Who was Chemosh? The Bible answers in a few lines: the god of the Moabites. In Judges 11:24 Jephthah mentions him while arguing about land with the Ammonites. Later, 1 Kings 11:7 records that Solomon built a high place for Chemosh near Jerusalem, because his foreign wives turned his heart, and 2 Kings 23:13 says King Josiah defiled that same place. The passages call him an abomination, not a rival of equal weight. The story is a warning that even a wise king can drift when he lets other loyalties in. Read 1 Kings 11 to see how it began.
4 verses
Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.
Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.
And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
Matthew George Easton, 1897
The destroyer, subduer, or fish-god, the god of the Moabites (Num. 21:29; Jer. 48:7, 13, 46). The worship of this god, “the abomination of Moab,” was introduced at Jerusalem by Solomon (1 Kings 11:7), but was abolished by Josiah (2 Kings 23:13). On the “Moabite Stone” (q.v.), Mesha (2 Kings 3:5) ascribes his victories over the king of Israel to this god, “And Chemosh drove him before my sight.”
William Smith, 1884
(subduer), the national deity of the Moabites. (Numbers 21:29; Jeremiah 48:7,13,46) In (Judges 11:24) he also appears as the god of the Ammonites. Solomon introduced, and Josiah abolished, the worship of Chemosh at Jerusalem. (1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 23:13) Also identified with Baal-peor, Baalzebub, Mars and Saturn.