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====== Mesha Stele ======
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| [[mesha_stele:lemaire|André Lemaire and Jean‑Philippe Delorme translation, 2022]]|
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| [[mesha_stele:compston|Copy of the inscription by Herbert Fuller Bright Compston, 1919]]) |
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The Mesha Stele, also known as the Moabite Stone, is an inscribed basalt monument dating to approximately 840 BC, commissioned by King Mesha of Moab. The inscription, written in Moabite, a Northwest Semitic language closely related to Hebrew and using a script similar to paleo-Hebrew, consists of 34 lines. It records Mesha’s military campaigns, construction projects, and religious devotion to the god Chemosh. Significantly, it contains references to Yahweh and to King Omri of the northern kingdom of Israel, establishing a significant historical parallel with the biblical account in [[:2 Kings 3]].

The stele is roughly 60 cm wide and 60 cm thick, carved in durable black basalt. It provides one of the earliest extra-biblical attestations to figures and places mentioned in the Old Testament and offers a Moabite perspective on Israel-Moab relations in the 9th century BC.

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:text:mesha_stele_photo.jpeg Photograph of the Moabite Stone
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===== Discovery and Preservation =====

The stele was first brought to the attention of Europeans in 1868, when it was shown to the Prussian missionary Frederick Augustus Klein by local Bedouins near Dhiban (ancient Dibon) in modern-day Jordan. News of the find triggered interest from France, Britain, and Prussia (the precursor of Germany). During negotiations to acquire the stone, and under pressure from the Ottoman authorities who were inclined to hand it over to the Prussians, the local Bedouin tribes, in an act of resistance, smashed the stele into multiple fragments.

Fortunately, before its destruction, a papier-mâché impression (known as a "squeeze") had been made by a local Arab acting on behalf of Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau, a French archaeologist stationed at the French consulate in Jerusalem. After the stone had been broken into pieces, Clermont-Ganneau acquired many of the fragments and used the squeeze to aid in a reconstruction. In 1873, the restored stele was transferred to the Louvre Museum in Paris, where it remains today.
===== Significance of the Stele =====

The Mesha Stele is of importance to biblical archaeology and ancient Near Eastern studies because it confirms details found in [[:2 Kings 3]]. Not only does it contain a reference to Yahweh, it also mentions King Omri. Omri reigned in Israel from approximately 885 to 874 BC and is described in the text as having conquered Moab and made it a vassal state. This is consistent with the account in [[:2 Kings 3:4|2 Kings 3:4]]:
  * //{{page>:2_kings_3:4:nlt}}//

Following Omri’s reign, his son Ahab (874–853 BC) maintained Israelite control over Moab. The biblical account in [[:2 Kings 3:5|2 Kings 3:5]] states that after Ahab’s death, Mesha rebelled against Israel:
  * //{{page>:2_kings_3:5:nlt}}//

The inscription on the stele affirms this rebellion, attributing Mesha’s success to the will of Chemosh, the national god of Moab. Mesha describes, in brutal terms, his military victories, including the slaughter of 7,000 inhabitants of the Israelite-held town of Nebo, including men, women, boys, girls and slaves. He also boasts of victories over the tribe of Gad and the reclamation of cities such as Ataroth and Jahaz. These events are generally dated to around 840 BC and appear to align closely with the biblical narrative, though told from Moab’s perspective.

A debated element of the stele is found in line 31, which is fragmentary and very difficult to read. In 2022, scholars André Lemaire and Jean‑Philippe Delorme, using advanced imaging technologies, proposed that this line refers to the “House of David” (𐤁𐤕 𐤃𐤅𐤃). If accurate, this would make the Mesha Stele one of the earliest non-biblical references to the Davidic dynasty, complementing the Tel Dan Stele, which also mentions the “House of David.”

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