פירוש על בראשית 19:37

מואב MOAB — This daughter who was immodest openly proclaimed that the son was born of her father (מֵאָב) but the younger named her child in a euphemistic fashion and was rewarded for this at the time of Moses, as it is said regarding the children of Ammon, (Deuteronomy 2:19) “Do not contend with them” — in any manner at all — whereas in reference to Moab it (Scripture) only forbade waging war against them but permitted them (the Israelites) to vex them (Genesis Rabbah 51:11).

עד היום, the time frame mentioned refers to the period when the Torah was written by Moses.

ותקרא שמו מואב...ותקרא שמו בן עמי. They called the names of their children thus to show the world that the father was not someone who was an unworthy, sinful person. [from the point of view of Jewish law as it pertains to gentiles, a father may sleep with his daughter. Ed.]

ותלד..מואב, meaning מאב, “from my father I bore this son.”

ותקרא שמו מואב, “she named him Moav, (by my father.)” A most inappropriate name for a child, tainting him for the future. She was punished by the Torah for naming her son thus, by the Torah only forbidding the Israelites to oppress the Moabites and Ammonites and to wage war against them, but enslaving them was not forbidden. Even so, the sages say that the older daughter who initiated sleeping with her father a single night before her sister was rewarded by G’d in that from her issue Ruth joined the Jewish people, whereas Naamah from Ammon who became the wife of Rechavam, son of Solomon, did not join the Jewish people until four generations later. Still, this did not exonerate her from the shame of naming her son in such a way. (Bereshit Rabbah 51,10, and Midrash Hagadol on Genesis)

ותלד הבכירה בן ותקרא שמו מואב, “the older one gave birth to a son whom she called Moav (from the father).” Our sages say: “do not read this name as מואב, but as מאב, “from the father.” The naming of the baby was certainly not a chaste thing to do. The younger daughter, by contrast, displayed more discretion when she named her son בן עמי, “a member of my people.” Our sages in Horiot 10 taught that G’d does not withhold a reward even for such minor things as appropriate conversational expressions. When G’d told Moses not to harass either Moav or Ammon, He used different terms for the type of harassment the Israelites were not allowed to employ. In the case of Moav (Deut. 2,9), G’d said אל תצר את מואב ואל תתגר בם מלחמה “do not harass Moav and do not provoke them into war,” whereas in the case of the בני עמון G’d said: אל תצורם ואל תתגר בם “do not harass them or start a fight with them (Deut. 2,19).” The latter were not to be harassed in any shape or form by the Israelites. This added prohibition was the way G’d rewarded their ancestral mother for employing discreet language when naming her son.

(37-38) Es sind dies noch die Stammväter der heutigen Moabiter und Ammoniter. Es hat das Land nicht seine Bewohner gewechselt und den alten Namen dann auf die neuen Ankömmlinge übertragen, wie in so vielen anderen Fällen, sondern die heutigen Ammoniter und Moabiter stammen von diesen Söhnen Lots.

הוא אבי מואב...הוא אבי בני עמון, the ones who would in a short while inherit large parts of what would eventually be part of the land of Israel on the east bank of the Jordan river. Seeing that the intentions of both daughters in sleeping with their father had been honourable, they were rewarded with founding two nations, both from the same father. (Nazir 23) In a certain sense they had become heirs of Avraham to whom all the Canaanite lands had been promised. This reflects the statement in Proverbs 3,6 בכל דרכיך דעהו, “know (try to emulate) G’d in all your undertakings;” (even when involving an apparent sin. [based on Berachot 63. Ed.]

אבי מואב, the founding father of the people called Moabites until this day.