Genesis 19:37

37 And the elder bore a son, and she called his name Moab: he is the father of the Moabites unto this day.

Genesis 19:37 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 19:37

And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab
As if it was "Meab", from the father, as Aben Ezra, and so Josephus, that is, which she had by her father; and she was so far from being ashamed that it might be known in time to come, she gave him this name. Hillerus ^F23 makes it to be a compound of (ba) and (abwm) , and to signify "going into", or "lying with a father", which still more notoriously points to her own action. Drusius has another derivation of the word, at least proposes it, and renders it "aqua patris"; "mo" in the Egyptian language signifying "water", which is sometimes used for seed, see ( Isaiah 48:1 ) : the same [is] the father of the Moabites unto this day;
a people that lived on the borders of the land of Canaan, often troublesome to the Israelites, and frequently spoken of in the Old Testament.

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 Onomastic. Sacr. p. 414.

Genesis 19:37 In-Context

35 They made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in, and lay with him: and neither then did he perceive when she lay down, nor when she rose up.

36 So the two daughters of Lot were with child by their father.

37 And the elder bore a son, and she called his name Moab: he is the father of the Moabites unto this day.

38 The younger also bore a son, and she called his name Ammon; that is, the son of my people: he is the father of the Ammonites unto this day.