The Ammonites (Ammonites) appear in the Old Testament.
Here is a detailed summary of them throughout the Bible.
This article should give you the knowledge you need to better understand Ammon and its significance in the Bible!
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Who is Ammon?
The Ammonites were an ancient Semitic people who lived in what is now present-day Jordan.
They believed in gods like Milcom and Molech.
We know about their religion mostly from the Bible and things they left behind.
They were known as the "Children of Ammon".
The Ammonites spoke languages related to Hebrew and Moabite.
History of Ammon
The Ammonites were a group of people who lived on the northern Central Trans-Jordanian Plateau from a long time ago until the second century.
They were strong and independent and were loyal to the kings who ruled over them.
They fought in battles and paid taxes.
The Ammonites were very successful and powerful during the Neo-Babylonian Empire and even resisted the revival of Jewish power.
Archaeologists and historians believe so.
They were still around in the second century CE when Justin Martyr wrote about them.
In ancient times, the kingdom of Ammon was a place where people farmed and herded animals.
They traded things like sandstone and limestone with other countries, which gave them money.
They built big buildings called fortresses and their capital city was the Citadel of Amman.
Biblical account
The Ammonites were a group of people in the Hebrew Bible who were the descendants of Lot's son, Ben-Ammi.
They were viewed negatively by the Israelites because of their bad behavior.
Many Lands and Giants
The Ammonites were a group of people who moved to the east side of the Jordan River.
They took over the land from another group of people called the Rephaim and lived in their place.
The Ammonites also had a lot of lands, from the Jordan River to the wilderness, and from one river to another.
The land used to be full of giants, whom the Ammonites called the Zamzummim.
Ammon and Moab
The Amorites took over land that belonged to the Moabites and Ammonites.
The Ammonites had to move away from their homes and live in the mountains.
This created a gap between the two kingdoms of Ammon and Moab.
Ammonites vs. Israelites
The Ammonites and Israelites were enemies.
The Ammonites did not let the Israelites pass through their lands and they even attacked them.
Then, the Ammonites wanted to take land from the Israelites.
Jephthah became the leader to stop them and protect the Israelites' land.
On the other hand, the Ammonites were mean to the Israelites and wanted to hurt them.
For example, king Nahash of Ammon wanted to gouge out everyone's right eye.
The Israelites asked for help and Saul, the first king of the ancient kingdom of Israel, answered by getting an army together to fight.
They won and it helped the Israelites form their own kingdom.
King David and King Solomon
King David fought a war with the Ammonites and won.
He conquered their cities and made the people do hard work.
Naamah was an Ammonite woman who was married to King Solomon.
She was the mother of King Rehoboam, who took over Solomon when he died.
Era of Assyrian Empire
The Arameans of Damascus took away some of the possessions of the Kingdom of Israel.
The Ammonites joined forces with Ben-hadad, and 1,000 of them fought in a big battle between the Arameans and Assyrians a long time ago.
- Ammonites
- Moabites
- Meunim
were enemies of Judah.
- Amos
- Jeremiah
- Ezekiel
- Zephaniah
They were punished by the prophets.
They were eventually subdued by the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
Era of Nehemiah
Tobiah the Ammonite and Sanballat did not like the Jews and wanted to stop them from living in Judea.
They caused a lot of trouble for the Jews, even getting some Jewish men to marry Ammonite women, which made the children not Jewish.
The Ammonites were defeated by Judas Maccabeus.
The Ammonites would be subject to Israel during the time of the Messiah.
The prophet Isaiah said that.
Rabbinic literature
The Ammonites were a group of people who lived in Palestine a long time ago.
Marriage to an Ammonite woman
The Pharisaic scribes (a group of people in charge of making laws) had a problem because some of their people married Ammonite and Moabite women, which was against the law.
Later, Jewish warriors married Ammonite women and their sons wanted to be recognized as Jews.
To solve this problem, a rule was made that said only Ammonite and Moabite women were allowed in the Jewish community.
Ruth and Naamah
Rehoboam was the son of King Solomon.
He was born to an Ammonite woman, which made it hard to keep the Messianic claims of the house of David.
But it showed that God had chosen two special women to be honored:
- Ruth:a Moabite
- Naamah: an Ammonitess
Ruth was very kind, which was very different from the people of Moab and Amon.
If you want to know more about the Book of Ruth, which talks about such Ruth,
Explain "Book of Ruth" summary and analysis
A brief synopsis of the Book of Lutz and one of the ancient Jewish views of marriage, the "Levirate Marriage," are also explained in this article!
Please read this article.
Deuteronomy 23:5 says that the people of Amon and Moab weren't kind to the Israelites.
The story of Ishmael
The wicked Ishmael, a member of the royal family of Judah, was sent by Baaris, king of the Ammonites, to take over the Jewish colony.
Gedaliah, the governor, didn't believe the report and allowed Ishmael to come to his palace.
Ishmael tricked Gedaliah and killed him, some of the Jews, and the Chaldean soldiers.
Johanan and his followers chased Ishmael and saved the captives, but Ishmael escaped.
Because of Ishmael, the Jewish people left their homes and ran away to Egypt.