History
The biblical books of Samuel report that Moab
had been conquered by David and was retained
in the territories of Solomon (d. 931 B.C.E).
The Mesha Stele, also
known as the Moabite Stone, indicates that it
was still under the dominion of Israelite Kings
based at Samaria a century later.
Mesha appears
to have fought successfully for the freedom of
Moab from Israel as the Moabite Stone, which
dates from c.850 B.C.E, indicates. 2 Kings 3:4
states that "King Mesha of Moab was a sheep
breeder, who used to deliver to the king of Israel
one hundred thousand lambs, and the wool of one
hundred thousand rams", but also that he
later rebelled against Jehoram, then king of
the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
Mesha Stele-Moabite Stone
The Mesha Stele (popularized in the 19th century
as the "Moabite Stone") is a black
basalt stone, bearing an inscription by the 9th
century BC Moabite King Mesha, discovered in
1868. The inscription of 34 lines, the most extensive
inscription ever recovered from ancient Palestine,
was written in Hebrew-Phoenician characters.
It was set up by Mesha, about 850 BC, as a record
and memorial of his victories in his revolt against
Israel, which he undertook after the death of
his overlord, Ahab.
The Moabite Stone is 124 cm high and
71 cm wide and deep, and rounded at the top.
It
was
discovered
at the ancient Dibon now Dhiban, Jordan, in
August 1868, by Rev. F. A. Klein, a German
missionary in Jerusalem. The stele now resides
in the Louvre museum in France.
Omri and Mesha
The identifications of the biblical Mesha,
king of Moab, and of the biblical Omri, king
of the northern kingdom of Israel, in the Mesha
stele are generally accepted by the scholarly
community, especially because what is said
about them in the narrative of the Mesha stele
agrees well with the narrative in the biblical
books of Kings and Chronicles.
Scriptures
2Kings 3:4 And Mesha
king of Moab was a sheepmaster,
and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred
thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams,
with the wool.
2Kings 8:26 Athaliah,
the daughter of Omri king
of Israel.
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