Mesha Stele

Text

André Lemaire and Jean‑Philippe Delorme translation, 2022
I am Mesha, son of Kemoshyat, king of Moab, the Dibonite. My father reigned over Moab thirty years, and I reigned after my father. I made this high place for Kemosh in Qarho because he saved me from all the kings and made me look down on all my enemies. Omri was king of Israel, and he oppressed Moab many days, for Kemosh was angry with his land. And his son succeeded him, and he too said: I will oppress Moab. In my days, he said so. But I looked down on him and on his house, and Israel has gone to ruin forever! Omri had taken possession of the whole land of Medeba, and he lived there during his days and half the days of his son, forty years. But Kemosh restored it in my days. I built Baal-Meon, and I made in it a reservoir. I built Kiriathaim. The men of Gad had dwelled in Ataroth from of old, and the king of Israel built Ataroth for himself. But I fought against the city and captured it. I killed all the people from the city as a sacrifice for Kemosh and for Moab. And I brought back from there the altar-hearth of his beloved, and I dragged it before Kemosh in Kerioth. I settled in it the men of Sharon and the men of Maharith. And Kemosh said to me, “Go, take Nebo from Israel!” So I went by night and fought against it from the break of dawn till noon. And I took it and killed all of them: 7,000 men, boys, women, girls, and maidservants, for I had devoted them to Ashtar-Kemosh. And from there I took the vessels of Yahweh, and I dragged them before Kemosh. And the king of Israel had built Jahaz and lived in it while he fought against me, but Kemosh drove him out before me. I took from Moab 200 men, all its warriors, and I led them up against Jahaz and seized it to add it to Dibon. I built Aroer, and I made the highway in the Arnon valley. I built Beth-Bamoth, for it was destroyed. I built Bezer, for it was in ruins. And the men of Dibon were armed, for all of Dibon was under my command. I ruled over 100 towns that I added to the land. And I built… [damaged] …with the prisoners of Israel. I built… …the house of the king. I made… [damaged] …broad cisterns in the midst of the city. And there was no cistern in the city of Qarho, and I said to all the people: “Make yourselves every man a cistern in his house.” And I cut out the moat for Qarho by means of prisoners from Israel. I built Qarho, the wall of the forests and the wall of the citadel. And the men of Horonaim dwelled in it before. And the House of David lived in Horonaim… [fragmentary] And Kemosh said to me, “Go down, fight against Horonaim and seize it.” And I went down and fought against the city, and I took it and Kemosh restored it in my days. …I built… [final lines too damaged to reconstruct fully]
Copy of the inscription by Herbert Fuller Bright Compston, 1919)
𐤀𐤍𐤊 𐤟 𐤌𐤔𐤏 𐤟 𐤁𐤍 𐤟 𐤊𐤌𐤔 ? ? 𐤌𐤋𐤊 𐤟 𐤌𐤀𐤁 𐤟 𐤄𐤃‎ 𐤉𐤁𐤍𐤉 | 𐤀𐤁𐤉 𐤟 𐤌𐤋𐤊 𐤟 𐤏𐤋 𐤟 𐤌𐤀𐤁 𐤟 𐤔𐤋𐤔𐤍 𐤟 𐤔𐤕 𐤟 𐤅𐤀𐤍𐤊 𐤟 𐤌𐤋𐤊‎ [𐤕𐤉 𐤟 𐤀𐤇𐤓 𐤟 𐤀𐤁𐤉 | 𐤅𐤀𐤏𐤔 𐤟 𐤄𐤁𐤌𐤕 𐤟 𐤆𐤀𐤕 𐤟 𐤋𐤊𐤌𐤔 𐤟 𐤁𐤒𐤓𐤇𐤄 | 𐤁[𐤍𐤎 𐤟 𐤉‎ 𐤔𐤏 𐤟 𐤊𐤉 𐤟 𐤄𐤔𐤏𐤍𐤉 𐤟 𐤌𐤊𐤋 𐤟 𐤄𐤔𐤋𐤊𐤍 𐤟 𐤅𐤊𐤉 𐤟 𐤄𐤓𐤀𐤍𐤉 𐤟 𐤁𐤊𐤋 𐤟 𐤔𐤍𐤀𐤉 | 𐤏𐤌𐤓‎ 𐤉 𐤟 𐤌𐤋𐤊 𐤟 𐤉𐤔𐤓𐤀𐤋 𐤟 𐤅𐤉𐤏𐤍𐤅 𐤟 𐤀𐤕 𐤟 𐤌𐤀𐤁 𐤟 𐤉𐤌𐤍 𐤟 𐤓𐤁𐤍 𐤟 𐤊𐤉 𐤟 𐤉𐤀𐤍𐤐 𐤟 𐤊𐤌𐤔 𐤟 𐤁𐤀𐤓‎ 𐤑𐤄 | 𐤅𐤉𐤇𐤋𐤐𐤄 𐤟 𐤁𐤍𐤄 𐤟 𐤅𐤉𐤀𐤌𐤓 𐤟 𐤂𐤌 𐤟 𐤄𐤀 𐤟 𐤀𐤏𐤍𐤅 𐤟 𐤀𐤕 𐤟 𐤌𐤀𐤁 𐤟 | 𐤁𐤉𐤌𐤉 𐤟 𐤀𐤌𐤓 𐤟 𐤊‎ [𐤅𐤀𐤓𐤀 𐤟 𐤁𐤄 𐤟 𐤅𐤁𐤁𐤕𐤄 | 𐤅𐤉𐤔𐤓𐤀𐤋 𐤟 𐤀𐤁𐤃 𐤟 𐤀𐤁𐤃 𐤟 𐤏𐤋𐤌 𐤟 𐤅𐤉𐤓𐤔 𐤟 𐤏𐤌𐤓𐤉 𐤟 𐤀𐤕 𐤟 [𐤀𐤓‎ 𐤑 𐤟 𐤌𐤄𐤃𐤁𐤀 | 𐤅𐤉𐤔𐤁 𐤟 𐤁𐤄 𐤟 𐤉𐤌𐤄 𐤟 𐤅𐤇𐤑𐤉 𐤟 𐤉𐤌𐤉 𐤟 𐤁𐤍𐤄 𐤟 𐤀𐤓𐤁𐤏𐤍 𐤟 𐤔𐤕 𐤟 𐤅𐤉𐤔‎ 𐤁𐤄 𐤟 𐤊𐤌𐤔 𐤟 𐤁𐤉𐤌𐤉 | 𐤅𐤀𐤁𐤍 𐤟 𐤀𐤕 𐤟 𐤁𐤏𐤋𐤌𐤏𐤍 𐤟 𐤅𐤀𐤏𐤔 𐤟 𐤁𐤄 𐤟 𐤄𐤀𐤔𐤅𐤇 𐤟 𐤅𐤀𐤁𐤍‎ 𐤀𐤕 𐤟 𐤒𐤓𐤉𐤕𐤍 | 𐤅𐤀𐤔 𐤟 𐤂𐤃 𐤟 𐤉𐤔𐤁 𐤟 𐤁𐤀𐤓𐤑 𐤟 𐤏𐤈𐤓𐤕 𐤟 𐤌𐤏𐤋𐤌 𐤟 𐤅𐤉𐤁𐤍 𐤟 𐤋𐤄 𐤟 𐤌𐤋𐤊 𐤟𐤉‎ [ 𐤔𐤓𐤀𐤋 𐤟 𐤀𐤕 𐤟 𐤏𐤈𐤓𐤕 | 𐤅𐤀𐤋𐤕𐤇𐤌 𐤟 𐤁𐤒𐤓 𐤟 𐤅𐤀𐤇𐤆𐤄 | 𐤅𐤀𐤄𐤓𐤂 𐤟 𐤀𐤕 𐤟 𐤊𐤋 𐤟𐤄𐤏𐤌 𐤟 [𐤌‎ [𐤄𐤒𐤓 𐤟 𐤓𐤉𐤕 𐤟 𐤋𐤊𐤌𐤔 𐤟 𐤅𐤋𐤌𐤀𐤁 | 𐤅𐤀𐤔𐤁 𐤟 𐤌𐤔𐤌 𐤟 𐤀𐤕 𐤟 𐤀𐤓𐤀𐤋 𐤟 𐤃𐤅𐤃𐤄 𐤟 𐤅𐤀[𐤎‎ 𐤇𐤁𐤄 𐤟 𐤋𐤐𐤍𐤉 𐤟 𐤊𐤌𐤔 𐤟 𐤁𐤒𐤓𐤉𐤕 | 𐤅𐤀𐤔𐤁 𐤟 𐤁𐤄 𐤟 𐤀𐤕 𐤟 𐤀𐤔 𐤟 𐤔𐤓𐤍 𐤟 𐤅𐤀𐤕 𐤟 𐤀𐤔‎ 𐤌𐤇𐤓𐤕 | 𐤅𐤉𐤀𐤌𐤓 𐤟 𐤋𐤉 𐤟 𐤊𐤌𐤔 𐤟 𐤋𐤊 𐤟 𐤀𐤇𐤆 𐤟 𐤀𐤕 𐤟 𐤍𐤁𐤄 𐤟 𐤏𐤋 𐤟 𐤉𐤔𐤓𐤀𐤋 | 𐤅𐤀‎ 𐤄𐤋𐤊 𐤟 𐤁𐤋𐤋𐤄 𐤟 𐤅𐤀𐤋𐤕𐤇𐤌 𐤟 𐤁𐤄 𐤟 𐤌𐤁𐤒𐤏 𐤟 𐤄𐤔𐤇𐤓𐤕 𐤟 𐤏𐤃 𐤟 𐤄𐤑𐤄𐤓𐤌 | 𐤅𐤀𐤇‎ [𐤆 𐤟 𐤅𐤀𐤄𐤓𐤂 𐤟 𐤊𐤋𐤄 𐤟 𐤔𐤁𐤏𐤕 𐤟 𐤀𐤋𐤐𐤍 𐤟 𐤂[𐤁]𐤓𐤍 𐤟 𐤅𐤂𐤓𐤍 | 𐤅𐤂𐤁𐤓𐤕 𐤟 𐤅[𐤂𐤓‎ [𐤕 𐤟 𐤅𐤓𐤇𐤌𐤕 | 𐤊𐤉 𐤟 𐤋𐤏𐤔𐤕𐤓 𐤟 𐤊𐤌𐤔 𐤟 𐤄𐤇𐤓𐤌𐤕𐤄 | 𐤅𐤀𐤒𐤇 𐤟 𐤌𐤔𐤌 𐤟 𐤀[𐤕 𐤟 𐤊‎ 𐤋𐤉 𐤟 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 𐤟 𐤅𐤀𐤎𐤇𐤁 𐤟 𐤄𐤌 𐤟 𐤋𐤐𐤍𐤉 𐤟 𐤊𐤌𐤔 | 𐤅𐤌𐤋𐤊 𐤟 𐤉𐤔𐤓𐤀𐤋 𐤟 𐤁𐤍𐤄 𐤟 𐤀𐤕‎ [𐤉𐤄𐤑 𐤟 𐤅𐤉𐤔𐤁 𐤟 𐤁𐤄 𐤟 𐤁𐤄𐤋𐤕𐤇𐤌𐤄 𐤟 𐤁𐤉 | 𐤅𐤉𐤂𐤓𐤔𐤄 𐤟 𐤊𐤌𐤔 𐤟 𐤌𐤐𐤍[𐤉 𐤅‎ 𐤟 𐤀𐤒𐤇 𐤟 𐤌𐤌𐤀𐤁 𐤟 𐤌𐤀𐤕𐤍 𐤟 𐤀𐤔 𐤟 𐤊𐤋 𐤟 𐤓𐤔𐤄 | 𐤅𐤀𐤔𐤀𐤄 𐤟 𐤁𐤉𐤄𐤑 𐤟 𐤅𐤀𐤇𐤆𐤄‎ 𐤋𐤎𐤐𐤕 𐤟 𐤏𐤋 𐤟 𐤃𐤉𐤁𐤍 | 𐤀𐤍𐤊 𐤟 𐤁𐤍𐤕𐤉 𐤟 𐤒𐤓𐤇𐤄 𐤟 𐤇𐤌𐤕 𐤟 𐤄𐤉𐤏𐤓𐤍 𐤟 𐤅𐤇𐤌𐤕‎ 𐤄𐤏𐤐𐤋 | 𐤅𐤀𐤍𐤊 𐤟 𐤁𐤍𐤕𐤉 𐤟 𐤔𐤏𐤓𐤉𐤄 𐤟 𐤅𐤀𐤍𐤊 𐤟 𐤁𐤍𐤕𐤉 𐤟 𐤌𐤂𐤃𐤋𐤕𐤄 | 𐤅𐤀‎ 𐤍𐤊 𐤟 𐤁𐤍𐤕𐤉 𐤟 𐤁𐤕 𐤟 𐤌𐤋𐤊 𐤟 𐤅𐤀𐤍𐤊 𐤟 𐤏𐤔𐤕𐤉 𐤟 𐤊𐤋𐤀𐤉 𐤟 𐤄𐤀𐤔[𐤅𐤇 𐤟 𐤋𐤌]𐤉𐤍 𐤟 𐤁𐤒𐤓𐤁‎ 𐤄𐤒𐤓 | 𐤅𐤁𐤓 𐤟 𐤀𐤍 𐤟 𐤁𐤒𐤓𐤁 𐤟 𐤄𐤒𐤓 𐤟 𐤁𐤒𐤓𐤇𐤄 𐤟 𐤅𐤀𐤌𐤓 𐤟 𐤋𐤊𐤋 𐤟 𐤄𐤏𐤌 𐤟 𐤏𐤔𐤅 𐤟 𐤋‎ 𐤊𐤌 𐤟 𐤀𐤔 𐤟 𐤁𐤓 𐤟 𐤁𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤄 | 𐤅𐤀𐤍𐤊 𐤟 𐤊𐤓𐤕𐤉 𐤟 𐤄𐤌𐤊𐤓𐤕𐤕 𐤟 𐤋𐤒𐤓𐤇𐤄 𐤟 𐤁𐤀𐤎𐤓‎ 𐤟 𐤉] 𐤟 𐤉𐤔𐤓𐤀𐤋 | 𐤀𐤍𐤊 𐤟 𐤁𐤍𐤕𐤉 𐤟 𐤏𐤓𐤏𐤓 𐤟 𐤅𐤀𐤍𐤊 𐤟 𐤏𐤔𐤕𐤉 𐤟 𐤄𐤌𐤎𐤋𐤕 𐤟 𐤁𐤀𐤓𐤍𐤍]‎ 𐤟 𐤀𐤍𐤊 𐤟 𐤁𐤍𐤕𐤉 𐤟 𐤁𐤕 𐤟 𐤁𐤌𐤕 𐤟 𐤊𐤉 𐤟 𐤄𐤓𐤎 𐤟 𐤄𐤀 | 𐤀𐤍𐤊 𐤟 𐤁𐤍𐤕𐤉 𐤟 𐤁𐤑𐤓 𐤟 𐤊𐤉 𐤟 𐤏𐤉𐤍‎ 𐤔 𐤟 𐤃𐤉𐤁𐤍 𐤟 𐤇𐤌𐤔𐤍 𐤟 𐤊𐤉 𐤟 𐤊𐤋 𐤟 𐤃𐤉𐤁𐤍 𐤟 𐤌𐤔𐤌𐤏𐤕 | 𐤅𐤀𐤍𐤊 𐤟 𐤌𐤋𐤊‎ 𐤕𐤉.. 𐤌𐤀𐤕 𐤟 𐤁𐤒𐤓𐤍 𐤟 𐤀𐤔𐤓 𐤟 𐤉𐤎𐤐𐤕𐤉 𐤟 𐤏𐤋 𐤟 𐤄𐤀𐤓𐤑 | 𐤅𐤀𐤍𐤊 𐤟 𐤁𐤍𐤕‎ 𐤉 𐤟 [𐤀𐤕 𐤟] 𐤌𐤄𐤃[𐤁]𐤀 𐤟 𐤅𐤁𐤕 𐤟 𐤃𐤁𐤋𐤕𐤍 | 𐤅𐤁𐤕 𐤟 𐤁𐤏𐤋𐤌𐤏𐤍 𐤟 𐤅𐤀𐤔𐤀 𐤟 𐤔𐤌 𐤟 𐤀𐤕 𐤟 𐤅𐤒𐤃‎ 𐤑𐤀𐤍 𐤟 𐤄𐤀𐤓𐤑 | 𐤅𐤇𐤅𐤓𐤍𐤍 𐤟 𐤉𐤔𐤁 𐤟 𐤁𐤄 𐤟 𐤁𐤕 𐤟 𐤅𐤒 𐤟 𐤀𐤔….‎ 𐤅𐤉𐤀𐤌𐤓 𐤟 𐤋𐤉 𐤟 𐤊𐤌𐤔 𐤟 𐤓𐤃 𐤟 𐤄𐤋𐤕𐤇𐤌 𐤟 𐤁𐤇𐤅𐤓𐤍𐤍 | 𐤅𐤀𐤓𐤃….‎ 𐤅𐤉𐤔]𐤁𐤄 𐤟 𐤊𐤌𐤔 𐤟 𐤁𐤉𐤌𐤉 𐤟 𐤅𐤏𐤋 𐤟 𐤓𐤄 𐤟 𐤌𐤔𐤌 𐤟 𐤏𐤔]…..‎ 𐤔𐤕 𐤟 𐤔𐤃𐤒 | 𐤅𐤀𐤍‎ ………..

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.

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:

King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder. He used to pay the king of Israel an annual tribute of 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams.

Following Omri’s reign, his son Ahab (874–853 BC) maintained Israelite control over Moab. The biblical account in 2 Kings 3:5 states that after Ahab’s death, Mesha rebelled against Israel:

But after Ahab's death, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

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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