And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
They called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods, х 'ªloheeyhen (H430)] - i:e., the gods of the daughters of Moab, the pronominal adjunct being feminine. The word 'ªlohiym (H430) may be rendered 'god' as it is frequently used for the One God, or "gods," denoting all the idols in the Moabite pantheon. It was the women of the country who invited the men of Israel to visit at their houses-most probably on some festive season; and then, after partaking of their good cheer-meats, a portion of them always offered first in sacrifice-their pampered senses disposed them readily to indulge in the boundless revelry which usually characterized the carnivals of the pagan.
The people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. The Phoenician worship prevailed all over the countries east of the Jordan; the chief deities being Baal, Chemosh, and Astarte, or Ashtaroth, under the secondary forms of Atesh or Att'sh, Ken, Alilat or Alytta (the Mylitta of the Babylonians). These were considered the tutelary divinities who protected the four provinces-Shittim, Ken, Amalek, and Elath. The rites of worship were celebrated with infamous excesses, (cf. 'Herodotus,' b. 1:, ch. cxcix.)