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1. MOABITE INSCRIPTIONSTHE INSCRIPTION OF KING MESHA (2.23)
K. A. D. SmelikThe inscription, which was carved on a black
basalt stone, measuring 1.15 m. high and 60-68 cm. across,
wasdiscovered by the Alsatian missionary Klein at Dhiban in 1868.
Due to the great interest in the stone shown byvarious Europeans in
Palestine, the local population decided to demolish it and use the
pieces as amulets in theirgranaries. The Frenchman
Clermont-Ganneau, however, who had already had squeezes made of the
stela, managedto get possession of two-thirds of the original
stone. The fragments were sent to France and put together in
theLouvre museum. Some of the gaps were filled on the basis of the
squeezes. The end of the inscription is completelylost. The text,
written in Moabite (or Israelite Hebrew?), dates around 835 BCE and
belongs to the genre of buildinginscriptions. The Arabic numerals
refer to the lines of the original text.Introduction and
Identification (i-3a)I am Mesha," the son of Kemoshf-yatti]1, the
kingof Moab, the Dibonite.2My father was king over Moab for thirty
years,and I was king after my father.Occasion for the Erecting of
the Stela (3b-4)And I made this high-place3 for Kemosh4 *
inKarchoh,5because he has delivered me from all kings(?),and
because he has made me look down on all myenemies.Introduction to
the P art on Military Achievements(5-7a)Omri' was the king of
Israel,and he oppressed Moab for many days,for Kemosh was angry
with his land.6And his son7 succeeded him,and he said he too "I
will oppress Moab!"In my days did he say [so],
o 2 Kgs 1:1;3:4
6 Num21:29;ludg 11:24;lKgs 11:7,33;2 Kgs 23:13;Jcr 48:7(qere),
13, 46
c lKgsl6:16-28
but I looked down on him and on his house,and Israel has gone to
ruin, yes, it has gone to ruinfor ever!8The Return of the Land of
Medeba (7b-9)And Omri had taken possession of the whole la[n]dof
Medeba, *and he lived there (in) his days and half the days ofhis
son, forty years,but Kemosh [restored it9 in my days.And I built
Baal Meon,and I made in it a water reservoir,and I built
Kiriathaim.Th e Conquest of Ataroth (10-13)And the men of Gad lived
in the land of Atarothfrom ancient times,10and the king of Israel
built Ataroth for himself,and I fought against the city,and I
captured it,and I killed all the people [from] the city as a
sacri-fice(?)n for Kemosh and for Moab, and I broughtback the
fire-hearth of his Uncle(?)12 from there,
1 The complete name of Mesha's father is not preserved in the
Mesha inscription, but supplemented on the base of a reconstruction
of anotherMoabite inscription found at Kerak in 1958 and published
by Reed and Winnett 1963:1-9.2 Dibon (now Diban) was the capital of
Moab at that time.3 bmt: a kind of sanctuary typical for Canaan. It
also occurs frequently in the Hebrew Bible.4 National god of Moab.5
Possibly the name for a new quarter of the capital Dibon. The
vocalization of the name is uncertain. Other possibilities:
Kericho, Korcha,Kircho.6 According to the same principle, in Judg
3:12 the oppression of Israel by a Moabite king is explained as the
result of YHWH's wrath withhis people.7 According to the Hebrew
Bible, this was Ahab (ruled 868-854 BCE). This is, however, not in
accordance with the date given in line 8. Forthis reason, it is
more probable that Omri's grandson Jehoram (ruled 851-840 BCE) is
meant.* Possible reference to the decline of Israel during the
reign of Jehu (839-822 BCE); cf. 2 Kgs 10:3 2-33.9 Lit., "returned
it." Other possibility: "lives there."10 This remark by Mesha shows
that he was not acquainted with the tradition that Gad was one of
the Israelite tribes who participated in theExodus.11 Meaning
uncertain. Part of ritual warfare was the massacre of the
population of a conquered town in honour of the national god (also
inancient Israel).12 Some cultic device. Possibly, "Uncle" was a
divine name or title.
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138 The Context of Scripture, IIand I hauled it before the face
of Kemosh 13 inKerioth,and I made the men of Sharon live there, as
well asthe men of Maharith14'.Th e Destruction of Nebo (14-I8a)And
Kemosh said to me:"Go, take Nebo from Israel!" 'And I went in the
night,and I fought against it from the break of dawn untilnoon,and
I took it,and I killed [its] whole population,seven thousand male
citizens(?) and aliens(?),and female citizens(?) and aliens(?),15
and servantgirls;for I had put it to the ban ' for Ashtar
Kemosh.16And from there, I took th[e ves]sels of Y H W H ,17and I
hauled them before the face of Kemosh.The Conquest of Jahaz
(I8b-2ia)And the king of Israel had built Jahaz,and he stayed there
during his campaigns againstme,18and Kemosh drove him away before
my face,and I took two hundred men of Moab, all
itsdivision(?),19and I led it up to Jahaz.And I have taken it in
order to add it to Dibon.Mesha's Building Activities at Karchoh
(2lb-25)I have built Karchoh,the wall of the woods and the wall of
the citadel,and I have built its gates,and I have built its
towers,and I have built the house of the king,and I have made the
double reser[voir for thespr]ing(?)M in the innermost part of the
city.
e Num 21:2-3; Josh 10:28-40;Judgl:17;21:11;1 Sam 15:3;1 Kgs
20:42
/Num 32:38;1 Chr5:8
g Isa 15:5; Jer48:3, 5, 34
Now, there was no cistern in the innermost part ofthe city, in
Karchoh,and I said to all the people:"Make, each one of you, a
cistern in his house."And I cut out the moat(?) for Karchoh by
means ofprisoners from Israel.21Other Building Activities (26-27)I
have built Aroer,and I made the military road in the Arnon.I have
built Beth Bamoth,for it was destroyed.I have built Bezer,for [it
lay in] ruins.First Conclusion (28-29)[And the me]n22 of Dibon
stood in battle-order,23for all Dibon, they were in subjection.And
I am the kin[g over the] hundreds in the townswhich I have added to
the land.Other Building Activities (30-3ia)And I have built [the H
ouse of Medejba24and the House of Dibla thain/and the H ouse of
Baal Meon,and I brought there [...] flocks of the land.Battle at
Horonaim (3ib-34)And H oronaim,* there lived [...]And Kemosh said
to me:"Go down, fight against H oronaim!"I went down [...][and]
Kemosh [restored it in my days.and [...] from there [...]
Second Conclusion (34-)And I . . .13 The Kemosh sanctuary at
Kerioth is meant.14 Mesha only combined the massacre of the
original inhabitants with the resettlement of the conquered
territory by his own population whenhe wanted to add the city to
Moab (Ataroth and Jahaz; not Nebo).15 Meaning uncertain; for this
translation, see Gibson, SS I 1:80-81.16 Ashtar is the male
counterpart of Ashtarte/Ishtar; here combined with the national
Moabite god Kemosh. F or the significance of the ban (hrm),see
Stern 1991.17 The earliest occurrence of the name of Israel's god
in an inscription. Cf. also below, 2.47 ." In 2 Kgs 3, Jehoram
attacks Moab from the South; in the Mesha inscription from the
North (Jahaz). For a historical reconstruction see Sm
elik1992:90-92." For the translation here, see Gibson, 55/ 1:81.20
F o r t h e t r a n s l a t i o n h e r e , s e e Y a d i n 1 9 6 9
: 1 8 n . 1 8 .21 F o r t h e t r a n s l a t i o n o f th i s s en
ten ce , s e e G i b s o n , SS I 1 : 8 2 .22 For the restoration
of the text here, see Smelik 1992:71.23 For the translation here,
see Lipinski 1971:339.24 For the restoration of the text here, see
Miller 197 4:14.
REFERENCESText: 4 /2: 168 -17 9; 55/ 1:71-83; Translations: ANET
320-321; DOTT 195-199; RTAT 253-257 (E.T. 237-240); TUAT 247-248;
Studies:Dearman 1989; Miller 1974; Smelik 1990; 1991:29-50; 1992;
Stern 1991:19-56.
