Pahath-Moab
1:
PAHATH-MOAB (PERSON) [Heb paḥat-mô˒āb (פַּחַת־מֹואָב)]. The name Pahath-Moab suggests a title, (military) governor of Moab, rather than a personal name. It is derived from the Hebrew word peḥâ, meaning military governor, and is related to the Akk paḥâtu/piḥâtu of the same meaning. The best explanation for the use of Pahath-Moab as a personal name is that a person of humble origins rose to a position as governor of Moab and assumed his title in place of his given name. One can only guess that this person was one of obscure background who achieved this position under David (1 Sam 22:1–2) and became the governor of the newly subjugated land of Moab (2 Sam 8:2). This person is never otherwise identified, however, and is known primarily as the ancestor of one of the large Judean clans which returned from the Babylonian exile with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:6; 8:4; 10:30; Neh 3:11; 7:11; 1 Esdr 5:11; 8:31). Neh 10:15—Eng 10:14 names Pahath-Moab as one of the chiefs of the people who set his seal to Nehemiah’s covenant.
D. G. Schley
Freedman, D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary (5:56). New York: Doubleday.
2:
Pahath-moab — governor of Moab, a person whose descendants returned from the Captivity and assisted in rebuilding Jerusalem (Ezra 2:6; 8:4; 10:30).
Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
3:
PAHATH-MOAB Head of a family of Israelites who returned with Zerubbabel to Palestine after the Babylonian captivity (Ezr 2:6; Neh 7:11). Other members of his family, about 200 men, came with Ezra (Ezr 8:4). After the return, certain of his sons were included among the Israelites who vowed to sever their relationships with foreign wives (10:30). Hasshub, Pahath-moab’s son, helped rebuild the Jerusalem wall and the tower of furnaces in Nehemiah’s day (Neh 3:11). Pahath-moab, called a chief of the people, set his seal on Ezra’s covenant (10:14).
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (983). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
4:
PA´HATH-MO´AB (paʹhath-mōʹab; “governor of Moab”). The head of a leading family of Judah, whose 2,812 descendants returned to Jerusalem after the captivity (Ezra 2:6; Neh. 7:11 says 2,818), and another company, of 200 males, under Ezra (Ezra 8:4). Hasshub the Pahath-moabite is named among the builders of the walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 3:11). In Ezra 10:30, eight of the “sons” of Pahath-moab are named as putting away their foreign wives. That this family was of high rank in the tribe of Judah we learn from their appearing fourth in order in the two lists (Ezra 2:6; Neh. 7:11) and from their leader having signed second among the lay princes (Neh. 10:14).
Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
5:
PAHATH-MOAB (lit. ‘Governor of Moab’). Perhaps an ancestor had been a governor of Moab when Moab was subject to Israel. The name of a Jewish clan consisting of two families, Jeshua and Joab, 2,812 of whom returned to Judah with Zerubbabel (Ezr. 2:6. Ne. 7:11 gives the figure 2,818) and 201 with Ezra (Ezr. 8:4). Of this clan certain members are listed in Ezr. 10:30 as having married foreign women. Ne. 10:14 records that Pahathmoab among princes, priests and Levites set his seal to the covenant made on the return of the exiles to Jerusalem. r.a.h.g.
Wood, D. R. W., Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996, c1982, c1962). New Bible Dictionary. Includes index. (electronic ed. of 3rd ed.) (854). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
6:
Pahath-moab (payʹhath-mohʹab). 1 A leader of the postexilic community who signed the covenant to keep the law (Neh. 10:14); he is probably understood as the head of the family groups below. He may also be the father of Hassub, one who worked to repair the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah (Neh. 3:11). 2 A large family group with two branches (the ‘sons of Jeshua’ and the ‘sons of Joab’) who returned with Zerubbabel from the Babylonian captivity (Ezra 2:6; Neh. 7:11). 3 A much smaller family group who returned with Ezra (Ezra 8:4). 4 A family group of which eight members took foreign wives. All of these family groups may be parts of the same clan. D.R.B.
Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index. (1st ed.) (740). San Francisco: Harper & Row.
7:
Pahath-Moab (Heb. paḥaṯ-mô˒aḇ)
A name (lit., “governor of Moab”) probably given to the founding ancestor of a clan which returned from the Babylonian Exile (Ezra 2:6; 8:4; Neh. 7:11). Pahath-moab is listed as one of the “leaders of the people” who signed a covenant with Nehemiah to uphold the Law (Neh. 10:14 [MT 15]). This clan consisted of two families, descended from Jeshua and Joab. One of their number, “Hasshub son of Pahath-moab,” repaired a section of Jerusalem’s walls and the Tower of the Ovens (Neh. 3:11). Eight members of the clan are mentioned in Ezra 10:30 as having taken foreign wives.
Christian M. M. Brady
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (997). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
