Classification(s)
- Inscription
- Reproduction
- Communication
"Moabite Stone" or "Mesha Stela"
CultureMoabite
PeriodIron II
Date9th century BCE
MediumBasalt
Dimensions125 x 71.5 x 40 cm
Label TextMesha ruled Moab, east of the Dead Sea, during the ninth century BCE.
Mesha is known from the Bible and from his own monumental inscription, displayed here in replica. The Mesha Stela, or Moabite Stone, was set up in Dibon, the capital of Moab, in a sanctuary of the national god Chemosh.
The inscription was discovered in 1868 in Dhiban, ancient Dibon, but soon thereafter was broken into pieces. Because a paper impression was made before the stone was damaged, virtually all of the inscription found in 1868 can be confidently reconstructed. However, even restored, the existing four-foot-high piece may represent only the upper half of Mesha's original monument.
The inscription is written in Moabite, closely related to ancient Hebrew, and sounds very biblical, echoing language and motifs found in 1 and 2 Kings. These similarities support the conclusion that equivalent royal monuments, now lost, must have stood in Samaria and Jerusalem.
Mesha recounts his principal achievements as king. The most important of these was his recovery from Israel of Moabite lands north of the Arnon River (Wadi Mujib). There is also a measure of bombast: Mesha proclaims that "Israel perished utterly forever," which certainly was not the case, though in one town alone he says he slaughtered seven thousand Israelite "men, boys, women, girls and concubines" in devotion to Ashtar-Chemosh.
Omri, king of Israel, who ruled a generation before Mesha, is mentioned several times. The earliest known reference to Yahweh in a Semitic inscription is also to be found here. At the extant bottom of the stela, Mesha describes an encounter with the House of David, that is, Judah. Although the passage is badly broken, it is clear that Mesha takes credit for a victory over the House of David in the territory south of the Arnon. The words representing king of Israel, Yahweh and House of [Da]vid are highlighted at the top, middle and bottom of the stela respectively.
Mesha also records his public works: temples and sanctuaries; a royal palace; walls, gates and towers; public reservoirs; and a highway across the Arnon, the deep valley that divided Moab in two.
But, as the inscription makes clear, Mesha primarily served Chemosh, the god of Moab, in battle. Like Yahweh of Israel, Chemosh, the divine warrior, directed his nation's military campaigns, received sacrificial offerings of enemy victims and rewarded his faithful servant, the king, with victory in the face of his enemies.
DescriptionMesha StelaMesha is known from the Bible and from his own monumental inscription, displayed here in replica. The Mesha Stela, or Moabite Stone, was set up in Dibon, the capital of Moab, in a sanctuary of the national god Chemosh.
The inscription was discovered in 1868 in Dhiban, ancient Dibon, but soon thereafter was broken into pieces. Because a paper impression was made before the stone was damaged, virtually all of the inscription found in 1868 can be confidently reconstructed. However, even restored, the existing four-foot-high piece may represent only the upper half of Mesha's original monument.
The inscription is written in Moabite, closely related to ancient Hebrew, and sounds very biblical, echoing language and motifs found in 1 and 2 Kings. These similarities support the conclusion that equivalent royal monuments, now lost, must have stood in Samaria and Jerusalem.
Mesha recounts his principal achievements as king. The most important of these was his recovery from Israel of Moabite lands north of the Arnon River (Wadi Mujib). There is also a measure of bombast: Mesha proclaims that "Israel perished utterly forever," which certainly was not the case, though in one town alone he says he slaughtered seven thousand Israelite "men, boys, women, girls and concubines" in devotion to Ashtar-Chemosh.
Omri, king of Israel, who ruled a generation before Mesha, is mentioned several times. The earliest known reference to Yahweh in a Semitic inscription is also to be found here. At the extant bottom of the stela, Mesha describes an encounter with the House of David, that is, Judah. Although the passage is badly broken, it is clear that Mesha takes credit for a victory over the House of David in the territory south of the Arnon. The words representing king of Israel, Yahweh and House of [Da]vid are highlighted at the top, middle and bottom of the stela respectively.
Mesha also records his public works: temples and sanctuaries; a royal palace; walls, gates and towers; public reservoirs; and a highway across the Arnon, the deep valley that divided Moab in two.
But, as the inscription makes clear, Mesha primarily served Chemosh, the god of Moab, in battle. Like Yahweh of Israel, Chemosh, the divine warrior, directed his nation's military campaigns, received sacrificial offerings of enemy victims and rewarded his faithful servant, the king, with victory in the face of his enemies.
Plaster cast of Moabite Stone. Original is basalt from Dibon, 9th c BCE and is in the Louvre, Paris.
Object number1891.20.11
Collections
- Mesopotamia
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