Ammon
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Amoruso
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'''Ammon''' or '''Ammonites''' ({{Hebrew Name|עַמּוֹן|ʻAmmon|ʻAmmôn|"People"}}), also referred to in the [[Bible]] as the "children of Ammon," were a people (also known from Assyrian and other records) living east of the [[Jordan river]] whose origin the Old Testament traces to [[Lot (biblical)|Lot]], the nephew of the patriarch [[Abraham]], as with the [[Moabites]]. The Ammonites were regarded by Hebrews as close relatives of the [[Israelites]] and [[Edomites]].
==Territory==
The ancient kingdom of Ammon was located in northwestern Arabia east of [[Gilead]]<ref name="WebsterNinthNewCollege">Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. “Ammon.” ''[[Webster's Dictionary#The Collegiate Dictionary|Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary]]''. 9<sup>th</sup> ed. Springfield, MA: [[Merriam-Webster]] Inc., 1985. ISBN 0-87779-508-8, ISBN 0-87779-509-6 (indexed), and ISBN 0-87779-510-X (deluxe).</ref> and the [[Dead Sea]].<ref name="WebsterNewWorldSecondCollegeAmmon²">Guralnik, David B., Editor in Chief. “Ammon².” ''[[Webster's New World Dictionary|Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language]]''. Second College Edition. New York, NY: [[Prentice Hall|Prentice Hall Press]], 1986. ISBN 0-671-41809-2 (indexed), ISBN 0-671-41807-6 (plain edge), ISBN 0-671-41811-4 (pbk.), and ISBN 0-671-47035-3 (LeatherKraft).</ref> The borders of the Ammonite territory are not uniformly defined in the Old Testament. In [[Book of Judges|Judges]] 11:13, the claim of the king of Ammon, who demands of the Israelites the restoration of the land "from [[Arnon]] even unto [[Jabbok]] and unto [[Jordan River|Jordan]]" is mentioned only as an unjust claim,<ref>Judges 11:15</ref>, since the Israelite part of this tract had been conquered from the [[Amorite]] king [[Sihon]], who had, in turn, displaced the Moabites; in Judges 11:22 it is stated that the Israelites had possession "from the wilderness even unto Jordan", and that they laid claim to territory beyond this, so as to leave no room for Ammon. The [[Book of Numbers]] 21:24 describes the Hebrew conquest<ref>compare Judges, 11:19</ref> as having reached "even unto the children of Ammon, for the border of the children of Ammon was [[Jazer]]."<ref>following the Greek [[Septuagint]] reading of the last word as "Jazer" instead of "'az," strong, (Authorized Version); compare Judges, 11:32.</ref> [[Joshua]] 13:25, defines the frontier of the [[tribe of Gad]] as being "Jazer ... and half the land of the children of Ammon." The latter statement can be reconciled with Num. 21:24 and [[Deuteronomy]] 2:19, 37 by assuming that the northern part of Sihon's Amorite kingdom had formerly been Ammonite. This explains, in part, the claim mentioned above (Judges, 11:13). According to Deuteronomy 2:37, the region along the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country formed the border of Israel. On the authority of Deuteronomy 2:20, their territory had formerly been in the possession of a mysterious nation, the Zamzummim (also called Zuzim), and the war of [[Chedorlaomer]] (Gen. 14:5) with this nation may be connected with the history of Ammon. When the Israelites invaded Canaan, they passed by the frontier of the Ammonites.<ref>Num. 21:24; Deuteronomy 2:19, 37; Josh. 13:25).</ref>
From their original territory, the Ammonites are supposed to have been expelled by [[Sihon]], king of the [[Amorites]]. Sihon was said to have been found by the Israelites, after their deliverance from [[Egypt]], in possession of [[Gilead]], that is, the whole country on the left bank of the Jordan, to the north of the Arnon.<ref>[[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 21:13</ref> By this invasion, the Ammonites were driven out of Gilead across the upper waters of the Jabbok, where it flows from south to north, which continued to be their western boundary.<ref>Numbers 21:24; Deuteronomy 2:37 and 3:16</ref> The other limits of the Ammonites, or country of the Ammonites<ref>'Lmmanitis chora' [[2 Maccabees]] 4:26</ref> were not exactly defined. On the south, it probably adjoined the land of Moab; on the north, it may have met that of the king of [[Geshur]]<ref>[[Joshua]] 12:5</ref>; and on the east it may have melted away into the desert peopled by [[Kedarites]] and other nomadic tribes.
The chief city of the country was ''[[Rabbah]]'' or ''Rabbath Ammon'' (the modern city of [[Amman]] is now located at its site<ref name="WebsterNinthNewCollege">Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. “Ammon.” ''[[Webster's Dictionary#The Collegiate Dictionary|Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary]]''. 9<sup>th</sup> ed. Springfield, MA: [[Merriam-Webster]] Inc., 1985. ISBN 0-87779-508-8, ISBN 0-87779-509-6 (indexed), and ISBN 0-87779-510-X (deluxe).</ref><sup>,</sup><ref name="WebsterNewWorldSecondCollegeAmman">Guralnik, David B., Editor in Chief. “Amman.” ''[[Webster's New World Dictionary|Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language]]''. Second College Edition. New York, NY: [[Prentice Hall|Prentice Hall Press]], 1986. ISBN 0-671-41809-2 (indexed), ISBN 0-671-41807-6 (plain edge), ISBN 0-671-41811-4 (pbk.), and ISBN 0-671-47035-3 (LeatherKraft).</ref>), i.e. the metropolis of the Ammonites,<ref>Deut. 3:11</ref> called ''Rabbathammana'' by the later [[Greeks]].<ref>[[Polybius]] v. 7. 4</ref> [[Ptolemy Philadelphus]] changed its name to ''Philadelphia'', and made it a large and strong city with an [[acropolis]], situated on both sides of a branch of the Jabbok, today known as Nahr `Amman, the river of Ammon -- whence the designation "city of waters"<ref>[[2 Samuel]] 12:27; see Survey of E. Pal (Pal. Explor. Fund), pp. 19ff.</ref> The city of [[Amman, Jordan]] is located on roughly the same site. The country to the south and east of Amman is distinguished by its fertility; and ruined towns are scattered thickly over it, attesting that it was once occupied by a population that, however fierce, was settled and industrious; a fact indicated also by the tribute of grain paid annually to [[Jotham of Judah|Jotham]].<ref>2 Chr. 27:5</ref>
==In the [[Torah]], [[Book of Joshua|Joshua]] and [[Book of Judges|Judges]]==
===Descent===
According to the pedigree given in [[Book of Genesis]] 19:37-38, the Ammonites were closely related to the Israelites and still more closely to their neighbors in the south, the Moabites. This relationship is supported by the fact that all names of Ammonitish persons show a pure [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite]] character. But the above passage indicates also the contempt and hatred for the Ammonites felt by the Hebrews.<ref>[[Deuteronomy]] 23:4</ref> The Torah excludes the progeny of Ammonites from the assembly of the Lord.<ref>but cf. Deuteronomy 2:19, 37, in which the consciousness of relationship seems to be at the root of the regard shown to Ammon.</ref>
Both the Ammonites and Moabites are sometimes spoken of under the common name of the children of Lot. <ref>[[Deuteronomy]] 2:19; [[Psalms]] 83:8</ref> Both tribes hired [[Balaam]] to curse [[Israel]], which he instead blessed (Deut. 23:4). Also known as the ''Beni-ammi'',<ref>[[Book of Genesis]] 19:38</ref> the Ammonites and the Israelites, throughout the Old Testament and recorded history, were antagonists.
===Role in the Israelite Exodus===
When the Israelites of the Exodus paused before their territory, the Ammonites prohibited them from passing through their lands. For this act, they were denied entry into "the congregation of the Lord" until ten generations had passed.<ref>Deuteronomy 23:3</ref>
Sometimes a slight distinction only seems to be made between the Ammonites and their southern brothers, the Moabites. Deuteronomy 23:4, 5, for instance, states that the Ammonites and Moabites hired [[Balaam]] to curse the Israelites, while in Numbers 22:3ff Moab alone is mentioned. Some authorities overcome this discrepancy by the help of the emended text of Numbers 22:5, according to which Balaam came "from the land of the children of Ammon." This is the reading of most ancient versions; the Septuagint, however, has it like the present Hebrew text: "the children of his people" ("ammo").
===In the time of the Judges===
In Judges, 3:13, the Ammonites appear as furnishing assistance to King [[Eglon]] of Moab against Israel; but in Judges, 10:7-9, in which not only Gilead is oppressed but a victorious war is waged also west of the Jordan, Ammon alone is mentioned. The speech of Jephthah which follows, however, is clearly addressed to the Moabites as well, for he speaks of their god [[Chemosh]].<ref>Judges, 11:18-24</ref> Some scholars find that these varying statements conflict<ref>compare Deut. 23:3</ref>; others conclude that the brother-nations still formed a unit. The small nation of Ammon could face Israel only in alliance with other non-Israelites.<ref>compare [[II Chronicles]] 20 and [[Psalms]] 83:7</ref> The attack of King [[Nahash]] upon the frontier city [[Jabesh Gilead]] was easily repulsed by [[Saul]].<ref>[[I Samuel]] 6, 14:47</ref>
==During the Kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Israel|Israel]] and [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]]==
[[Image:Solomon-kingdom-map.gif|thumb|Ammon was one of the regions conquered by [[King David]].]]
Attacks by the Ammonites on Israelite communities east of the Jordan were the impetus behind the unification of the tribes under [[Saul the King|Saul]], who defeated them.<ref>[[Books of Samuel|1 Samuel]] 11:11</ref>
From Samuel II 10:2, it may be concluded that [[Nahash]] assisted David out of hatred for Saul; but his son [[Hanun]] provoked David by ill-treating his ambassadors, and brought about the defeat of the Ammonites, despite assistance from their northern neighbors in [[Aram]].<ref>ibid. 10:13</ref> Their capital Rabbah was captured,<ref>''ibid.'' 7:29</ref> and numerous captives were taken from "all the cities of the children of Ammon."
In 2 Samuel 12:31, King David is described slaughtering Ammonites:
:''And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under [[axe]]s of iron, and made them pass through the [[brick]]-[[kiln]]: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon.''
David's treatment of the captives<ref>''ibid.'' 12:31</ref> was not necessarily barbarous; the description may be interpreted to mean that he employed them as laborers in various public works. Some scholars claim that these passages recount symbolic gestures of submission common to the times rather than actual reports of massacres. The Chronicler, however, takes it in the most cruel sense.<ref>I Chron. 20:3</ref> The Ammonites, themselves, had a reputation for exceeding cruelty in warfare.<ref>I Sam. 11:2; [[Book of Amos|Amos]], 1:13</ref> The new ruler was possibly [[Shobi]], possbily a brother of Hanun (both are called son of Nahash), evidently appointed by David, kept peace, his attitude being even friendly.<ref>II Sam. xvii. 27</ref> There were Ammonite [[mercenaries]] in David's army<ref>''ibid.'' 23, 27</ref> and Solomon's chief wife, the mother of his heir, was [[Naamah]], the Ammonitess (I Kings, xiv. 21; compare xi. 1), probably a daughter of Shobi. She became the mother of [[Rehoboam]].<ref>[[Books of Kings|1 Kings]] 14:31; [[Books of Chronicles|2 Chronicles]] 12:13</ref>
After this, hostilities again broke out, under [[Jehoshaphat]],<ref>II Chron. xx.</ref> [[Jeroboam II]]<ref>Amos, i. 13</ref>, and under [[Jotham]], who subjected the Ammonites.<ref>II Chron. xxvii. 5</ref>
From the [[Assyria]]n inscriptions, we learn that the Ammonite king [[Baasha ben Ruhubi|Ba'sa (Baasha)]] son of [[Ruhubi]], with 1000 men, joined [[Ahab]] and the Syrian allies against [[Shalmaneser III]] at the [[Battle of Qarqar]] in 853 BC. They may at this time have been [[vassal]]s of [[Bar-Hadad II]], the Aramaean king of [[Damascus]]. In 734 their king [[Sanipu]] was a vassal of [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] and his successor, [[Pudu-ilu]], held the same position under [[Sennacherib]] and [[Esarhaddon]]. An Assyrian [[tribute]]-list from this period, showing that Ammon paid one-fifth of Judah's tribute, gives evidence of the scanty extent and resources of the country.<ref>see Schrader, ''K.A.T.'' pp. 141 et seq.; Delitzsch, ''Paradies,'' p. 294; Winckler, ''Geschichte Israels,'' p. 215.</ref>
Somewhat later, their king [[Amminadab (Ammon)|Amminadab I]] was among the tributaries who suffered in the course of the great Arabian campaign of [[Assurbanipal]]. Other kings attested to in contemporary sources are [[Barakel]] (attested to in several contemporary [[seal (device)|seals]] and [[Hissalel]] who reigned about 620 BCE (and who is mentioned on an inscription on a bottle found at [[Tel Siran]], Jordan along with his son, King Amminadab II, who reigned around 600 BCE.)
With the neighbouring tribes, the Ammonites under King [[Baalis]] helped the [[Babylonian]] monarch [[Nebuchadrezzar II|Nebuchadrezzar]] against [[Jehoiakim]]<ref>2 Kings 24:2</ref>; and if they joined [[Zedekiah]]'s conspiracy,<ref>[[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]] 27:3</ref>, and were threatened by the [[Babylonian]] army,<ref>[[Book of Ezekiel|Ezekiel]] 21:20</ref> they do not appear to have suffered greatly.
==Subsequent history==
[[Image:Levant 830.svg|thumb|400px|right|Map of the southern [[Levant]], c.830 BCE]]
In the time of [[Nebuchadnezzar II|Nebuchadnezzar]], the Ammonites seem to have been fickle in their political attitude. They assisted the [[Babylonia]]n army against the Jews;<ref>II Kings, xxiv. 2</ref> encroached upon the territory of the [[Tribe of Gad|Gad]]; and occupied [[Heshbon]] and [[Jazer]];<ref>[[Jeremiah]] 49:1; ''cf.'' [[Zephaniah]] 2:8</ref> but the prophetic threatenings in Jeremiah 9:26, 25:21, 27:3, and [[Book of Ezra|Ezra]], 21:20, point to rebellion by them against Babylonian supremacy. They received [[Jew]]s fleeing before the Babylonians (Jeremiah 40:11), and their king, [[Baalis]], instigated the murder of [[Gedaliah]], the Babylonians' Jewish governor of Jerusalem and its environs.<ref>ibid. 40:14, 41:15</ref>
At the time of the rebuilding of Jerusalem by Ezra and [[Nehemiah]], they were hostile to the Jews, and [[Tobiah (Ammonite)|Tobiah]], an Ammonite (possibly the governor of Ammon), incited them to hinder the work (Neh. iii. 35). But inter-marriages between Jews and Ammonites were frequent.<ref>Ezra, 9:1; [[I Esdras]] 8:69, and elsewhere.</ref>
Little mention is made of the Ammonites through the [[Persian Empire|Persian]] and early [[Hellenistic]] periods. Their name appears, however, during the time of the [[Maccabees]]. The Ammonites, with some of the neighbouring tribes, did their utmost to resist and check the revival of the Jewish power under [[Judas Maccabaeus]].<ref>[[1 Maccabees]] 5:6; cf. [[Josephus]] ''[[Jewish Antiquities]]'' xii. 8. 1.</ref>
It is stated<ref>[[1 Maccabees]] 5:6</ref> that the Ammonites under [[Timotheus (Ammon)|Timotheus]] were defeated by Judas; but it is possible that, after the exile, the term Ammonite denoted all peoples living in the former country of Ammon and Gad. [[Ezekiel]] 25:4-5 seems to mark the beginning of an immigration of tribes from the [[Arabian]] desert.<ref>''cf.'' Neh. 2:19, 4:7, Josephus, "Ant." xiii. 9, § 1.</ref>
The last notice of the Ammonites themselves is in [[Justin Martyr]], ''Dialogue with Trypho'' (§ 119), where it is affirmed that they were still a numerous people.
==Language==
{{main|Ammonite language}}
The few Ammonite names that have been preserved (Nahash, [[Hanun]], and those mentioned above; [[Zelek]] in 2 Samuel 23:37 is textually uncertain) testify, in harmony with other considerations, that their language was [[Semitic]], closely related to the [[Hebrew language]] and the [[Moabite language]]. Ammonite may have incorporated certain [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] influences including the use of ''‘bd'' instead of commoner Biblical Hebrew ''‘śh'' for "work". The only other notable difference with Biblical Hebrew is the sporadic retention of feminine singular ''-t'' (eg ''’šħt'' "cistern", but ''‘lyh'' "high (fem.)".)
==Religion==
Of the customs, religion, and social structure 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.<ref>Ezek. 25:4, II Chron. 27:5</ref> The environs of Rabbah, at least, were fertile and were tilled. In regard to other cities than Rabbah, see [[Judges]], xi. 33; II Sam. xii. 31. Of their gods the name of only the chief deity, [[Milcom]]<ref>sometimes given as [[Moloch]]), as in I Kings, 11:5 ([[LXX]]. 7), 33; [[I Kings]], 11:7; [[II Kings]], 23:13</ref>. In Jer. 49:1, 49:3, "Malcam" is to be translated by "Milcom" (the god) and not as in the Authorized Version, "their king." In the Bible Milcom is described as having been worshipped with [[human sacrifice]].
From the names of their kings, it seems logical that the [[cult]] of the [[Baal]]im probably coexisted in Ammon, as, possibly, that of [[El (god)|El]]. The name Tobiah suggests that [[YHWH]] may have been worshipped in Ammon as well; possibly this was an import from the era of Israelite domination. Other inscriptions and names suggest the possibility that such gods as the [[Edomite]] deity [[Kaus]] had Ammonite cults.
==Economy==
Like its sister-kingdom of Moab, Ammon was the source of numerous natural resources, including [[sandstone]] and [[limestone]]. It had a productive agricultural sector and occupied a vital place along the [[King's Highway (ancient)|King's Highway]], the ancient trade route connecting Egypt with [[Mesopotamia]], [[Syria]], and [[Anatolia]]. As with the Edomites and Moabites, trade along this route gave them considerable revenue.
==In [[Jewish law]]==
The Ammonites, still numerous in the south of [[Palestine]] in the second Christian century according to Justin Martyr ("Dialogus cum Tryphone," chapter 119), presented a serious problem to the [[Pharisees]] because many marriages with Ammonite and Moabite wives had taken place in the days of Nehemiah.<ref>Neh. 13:23</ref> Still later, it is not improbable that when Judas Maccabeus had inflicted a crushing defeat upon the Ammonites, Jewish warriors took Ammonite women as wives, and their sons, sword in hand, claimed recognition as Jews notwithstanding the law<ref>Deut. xxiii. 4</ref> that "an Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord." Such a condition or a similar incident is reflected in the story told in the [[Talmud]]<ref>[[Yebamot]] 76b, 77a; [[Ruth Rabba]] to ii. 5</ref> that in the days of King Saul the legitimacy of David's claim to royalty was disputed on account of his descent from Ruth, the Moabite; whereupon [[Ithra]], the Israelite <ref>II Sam. xvii. 25; compare I Chron. ii. 17</ref> girt with his sword, strode like an [[Ishmaelite]] into the schoolhouse of [[Jesse]], declaring upon the authority of [[Samuel (Bible)|Samuel]], the prophet, and his [[bet din]] (court of justice), that the law excluding the Ammonite and Moabite from the Jewish congregation referred only to the men—who alone had sinned in not meeting Israel with bread and water—and not to the women. The story reflects actual conditions in pre-Talmudic times, conditions that led to the fixed rule stated in the [[Mishnah]]<ref>Yeb. viii. 3</ref>: "Ammonite and Moabite men are excluded from the Jewish community for all time; their women are admissible."
Later it was held that the prohibition no longer applies in practice, as Sennacherib had so mixed up the races by his practice of deportation that the current residents of Ammon and Moab could not be identified with the Biblical peoples of those names.
The fact that [[Rehoboam]], the son of King Solomon, was born of an Ammonite woman<ref>I Kings, xiv. 21-31</ref> also made it difficult to maintain the [[Messiah|messianic]] claims of the [[Davidic line|house of David]]; but it was adduced as an illustration of divine [[Divine providence|Providence]] which selected the "two doves," [[Book of Ruth|Ruth]], the Moabite, and Naamah, the Ammonite, for honorable distinction. <ref>[[Bava Kamma]] 38b.</ref>
==See also==
*[[Abel-cheramim]]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1414&letter= Muller, Max and Kaufman Kohler. "Ammon, Ammonites."] ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]].'' Funk and Wagnalls, 1901-1906.
* Hertz J.H. (1936) The Pentateuch and Haftoras. Deuteronomy. Oxford University Press, London.
* [http://www.hostkingdom.net/Jordan.html#Ammon Ammon on Bruce Gordon's Regnal Chronologies] (also at [http://ellone-loire.net/obsidian/Jordan.html#Ammon])
* [http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/his_testament.html Jordanian government site on ancient Trans-Jordanian kingdoms]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01431b.htm Catholic Encyclopedia article]
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[[Category:Ammon]]
[[Category:Ancient Israel and Judah]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples]]
[[Category:History of Jordan]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible nations]]
[[Category:Semitic peoples]]
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