Editing Moab (section)

===Bronze Age===
The existence of the Kingdom of Moab prior to the rise of the [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Israelite state]] has been deduced from a [[colossal statue]] erected at [[Luxor]] by pharaoh [[Ramesses II]], in the 13th century BCE. The statue lists ''Mu'ab'' among a series of nations conquered during a campaign.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kitchen|first=K. A.|date=December 1964|title=Some New Light on the Asiatic Wars of Ramesses II|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3855742|journal=The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology|volume=50|pages=47–70|doi=10.2307/3855742|jstor=3855742}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Ramesses II, Egypt's Ultimate Pharaoh |last=Brand |first=Peter J. |publisher=Lockwood Press |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-948488-49-5 |pages=191–192 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yeOyEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA191}}</ref> The nucleus of the early Moabite state appears to have been located in several settlements between [[Wadi el-Wale]] and [[Wadi Mujib|Wadi Mojib]] which originated in the [[Late Bronze Age]].<ref name=":0">{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception: Midrash and Aggada – Mourning |last=Zwickel |first=Wolfgang |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2021 |isbn=978-3-11-031336-9 |pages=486–490 |editor-last=Furey |editor-first=Constance M. |volume=19 |chapter=Moab, Moabite I. Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible/Old Testament |editor-last2=LeMon |editor-first2=Joel |editor-last3=Matz |editor-first3=Brian |editor-last4=McKenzie |editor-first4=Stephen L. |editor-last5=Römer |editor-first5=Thomas |editor-last6=Schröter |editor-first6=Jens |editor-last7=Dov Walfish |editor-first7=Barry |editor-last8=Ziolkowski |editor-first8=Eric J. |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/90107612}}</ref>{{rp|487}}

Four inscriptions from the time of Ramesses II mention ''Mw-i-bw'' as a rebellious place that refuses to recognize Egypt's control over [[Canaan]] and, together with the [[Shasu]] of [[Mount Seir]], conducted raids in Egypt. [[Pharaoh]] sent troops to the area and suppressed the rebellion - in the inscriptions of Ramesses II, the inhabitants are shown as having hairstyles identical to those of neighboring [[Canaanites]] (long hair collected and arranged) and not a braided hairstyle like the Shasu from later reliefs that contained the name Moab; a possible explanation is that ''Mw-i-bw'', if it was indeed the land of Moab, was at that time inhabited by a pre-Moabite population, whereas the historical Moabites settled in the area only in the 12th century BCE. [[Nadav Na'aman|Na'aman]] argued, however, that the identification of ''Mw-i-bw'' with the biblical land of Moab can no longer be upheld; the former was more likely well to the north.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Na'aman |first=Nadav |title=Did Ramesses II Wage Campaign against the Land of Moab?|journal= Göttinger Miszellen|volume=209|url=https://www.academia.edu/13512764|year=2006|pages= 63–69}}</ref> [[Kenneth Kitchen]] later responded to Na'aman, reasserting the identification of ''Mw-i-bw'' with Moab.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kitchen |first=Kenneth |title=Moab in Egyptian and Other Sources: Fact & Fantasy|journal= Göttinger Miszellen|volume=212|year=2007|pages=119–128}}</ref>