In english translations of the mesha stele, the opening words are i am mesha son of chemoshmelekh, king of moab the dibonite. In anchor bible dictionary, edited by david noel freedman, 4. May 02, 2019 the biblical king balak may have been a historical figure, according to a new reading of the mesha stele, an inscribed stone dating from the second half of the 9th century bce. Finally, the mesha stela mentions the israelite king omri and witnesses to the existence of a house of david, which is likely related to the judean dynasty. Jan 04, 2001 each side could claim a victory, and this is what mesha did when he would later erect the mesha stele, or moabite stone, in dibon, the moabite capital. I am mesha, the son of kemosyatti, the king of moab, from dibon. It was 3 feet 10 inches tall, 2 feet wide, and 212 inches thick. King mesha boasts of capturing territory belonging to the house of dvd, placing his herds there to graze. One note about names in the translation, there are a few names that scholars do not know of from biblical texts or otherwise. Translation i am mesha, son of kemosh, king of moab, the diyboniy. After studying new photographs of the mesha stele and the squeeze of. The tel dan stele is a broken stele inscribed stone discovered in 199394 during excavations at tel dan in northern israel. The name of one of the geographical limits of the joktanites when they first settled in arabia. English to english translation of mesha king mesha of moab was a king of moab in the 9th century bc, known most famously for having the mesha stele inscribed and erected at dibon.
What was the name of the father of mesha, king of moab. Now, aja literally means that which has no birth, and is applied to the eternal brahmam in certain portions of the upanishads. However, the truth is that the actual text of the stele rendered in hebrew characters reads. The existence of the kingdom of moab is attested to by numerous archaeological findings, most notably the mesha stele, which describes the moabite victory over an unnamed son of king omri of israel. The mesha stele and the house of david bible history. This book contains the original text and translation of the moabite stone, known as the mesha stele, made by king mesha of moav mentioned in the tanach. So, the first sign is intended to represent parabrahmam, the selfexistent, eternal, selfsufficient cause of creation theos 3. The mesha stele is considered one of the oldest inscriptions with the name yhwh in it.
The inscription on the stele of mesa, commonly called the moabite stone the text in moabite and hebrew, with translation london 1919. This makes the stele one of three specific archaeological references to the biblical king david. Mesha stele project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Jun 27, 2017 the text of the mesha stele reveals some similarities between moabite and ot thought, though the differences are more significant. Mesha stele or moabite stone, bible and name of god. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the dead sea. The tablet in question is known as the mesha stele, an inscribed 3foottall 1 meter black basalt stone that dates to the second half of the ninth century b. The oldest known document using punctuation is the mesha stele of the 9th century bc. The biblical king balak may have been a historical figure, according to a new reading of the mesha stele, an inscribed stone dating. I am mesha, son of kemoshmelek, the king of moab, the dibonite. The black basalt stele is a record of king mesha of moab recounting his rebellion against israel. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page. The inscription consists of thirtyfour lines containing about 260 words and is well engraved in old hebrew phenician characters.
Translation of the the mesha stele and parallels in the bible 1. For scholars, the mesha stela will continue to hold its place among the most important sources for ancient israel for four reasons. Example sentences with mesha stele, translation memory add example en statements on this stele, set up by mesha, the king of moab, have been interpreted by some to identify dibon as his capital city including qarhah and as the chief city of moab at one time. My father was king over moab for thirty years, and i became king after my father. I am mesha, son of kemoshyatti, the king of moab, the dhibanite. Mesha stele translation sometimes called the moabite stone, this 9th century bc inscription by the moabite king mesha is a memorial of meshas victories over omri king of israel and his son, who had been oppressing moab.
A detailed philological commentary accompanies the translation, but no comment appears regarding the word bcaw see p. By ingrid hjelm faculty of theology university of copenhagen the historical, the biblical and the ancient israel. Mesha stele free definitions by babylon babylon software. Mesha tells how chemosh, the god of moab, had been angry with his people and had allowed them to be subjugated to israel, but at length, chemosh returned and assisted mesha to throw off the yoke of israel and restore the lands of moab. The translation of the first twothirds of the inscription is as follows. The stele of king mesha constitutes one of the most important direct accounts of the history of the world that is related in the bible. The mesha stele like a lucky actress or singer, it took us by storm. In 1868, a stone monument was found at the ancient site of dibon, once the capital of moab. Interestingly, there are 2 major events that led to the extensive use of punctuation in the english language. Bennett gives a fine introduction to the text which is given in a more reader friendly translation and a more stringently literalistic interpretation.
The moabite stone, otherwise known as the mesha stele, contains an ancient inscription by mesha, king of moab during the late 9th century bce, elements of which match events in the hebrew bible. Oct 24, 20 a product of archaeological looting, the mesha stele, or moabite stone, provides another instance of the value of unprovenanced biblical artifacts, that is, bible artifacts found outside of a professional excavation. The occasion was the erection of a sanctuary for chemosh in qarho, the acropolis citadel of dibon, mesha s capital, in thanks for his aid against mesha s enemies. Mesha tells how kemosh, the god of moab, had been angry with his people and had allowed them to be subjugated to israel, but at length kemosh returned and assisted mesha to throw off the yoke of israel and restore the lands of moab. Sometimes called the moabite stone, this 9th century bc inscription by the moabite king mesha is a memorial of meshas victories over omri king of israel and his. Well, mesha made his own record of this rebellion, and the record has been found. The inscription on the stele of mesa, commonly called. It is written in the moabite language which is very similar to hebrew in old hebrew script. It dates to 850840 bc and speaks to the moabite israelite relations in the 9th century bc the time of king ahab. The inscription pays tribute to the sovereign, celebrating his great building works and victories over the kingdom of israel during the reign of ahab, son of omri. The first three lines of the inscription mention that mesha s father chemoshyat, whose name is known from a stele found in kerak kir of moab. It is known today as the mesha stele or the more popular designation the moabite stone.
This book contains the original text and translation of the moabite stone, known as the mesha stele, made by king mesha of moav. The mesha stele known as the moabite stone, is a stele set up around 840 bce by king mesha of moab. It contains 36 lines of phoenician script relating to the battle recounted in the old testament book of 2 kings biblical archaeology news 2015 bible history online. The site is currently located in the modern country of jordan.
It was rectangular except that the top had been rounded to a semicircle. English wikipedia the free encyclopedia mesha king mesha of moab was a king of moab in the 9th century bc, known most famously for having the mesha stele inscribed and erected at dibon. My father was king over moab for thirty years, and i was king after my father. The inscription describes two aspects of how mesha lead moab into victory against ancient israel. A nonjewish israel from the merneptah stele to the byzantine period article from history, archaeology and the bible forty years after historicity routledge, 2016. The inscription on the stele of mesa, commonly called the. It consists of several fragments making up part of a triumphal inscription in aramaic, left most probably by hazael of aramdamascus, an important regional figure in the late 9th century bce. Mesha stele, an inscribed basalt stele, measuring about 40 inches one meter high and about 28 inches 70 centimeters wide, erected by mesha, king of moab, at dibon today, dhiban, probably in the third quarter of the ninth century, b.
Moabite stone mesha stele ancient history encyclopedia. The translation used here is that published by james king 1878, based on translations by m. Here we have the moabite assessment of fighting with the jews, king mesha speaks of chemoshs help to him in this situation. First, he claims to have defeated ancient israel on many fronts, capturing or reclaiming many cities and. It is uncertain whether the victories on the stone were recorded before or after the kings of israel and judah fought against king mesha, as recorded in 2 kings 3. Though one letter of dvd is not complete, lemaire stated that any other reading than david would be an awkward fit. The mesha stele or moabite stone is a 3 foot high basalt slab inscription that was discovered near dibon modern dhiban, jordan in 1868 by frederick augustus klein. In this inscription he calls himself mesha, son of kemoshyatti, the king of moab, the dibonite.
The mesha stele also known as the moabite stone is a stele inscribed stone set up around 840 bce by king mesha of moab a kingdom located in modern jordan. Smashed ancient tablet suggests biblical king was real. The mesha stele, also known as the moabite stone, is a stele inscribed stone set up around. The translation of the stela offered below is based on the surviving remains and clermontganneaus squeeze, and was adapted from a version by klaas smelik. King mesha of moab was a king of moab in the 9th century bc, known most famously for having the mesha stele inscribed and erected at dibon. The biblical king balak may have been a historical figure, according to a new reading of the mesha stele, an inscribed stone dating from the second half of the 9th century bce. The mesha stele is the longest iron age inscription ever found in the region, the major evidence for the moabite language, and a unique record of military campaigns. Mesha stele in chinese, translation, englishchinese dictionary. In 1868 the stele was found in one piece by local bedouins. The stone mentions how mesha fought with omri, king of israel and other events from the tanach. Ahab was his overlord, after whose death mesha attempted a revolt against israel.
Among the similarities is the theology in which a particular deity is responsible for a particular people and geographical area, typical of the ane. Mesha synonym by babylons thesaurus babylon software. The text written was in the moabite language using the old phoenician alphabet. According to the hebrew bible, moab was often in conflict with its israelite neighbours to the west. Battles between israel and this same mesha are also recorded in the bible. The account of this is inscribed on the moabite stone moabite stone, ancient slab of stone erected in 850 b.
1363 840 511 1482 1387 1578 1369 1350 1018 826 1610 410 618 1504 1349 1358 65 934 1523 248 845 1365 1404 1258 1308 1521 770 224 710 777 946 1469 585 897 1385 262 789 710