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Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature

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Ar, the capital city of the Moabites (Numbers 21:28; Deuteronomy 2:9; Deuteronomy 2:18; Deuteronomy 2:29), near the river Arnon (Deuteronomy 2:18; Deuteronomy 2:24; Numbers 21:13-15). It appears to have been burnt by King Sihon (Numbers 21:28), and Isaiah, in describing the future calamities of the Moabites, says, 'In the night, Ar of Moab is laid waste and brought to silence' (Isaiah 15:1). In his comment on this passage, Jerome states that in his youth there was a great earthquake, by which Ar was destroyed in the nighttime.

This city was also called Rabbah or Rabbath, and, to distinguish it from Rabbath of Ammon, Rabbath-Moab. The site still bears the name of Rabbah. It is about 17 miles east of the Dead Sea, 10 miles south of the Arnon (Modjeb), and about the same distance north of Kerek. The ruins of Rabbah are situated on a low hill, which commands the whole plain. They present nothing of interest except two old Roman temples and some tanks.