BIBLE PLACES | AMMON

1. Ammon

a) The country of Ammon was located north of Moab and east of the Jordan River. The Ammonites originated from Ben-Ammi, the son of an incestuous union of Lot with his younger daughter (Genesis 19:38). In the time of Moses, the Ammonites as well as the Moabites were excluded from the Israelite community (Deuteronomy 23:3-4). 

b) There was constant fighting between Ammon and Israel. Jephthah, the Judge, subdued the Ammonites, King Saul drove back Ammonite King Nahash from Jabesh in Gilead. There were good relations between King David and Ammon, but when David sent his servants to console the Ammonite King on the death of his father, the new king embarrassed the servants by shaving their heads. 

c) A war then broke out and David subdued the Ammonites. It was during this war, the David-and-Bathsheba affair occurred, with the killing of Bathsheba's husband, Uriah. Ammon was defeated by Israel two more times in later years. When the Assyrians, followed by the Babylonians, took over the area, Ammon paid tribute to them for protection. 

d) Ammon was condemned by the prophets, and today, Ammon and its neighbors, Moab and Edom, do not exist. The three countries are now part of Jordan.