Biblical Geography

Ammon

Kingdom · Old Testament · Amman

Scripture first

Judges 11:4-11 · WEBU

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The Ammonite threat makes Jephthah the deliverer of Gilead.

Ammon pressed on Israel's eastern tribes from its fortress capital Rabbah. It fought Saul, David and the judges, and its court was the setting of the war in which Uriah died.

The nation of Lot's other descendants, north of Moab around the upper Jabbok, often at war with Israel.

Biblical names
Ammon, the children of Ammon, Rabbah (its capital)
Later names
Philadelphia (the Hellenistic name of Rabbah)
Modern identification
Amman · Jordan

Identification note. The modern city of Amman stands on the site of Rabbah; the ancient kingdom's territory overlapped part of modern Jordan.

Rabbah sat on the upper Jabbok on the 's Highway; holding it meant holding the trade of the eastern plateau. Its water supply was the strategic prize, which is why Joab sent for David when the water district fell.

  • The Ammonite threat makes Jephthah the deliverer of Gilead.
  • Israel forbidden to take Ammon's land
  • Ammon's insult to David's envoys begins the war
  • Joab takes Rabbah, Ammon's royal city
  • Tobiah the Ammonite opposes the rebuilding of Jerusalem

What we know

Certain

  • Scripture places Ammon east of Gilead, and its capital Rabbah at the site of modern Amman is widely accepted.