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Place Old Testament

Medeba

Medeba, a city in Moab captured by the Israelites (Numbers 21:30; Joshua 13:9, 16), later a site of battle between the Ammonites and David's army (1Ch.19.7). Mentioned in 5 verses across 4 books, first at Numbers 21:30.

Why it matters. A Moabite city captured by the Israelites

Location
31.720, 35.792 (approximate, within about 2 km)

Coordinates from STEPBible TIPNR (palopenmaps.org link). Approximate; not independently verified.

Last reviewed
2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team

About Medeba

Medeba was an ancient city located in Moab, east of the Dead Sea. It was captured by the Israelites during their conquest of the region (Numbers 21:30; Joshua 13:9, 16). The city and its surrounding plain were allotted to the tribe of Reuben. During the reign of King David, the Ammonites hired Syrian mercenaries and gathered at Medeba to fight against Israel (1Ch.19.7). The Moabite Stone, an important archaeological find, mentions Medeba as a city that the Moabite King Mesha had captured from Israel. The prophet Isaiah, in his oracle against Moab, mentions Medeba as one of the cities that would mourn over the coming destruction (Isaiah 15:2).

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.

Connections

No reviewed connections yet.

Appears in Scripture

Named in 5 verses across 4 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.

Record type: Place. FaithGraph explanations on this page are editorial and are not Scripture.