the Jabbok river. The village of the Ammonites (or according to the Kfi'i, Ainmonitess). Josh, xviii. 24, in ISenjaniin. does not point to former pos.ses.sions west of Jordan. On ilie aulhorily of Dent. ii. 20. their territory had formerly been in the i)ossession of a mysterious nation, the Z.wzimmim (also called Zu/.im). and the war of Chedorlaomer (Gen. xiv. 5) with these may be connected with the history of Ammon. When the Israelites invade<l Canaan, they passed bv the frontier of the Ammonites (Num. xxi. 24; Deuf. ii. Ut. :iT; Josh. xiii. 20). Sometimes a slight distinction only seems to be made between the Annnonites and theirsonthern brothers, Deut. xxiii. 4, 5, for instance, states the Moabites. that the Ammonites and Moabites liired Balaam to curse the Isi-aelites, while in Num. xxii. 'Artniq. Moab alone is mentioned. Some authorities Ammonites overcome this discrepancy by the help and of the emended text of Num. xxii. 5,
moabites.
according to which I'alaamcame" from
the land of the cliildren of Ammon." the reading of most ancient versions; the Septuagint, however, has it like the present Hebrew text: "the children of his people" ("ammo") (see Bai..am). In Judges, iii. 13, the Ammonites appear as furnishing assistance to Eglon of Moab against Israel; but in Judges, x. 7, 8, i», in which not only Gilead is oppressed but a victorious war is waged also west of the Jordan, Anunon alone is mentioned. The speech of Jephthah which follows, however, is dearly addressed to the Moabites as well, for he speaks of their god Chemosh (Judges, xi. 18-24). Some scholars find that these varying statements conflict (compare Deut. xxiii. 3) others conclude that the brother-nations still formed a unit. The small nation of Anunon could face Israel only in alliance with other non-Israelites (compare II Chron. XX. and Ps. Ixxxiii. 7). The attack of King Nahash upon the frontier city Jabesh in Gilead was easily
This
is
repulsed by Saul (I Sam. xi., xiv. 47). From II Sam. X. 2. it may be concluded that Nahash assisted David out of hatred for Saul but his son Ilanun provoked
David by
ill-treating his amliassadors. and brought about thedefeat of the Ammonites, despite assistance
from their northern neighbor (//;«/. X. 13). Theircapilal Uabliah was captured {if>i<l. ii. 2!)), and nimierous cajitives were taken from "all the cities of the cliililren of Ammon." David's treatment of the cap-
was not necessarily barbarous; the be interpreted to mean that he employed them as laborers in various pibUc works. The Chronicler, however, takes it in the most cruel .sense (I Chron. xx. 3). Yet David couhl not have exceeded the savagery cu.stomary in ancient )rienlal warfare; the Ammonites, themselves, for instance, were exceedingly cruel (I Sam. xi. 2 Amos, i. 13). The new king, Shobi, a brother of Ilanun, evidently appointed by David, kept peace, his attitude being even friendly There were Ani(II Sam. xvii. 27). Ammonite monite warriors in David's army (ibid. tives((V'/(/. xii. 31)
description
may
(
Warriors
and Solomon's chief wife, the mother of his heir, was Naamah. the Army. Ammonitess (I Kings, xiv. 21; comjiare xi. 1). probably a daughter of Shobi. After this, hostilities again broke o>it. imder Jehoshaphat (II Chron. xx.), imder Jeroboam II. (Amos, i. 13) and under Jotham. who subjected the 23. 27)
in David's
Ammonites
(II Ciu-on. xxvii.
.)).
524:
According to the As,syrian inscri])tiims under Baasha (Hebrew, Ba'sha), the son of liukhubi (Hehob), they had to send auxiliaries to the jiowerfiil king Birhidri (Benhadad) of Damascus to aid him in his war against Shalmane.ser II. The following kings paid tribute to the Assyrians: Sanipu (or "Sanibu" of Bit-Ammann; "bit," house, has either the sense of " reign " or " kingdom," or is added after the analogy of "Bit-kl.iumri" house of Oniri for Israel, etc.) toTiglalh liileserlll. I'uduilu to Sennacherib and As,sarliaddon; Ammi nadbi to Assurbanipal. An As.syriau tribute-list, showing that Anunon paid one-fifth of Judah's tribute, gives evidence of the scanty extent anil resource's of thecoimtry (see Schrader. " K. A.T." ])p. 141 1/ wq. Delitzsch. "Paradies." p. 294; Winckler, "(Jesehichte Israels, " p. 215). In the time of Nebuchadnez/.ar, the Annnonites seem to have been fickle in their political altiludc. They assisted the Babylonian army ai;ainsl I he Jews (II kings, xxiv. 2); eneroaehed upon the territory' of Gad; and occupied lleshbon and Jazer (Jer. xlix. 1; I Mace. v. 6-8; compare Zeph. ii. »); but the prophetic threatenings in Jer. ix. 2(i. xxv. 21, xxvii. 3, and Ezra. xxi. 20, point to reljellion by them against Babylonian supremacy. They received Jews fieeing before the Babylonians (Jer. xl. II), and their king, Baalis. instigated the murder of Gedaliah. the first
—
—
Babyloiuan governor
{i/n'il. xl. 14, xli. lo). At the time of the rebuilding of Jerusalem, they were hostile to the Jews, and Toliiah, an Annnonite. incited them to hinder the work (Neh. iii. 3,5). Bvit int«'rmarriages between Jews and Annnonites were frequent (Ezra. ix. 1 I Esd. viii. (i!». and elsewhere). It is stated (I Mace. v. G) thai the . mionites muh'r Timotheus were defi'aled liy Judas; but it is probable that, after the <'xile. the term Anunonile denoted all Arabs livingiu the former country of . imon and Gad. Ezek. xxv. 4-.') seems to mark the beginning of an Arab immigration, which is testified to by Neh. ii. 19. iv. 7. and is described by Josephus as completed ("Ant." xiii. 9. t; 1). Of the customs, religion, and constitution of the Ammonites, little is known. The frequent assumption that, living on the borders of the desert, they remained more pastoral than the Moabites and Israelites, is unfounded (Ezek. xxv. 4. II Chron. xxvii. the environs of H.iin. (later Piiii,. Ki.piii.). at 5) least, were fertile and were tilled. In regard to other cities than Kabba, se(^ Judges, xi. 33;
Milcom
Of their gods the chief deily. Milcora evidently a form of Moloch is Deity. known (I "Kings, xi. 5 [LXX. 7]. 33; I Kings, xi. 7; II Kings, xxiii. 13). In Jer. xlix. 1, 3, " ilalcam "' is to be translated by " Milcom " (the god) and not as in A. 'V.. "their king." W. M. >I. II
Sam.
xii.
31.
Their Chief name of only the
—
—
In Rabbinical Literature: The .mmonitcs, numerousin the south of Pulrstine in the second Christian century according to Justin ^Martyr (" I)ialoguseuin Tryjiiione." eh. cxix), presented a serious problem to the Phari.saic scribes because of the fact that many marriages with Anunonile and Moabite wives had taken place in the days of Nehemiah (Xeh. xiii. 23). Still later, it is not improbable that when still
Judas ^Maccabeus had inflicted a crushing (h-feat upon the Ammonites. Jewish warriors took Annnonite women as wives, and their sons, sword
Ammonites
hand, claimed recognition as Jews notwithstandingtIielawlDiut. xxiii. 4) Intermarry, that "an Ammonite or a iloabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord." Such a condition or a similar incident is rein
and Jews
flected in the story told in the Talmud (Yeb. 70A, 77'( Ruth Ii. to ii." !>) that in the days of King .Saul
