Chemosh | |
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Moabite | 𐤊𐤌𐤔 Kamōš |
Venerated in | Moab, Jordan |
Major cult center | Kirioth |
Equivalents | |
Arabian | ʿAṯtar |
Deities of the ancient Near East |
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Religions of the ancient Near East |
Chemosh (Moabite: 𐤊𐤌𐤔, romanized: Kamōš; Biblical Hebrew: כְּמוֹשׁ, romanized: Kəmōš) is a Canaanite deity worshipped by Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples who occupied the region known in the Hebrew Bible as Moab, in modern-day Jordan east of the Dead Sea, during the Levantine Bronze and Iron Ages. Chemosh was the supreme deity of the Canaanite state of Moab and the patron-god of its population, the Moabites,[1][2] who in consequence were called the "People of Chemosh".[3] The name and significance of Chemosh are historically attested in the Moabite-language inscriptions on the Mesha Stele, dated ca. 840 BCE. Chemosh is also mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.[2]