The older daughter gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the father of the Moabites of today.
Parallel translations
- WEB The firstborn bore a son, and named him Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day.
- KJV And the first born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
- NKJV The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day.
- NASB The firstborn gave birth to a son, and named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day.
- NLT When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The firstborn bears Moab, ancestor of the Moabites. This explains the origin of a nation that would often trouble Israel.
Overview
Moab's name (sounding like 'from father') memorializes his shameful conception. The Moabites became frequent adversaries of Israel, yet from Moab came Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David, woven into the line of the Messiah. Thus God's grace would redeem even what began in sin, drawing a Gentile into the lineage of the Savior.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Deut 2:9Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”
- Num 22:1–41Then the Israelites traveled on and camped in the plains of Moab near the Jordan, across from Jericho.
- Num 21:29Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.
- Judg 3:1–31These are the nations that the LORD left to test all the Israelites who had not known any of the wars in Canaan,
- 2 Sam 8:1–18Some time later, David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Metheg-ammah from the hand of the Philistines.
- Deut 23:3No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even to the tenth generation.
- Ruth 4:10Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to raise up the name of the deceased through his inheritance, so that his name will not disappear from among his brothers or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.”
- 2 Kgs 3:1–27In the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Jehoram son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twelve years.
- Deut 2:19But when you get close to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”
- Num 24:1–25And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as on previous occasions, but he turned his face toward the wilderness.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 19:37 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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