Moab rebelled. Moab had been subdued by David (2 Samuel 8:2; 2 Samuel 23:20); and when the kingdom was divided it passed to Israel. It was greatly oppressed by Omri and Ahab, and, on the death of the latter (Compare 2 Kings 3:5), Mesha, king of Moab, rebelled. See the record of the event on "the Moabite stone". App-54. The verse is introduced here to complete the symmetry of the introversion.
after. The inscription on the Moabite stone leaves the exact date indefinite. Line five, "Israel perished", may refer to the death of Ahab.