Ammon

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Descended from Lot, Ammon was a nation that dwelled east of Israel in present-day Jordan. As with Moab — and although they were frequently in conflict — the Israelites were specifically instructed by the Torah to neither attack nor absorb the Ammonites.

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The Exclusion of Ammonites and Moabites

TANAKH

The Torah imposes a strict and perpetual exclusion of Ammonites and Moabites from the congregation of Hashem, even extending this prohibition to their descendants up to the tenth generation. Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Torah, includes Moses’ final speeches and laws for the Israelites as they prepare to enter the Promised Land.

No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted into the congregation of יהוה; no descendants of such, even in the tenth generation, shall ever be admitted into the congregation of יהוה,

Deuteronomy 23:4

The Final Eradication of Ammon

COMMENTARY

The prophetic vision of Bileam foretells the ultimate destruction of the Ammonites, linking their fate to their shameful origins. Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar, in his 18th-century commentary Or HaChaim, delves into the prophecy of Balaam in Numbers, highlighting its eschatological significance.

Alternatively, Bileam may have alluded to the fact that King David would precede the Messiah by smiting the Moabites and reducing them in power so that all the Messiah would have to do would be a mop-up operation, removing the last vestiges, פאה, of them. Bileam added וקרקר כל בני שת, referring to the liquidation of the kingdom of Ammon. The reason he equated the Ammonites with the descendants of Sheth is because the very name of the Ammonites was a reminder of the shame, בשת, maybe read ב־שת…

Or HaChaim on Numbers 24:17:6

King Saul's Leadership Against Ammon

COMMENTARY

King Saul's proactive and dramatic leadership united the tribes of Israel to defend against the Ammonite threat. This text references the anointing of Saul as the first king of Israel and the unity of the twelve tribes in responding to external threats.

When Saul from Benjamin was anointed king by Samuel (I Samuel 10), he ruled from his home in Gibeah, which was rebuilt after its destruction so many years earlier, during the terrible civil war. The place assumed a more regal title at this point: Gibeah of Saul. Now, the people of Jabesh-gilead, blood relatives of Benjamin (as explained in the story above), were threatened by their hostile neighbors, the Ammonites (led by their appropriately named king, Nahash). They appealed desperately to King Saul down in Gibeah of Saul…

Tribal Lands, Chapter 15; Binyamin 81

Yiftah's Rise and Victory

TANAKH

Yiftah the Giladite's journey from outcast to leader and his decisive victory over the Ammonites is a compelling story of redemption and leadership. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz's modern translation and commentary on the Hebrew Bible provides a clear and engaging account of Yiftah's rise to power and his military success.

(Judges 10:6–11:33)
Yiftah the Giladite Saves His Brethren from the Sword of Amon
After a brief introduction describing the political and spiritual state extant in Israel, this section recounts the rescue of the people from the Amonites, who gathered to wage war against the Israelites living east of the Jordan. Yiftah the Giladite is evicted by his brothers from the inheritance of his forefathers, and becomes the leader of a gang of dispossessed and restless men. Nevertheless, he responds to his tribe’s request to help the residents of Gilad, and he battles the Amonites…

Steinsaltz Introductions to Tanakh, Judges, Section Preface 15

The Unforgivable Enmity

HALAKHAH

God explicitly prohibited the Israelites from ever making peace with the Ammonites and Moabites, unlike other nations. Maimonides, in his Sefer HaMitzvot, outlines this unique prohibition based on Deuteronomy 23:7 and reinforced by the Sifrei.

That He prohibited us from ever making peace with Ammon and Moab. And that is since God, may He be exalted, already commanded us that when we come to wage war with a city, we ask for peace before the war and request from them that they make peace with us. And if [in response,] they give the city over into our hands, it is forbidden for us to wage war against them and to kill them - as we explained in Commandment 190 of the Positive Commandments. [However, this is] except for Ammon and Moab, as we do not follow this practice with them…

Sefer HaMitzvot, Negative Commandments 56:1

The Seven-Day Respite

COMMENTARY

The seven-day respite granted by Nachash the Ammonite to the people of Gilead proved critical to that town's deliverance and may have lastingly been commemorated through fasting. Radak, a renowned 12th-century biblical commentator, provides insight into this event and its significance in Jewish history.

And [the people of Jabesh-gilead] fasted for seven days. This was in remembrance of the seven-day respite granted to them by Nahash the Ammonite (1 Sam 11:3), because it was during that time that they had been saved by Saul.

Radak on I Chronicles 10:12:1

The Demand for a Human King

TANAKH

The Israelites' demand for a human king was driven by the imminent threat from Nahash, king of the Ammonites, despite having God as their divine King. The biblical narrative in Samuel I recounts the Israelites' request for a human king and the subsequent anointing of Saul, highlighting the tension between divine and human leadership.

But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was advancing against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king reigning over us’—though the LORD your God is your King.

I Samuel 12:12

Tithing Obligations in Ammon and Moab

MISHNAH

The specific tithing obligations in the lands of Ammon and Moab during the Sabbatical year highlight the complexities and nuances of rabbinic decision-making. The Mishnah, a foundational Jewish legal text from around 200 CE, records this debate and the final resolution based on tradition and halachah.

On that day they said: what is the law applying to Ammon and Moab in the seventh year? Rabbi Tarfon decreed tithe for the poor. And Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah decreed second tithe. Rabbi Ishmael said: Elazar ben Azariah, you must produce your proof because you are expressing the stricter view and whoever expresses a stricter view has the burden to produce the proof. Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said to him: Ishmael, my brother, I have not deviated from the sequence of years, Tarfon, my brother, has deviated from it and the burden is upon him to produce the proof…

Mishnah Yadayim 4:3

David's Conquest of Ammon

TANAKH

David's conquest of the Ammonites showcases his military prowess and the harsh measures he took to subjugate his enemies. The biblical narrative in Samuel II details David's capture of the Ammonite capital, Rabbah, and the severe treatment of its inhabitants.

David mustered all the troops and marched on Rabbah, and he attacked it and captured it. The crown was taken from the head of their king and it was placed on David’s head—it weighed a talent of gold, and [on it] were precious stones. He also carried off a vast amount of booty from the city. He led out the people who lived there and set them to work with saws, iron threshing boards, and iron axes, or assigned them to brickmaking; David did this to all the towns of Ammon. Then David and all the troops returned to Jerusalem.

II Samuel 12:29-31

Divine Command Regarding the Ammonites

TALMUD

God explicitly commanded Moses not to harass or contend with the Ammonites, highlighting a specific divine instruction regarding their treatment. The Torah recounts the descendants of Lot’s younger daughter, emphasizing the prohibition against any form of harassment towards them.

Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: From where is it derived that the Holy One, Blessed be He, does not deprive one of even the reward for proper speech, i.e., for speaking in a refined manner? As while there is the case of Lot’s elder daughter, who called her son Moab [mo’av], which alludes to his shameful origins, as me’av means: From father, and the Merciful One says to Moses: “Do not besiege Moab, nor contend with them in war” (Deuteronomy 2:9)…

Nazir 23b:11-12

The Strategic Barrier of the Yabok River

COMMENTARY

The Ammonite border, fortified by the natural barrier of the Yabok River, posed significant strategic challenges to enemies like Sichon. Chizkuni, a 13th-century Torah commentary, delves into the historical and geographical difficulties faced by the Israelites during their journey to the Promised Land.

כי עז גבול בני עמון, “for the border between the Bney Ammon was strong; but south of the river Yabok Sichon had not been able to conquer, as that region was easier to defend, the river acting as a formidable obstacle.

Chizkuni, Numbers 21:24:2

The Origins of Two Ancient Nations

SECOND TEMPLE

The origins of two significant ancient nations are rooted in a dramatic and controversial biblical narrative involving Lot and his daughters. Josephus, the 1st-century Jewish historian, provides a detailed account of these origins and their implications for the continued existence of these nations.

5. But his daughters, thinking that all mankind were destroyed, approached to their father, (24) though taking care not to be perceived. This they did, that human kind might not utterly fail: and they bare sons; the son of the elder was named Moab, Which denotes one derived from his father; the younger bare Ammon, which name denotes one derived from a kinsman. The former of whom was the father of the Moabites, which is even still a great nation; the latter was the father of the Ammonites; and both of them are inhabitants of Celesyria. And such was the departure of Lot from among the Sodomites.

The Antiquities of the Jews 1:11:5

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