Pahath-moab was the name of a Jewish clan or family whose members returned from exile with Zerubbabel and Ezra. Members of the family helped repair Jerusalem’s walls and were included among the covenant community.
Definition
Pahath-moab was the name of a Jewish clan, probably derived from an ancestor or title meaning “sheik” or “governor of Moab.” Members of the clan returned from exile with Zerubbabel and Ezra. The family was represented among those who repaired Jerusalem’s wall, signed the covenant, and participated in the restored community.
Biblical Usage
Pahath-moab appears in the postexilic records of returned families. Members helped rebuild Jerusalem, including Hashub’s work on the wall and the tower of the ovens. The name also appears among those who sealed the covenant, while some descendants had taken foreign wives.
Historical Background
The clan returned in more than one group, including families called Jeshua and Joab with Zerubbabel and another group with Ezra. The name is explained as “sheik of Moab” and is preserved in related forms in 1 Esdras.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Governor of Moab, a person whose descendants returned from the Captivity and assisted in rebuilding Jerusalem (Ezra 2:6; 8:4; 10:30).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>pa'-hath-mo'-ab (pachath mo'abh, "sheik of Moab"; in I Esdras 5:11; 8:31, "Phaath Moab"): A Jewish clan probably named after an ancestor of the above title. Part of the clan returned with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:6; compare Ne 7:11) under two family names, Jeshua and Joab; and a part came back with Ezra (Ezr 8:4). Hashub, a "son of Pahath-moab," is named among the repairers of both the wall and the "tower of the furnaces" at Jerusalem (Ne 3:11). It is the name of one of the signatories "sealing" the "sure covenant" of Ne 9:38 (Ne 10:14). Some of the sons of this name had taken "strange wives" (Ezr 10:30)</p><p>Henry Wallace</p>
