101 Myths of the Bible: how ancient scribes - Conscious Evolution TV

130 101 Myths of the Bible
The earliest written evidence for the name dates to Assyrian records from about the
eighth century B.C.
Egyptian inscriptions from earlier periods refer to the people of that area but none
mention either the Moabites or Ammonites. Nor do we have any evidence that the
Moabites and Ammonites constituted particular ethnic groups having a common
ancestry. They both appear to have roots among nomadic peoples who could have
come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds within the ancient Near East.
In the Bible’s Book of Numbers, there is a claim that Moses defeated a King Sihon
who had a stronghold in the Moabite city of Heshbon, near the Moabite, Ammonite,
and Israelite borders. This city allegedly served as the center of a large Moabite kingdom.
However, recent excavations at what should have been the site of Heshbon, Tell
Hisban, show that it was unoccupied until the first millennium B.C. Clearly, the Bible
has erroneous information about the early Moabite period.
As was common in ancient times, most cultures claimed that they were descendants
of some ancient hero. Both the Moabites and Ammonites would have had legends
about these ancestors. Because of their proximity to ancient Israel, similar
lifestyles, and frequent territorial conflicts and counter-claims with Israel, biblical
scribes attempted to establish some subordinate connection between these nations
and the Israelite kingdom. Since the genealogy is attached to the false genealogy for
Abraham, we can assume that it originated even later in time than that for Abraham.