Kemosh

Kemosh, also spelled Chemosh, is the national god of the Moabites, a people who inhabited the region east of the Dead Sea. He is attested in the Hebrew Bible and in external inscriptions, most notably the Mesha Stele (the Moabite Stone), which presents Chemosh as the deity who grants Moab victory and to whom the Moabite king Mesha attributes offerings and religious support.

The etymology of the name is uncertain, but Chemosh is generally treated as a Semitic theonym. Some linguistic proposals link the name to roots associated with destruction or subjugation, though there is no scholarly consensus on a precise meaning.

Worship of Chemosh is described in biblical sources as central to Moabite religion. The Mesha Stele identifies Chemosh as the god of Moab and describes acts of devotion and the god’s involvement in Moabite military or political affairs. The biblical account in 2 Kings 3 mentions an act attributed to the Moabite king—sacrificing his son to Chemosh—in a bid to secure aid, an event that biblical authors characterize as abominable.

In archaeology and scholarship, Chemosh is a relatively sparse figure, known primarily from literary texts and a small number of inscriptions. No securely identified cult images survive, and details of ritual practice remain elusive, contributing to varying interpretations of his role and character within Moabite religion.

In modern scholarly contexts, Chemosh is regarded as the Moabite state god, significant for understanding Moabite religion and its connections to neighboring Canaanite and Israelite religious traditions. The name persists mainly in epigraphic and biblical materials as a marker of Moabite religious identity.