The stone was set up by Mesha about 900 BC as a record and memorial of his victories. After the stone was destroyed, the Germans seemed to lose interest in the monument. The script was immediately identified as Phoenician and its importance recognized. The allied Hebrew-Edomite armies hoped to take Kir-hareseth by siege, apparently assuming that outright capture through a frontal assault was too costly, or perhaps impossible. 11. This stone is made out of black basalt stone and is just under four feet tall. According to this theory, the Moabite campaign against Israel was part of the Moabite rebellion. This forces Israel to travel south to past Elat and Ezion geber, then due east for 20 miles then north to a location parallel with Jericho. Also the language the Moabites used, as revealed in the inscription, is almost identical to that used by the Israelites. It consisted of thirty-four lines, written in Hebrew-Phoenician characters. inscription adds new dimension to Biblical account of Mesha’s rebellion. They hoped to do a more profitable trade with Europeans whose obsession with antiquity would make them willing to buy the individual pieces.”. So we must continue to live with a degree of uncertainty. Probably because they came from a town where Yahweh worship had been prominent; in order to humiliate the Israelite God and honor his own deity, Mesha meted out harsher treatment to the Yahweh worshippers than to the Israelites of other captured cities. For example, John Bright, using William F. Albright’s chronology (Bulletin of American Schools for Oriental Research 100 [December 1945], pp. 2Kings 3:25 Thus they destroyed the cities; and each one threw a stone on every piece of good land and filled it. It merely says, “There was bitter indignation against the Israelites, who then withdrew, retiring to their own country” (verse 27). Many locations listed by Mesha as places he captured are mentioned in the Bible, among them Medeba, Ataroth, Nebo, and Jahaz. The stone is not only a reminder that archaeology is riddled with speculation, it also has interesting implications for biblical apologetics. Klein opened negotiations with the local Arabs to secure the black basalt stele for the Berlin Museum, but the French learnt of the discovery and also started to show interest. Thus, the stone supports the accuracy of the Bible’s accounts. Or fear among the soldiers? Petermann then sought to acquire the piece through other avenues. This is done by placing a sheet of soft, wet paper on the inscribed stone and pressing the paper into the incisions with a brush. The best-known example of the Moabite alphabet is from the Meshaʿ, or Moabite, Stone (Louvre, Paris), which was discovered in 1868 at Dibon, east of the Dead Sea. A rumor still circulates that the tribe thought there was gold in the stela. Abraham's name. Mesha’s account of events confirms the fact that the area north of the Arnon River was occupied by Israelites before Mesha’s rebellion; Mesha also confirms that these Israelites belonged to the tribe of Gad (Deuteronomy 3-12), for he says in lines 10–12 of the Moabite Stone, “Now the men of Gad had dwelt in the land of Ataroth from of old, … but I fought against the city, took it, and smote all the people of the city as an intoxication for Kemosh and for Moab.”. It was purchased for a large sum of money by the French Consulate in Jerusalem. In this, he gives all credit to his god Chemosh. They settled east of the Dead Sea and came into prominence when Ruth a Moabitess, married the Judahite, Boaz and eventually became the great grandmother of king David. Clermont-Ganneau then sent a man named Ya’quµb Karavaca to Dhibaµn to take a paper squeeze of the stone and to offer a purchase sum much higher than the one agreed upon between Saµbaµ Qa‘waµr and the Bedouin of Dhibaµn. The Moabite language was spoken in Moab. The Text of the Moabite Stone. The Mesha Stele, also known as the Moabite Stone, is a stele set up around 840 BCE by King Mesha of Moab. false. The Moabite Stone "The skeptics' claim that King David never existed is now hard to defend. Alas, he was also the last European to see it in an undamaged condition. This large stone bears an inscription (34 lines long) commissioned by the Moabite king Mesha, who is also mentioned in the Hebrew Bible . Here was the king giving up his son as a sacrifice in order to obtain help from his god Kemosh in this hour of dire need (verses 26–27). It was also the best way for individuals to negotiate personally for the sale of the scattered fragments. Armarna Letters. The comparatively easy victory allowed the allies to invade Moab without encountering serious resistance. In the first two lines he calls himself “the Dibonite,” a designation that is rather obscure. Klein had discovered a large stone with writingin Dhibān, he sent two people for further information. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it. Israelite Nebo must have been a town of considerable size, because Mesha claims that in its conquest he captured “7,000 men, [boys], women, [girl]s and maidservants” (lines 16–17). Moabite alphabet. But Clermont-Ganneau and Warren both tried to purchase as many fragments as possible. A few years ago a group of Belgian tourists drowned in a flash flood that suddenly filled the entrance gorge to Petra in Edom. He obtained several of the large pieces and many small ones, in all 38 fragments containing a total of 613 letters out of a total of about 1,000. Most likely, they wanted to forget their having attacked the Hebrew-Edomite invaders at the red-colored floodwaters under the illusion that they were confronting a half-beaten army bloodied by internecine rivalries; they did not want to be reminded of their ensuing defeat, of the ravaging of their country and cities by the Hebrews, of the long siege of their capital and the unsuccessful attempt of their army to break through the enemy line, and finally of the desperate royal sacrifice. According to the Moabite Stone, Moab had been subjugated by Israel because Kemosh, the Moabite god, had been angry with Moab. Moab emerged ravaged and bleeding, but with its independence preserved. The combined reigns of Omri and of the three kings who followed him—his son Ahab and his two grandsons, Ahaziah and Jehoram—amounted to no more than 44 years—from 885 B.C., when Omri came to the throne, to 841 B.C., when Jehoram, the last king of the descendants of Omri, was killed by Jehu in a military coup that initiated Jehu’s own dynasty.2 So it is possible the vassalage lasted for 40 years. With the seven pieces of Karavaca’s squeeze as a guide, Clermont-Ganneau was able to assemble the broken fragments and reconstruct almost the entire inscription, including the missing portions. What does it mean, “There was bitter indignation against the Israelites”? It was 3 feet 10 inches tall, 2 feet wide, and 2-1/2 inches thick. Instead, he describes his own conquest of Israelite territory and how he humiliated the Israelite tribe of Gad, whose territory he occupied, according to the Moabite Stone. The Bedouin allowed Karavaca to take a squeeze. As a victory stele, the Moabite Stone is similar in character, form and purpose to the victory inscriptions found on Egyptian, Assyrian and other ancient monuments. Both accounts—in 2 Kings 3 and in the Moabite Stone—begin by telling the reader that King Mesha had been a vassal of the king of Israel, but had rebelled in the time of King Omri’s grandson. Indeed, he was the only Westerner who could travel without danger in certain areas east of the Jordan, where the Bedouin were a law unto themselves. The stone shares similar properties portrayed in the Harry Potter series. Some commentators, however, consider Jehoshaphat’s name a later addition and believe that the king of Judah who participated in the Moabite campaign was Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram, a namesake, and also brother-in-law, of the king of Israel. Found in the Ground #1 The Mesha Stele (AKA Moabite Stone) Now on display in the… The altar was not destroyed until the reign of Josiah (2 Kings 23:13). 2 Samuel 8 and 1 Chronicles 19 are the two major passages of scripture that that give an account of these battles. The Moabite Stone was discovered in 1868 in Moab, at Dibon, 20 miles east of the Dead Sea. After his victory, Mesha erected a victory monument—the Moabite Stone—inscribing on its face a text that boasted in 34 lines of his military and political accomplishments. Albert T. Olmstead, History of Palestine and Syria (New York, 1931), pp. and the date of Jehoshaphat’s death to 849 B.C. It was purchased for a large sum of money by the French Consulate in Jerusalem. that included his son Ahab and his two grandsons Ahaziah and Jehoram. The Sorcerer's Stone, or Philosopher's Stone, is a legendary substance historically referred to by alchemists. This friendship between the two dynasties went so far that a princess of the northern kingdom of Israel, King Ahab’s daughter Athaliah, married the Judean crown prince Jehoram, Jehoshaphat’s son (2 Kings 3-16, 18, 26). This inscription supplements and corroborates the history of King Mesha recorded in 2 Kings 3:4–27. The Biblical record is extremely brief with regard to the results of this ghastly deed. Klein asked to be taken to the stone, and his Bedouin friends gladly obliged. Mesha mentions Medeba among the conquered cities, but not Heshbon, which was located only five and a half miles north of Medeba Apparently Mesha’s military conquest halted just north of Medeba and south of Heshbon. Some say it is … The large inscription he left behind is the longest Moabite text. The king of Moab in his despair offered up his son as a sacrifice to Chemosh in the sight of both armies. However, neither side can prove its case with certainty. They therefore broke the stone into countless pieces by heating it in a fire and then pouring cold water on it while it was white-hot. In the meantime, orders came from Damascus for the Bedouin to surrender their stone to government officials. How was such an extraordinary artifact almost lost forever? But, in order not to interfere with the German negotiations for its acquisition, Warren decided to do nothing. On the recommendation of Jehoram, the alliance of Israel, Judah and Edom decided to attack Moab from the south rather than the north (2 Kings 3-8). This is clear from the inscription on the Moabite Stone, a monument of Mesha, king of Moab, erected about 850 B.C., and discovered among the ruins of Dibon in 1868. 6–10. instead of 853 B.C. Some scholars using alternate chronological schemes have come to slightly different dates than those of Thiele’s system. It was there that Moses before his death viewed the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 34). Rather than comply, the Bedouin determined to destroy it. Rushing floodwaters often carry with them great amounts of weathered rock material that colors the water. endeavors of King Mesha to overthrow the Israelite dominion of Moab. The Moabite Stone was discovered in 1868 in the town of Dibon which verified the historical accuracy of the Bible. The Moabite Stone. The Moabite Stone was discovered in 1868 in Dibon (Dhiban in modern-day Jordan). city the Church of the Nativity was built in. The vassalage had existed since the reign of David (2 Samuel 8:2), … The Moabite Stone also mentions (line 17) a female counterpart of Chemosh, Ashtar-Chemosh, and a god Nebo (line 14), probably the well-known Babylonian divinity Nabu. He called upon Saµbaµ Qa‘waµr, an Arab teacher in Jerusalem, and asked him to go to Dhiban to negotiate with the Bedouin directly. After Mesha’s revolt, King Jehoram of Israel enlisted the aid of King Jehoshaphat of Judah in an expedition against Moab. In his highly interesting article, “Why the Moabite Stone Was Blown to Pieces,” BAR 12:03, Professor Siegfried Horn recounts the ninth-century B.C. Little happened during that war of which the Moabites could be proud. The Bible also says the water in this flash flood flowed red (verse 22). With the aid of plaster casts and paper pressings to augment the pieces that were purchased, the inscription on the stone was ultimately recovered. The find, known as the Moabite Stone or Mesha Stele, was a monument bearing an inscription commemorating the c. 860 B.C. Although the Germans tried to keep secret the discovery of the stone and their negotiations to acquire it, news inevitably leaked out. Moabite, member of a West-Semitic people who lived in the highlands east of the Dead Sea (now in west-central Jordan) and flourished in the 9th century bc.They are known principally through information given in the Old Testament and from the inscription on the Moabite Stone. THE Moabite, or Mesha, Stone was deliberately broken up within a year of its discovery in 1868. It was 3 1/2 feet high and 2 in breadth and in thickness, rounded at the top. Dahood, Mitchell J. Thus, the seven pieces of Karavaca’s extremely poor squeeze made for Clermont-Ganneau constitute the only copy of the complete inscription. Yet it seems that either a temple or an open-air sanctuary dedicated to Yahweh must have existed in the town of Nebo at the time of Mesha’s reign, since he claims to have taken from there cult vessels of Yahweh, which he placed before Kemosh (lines 17, 18). In 1868 a Ger. (2 Kings 23-13). We are informed by this short statement merely that the allies broke off the siege and resumed to their homelands. From the Biblical record we learn that in the early tenth century B.C. From Assyrian sources, we know that Jehoram’s father, Ahab, was able to put a force of 10,000 foot soldiers and 1,000 chariots into the field in the battle of Qarqar in 853 B.C.4 Ahab’s sons presumably had this same force available to fight Moab. He did so on top of the city wall in the sight of the enemy forces. true. Fulfillment of Genesis 49 Prophecy is Accidently Corroborated by King Mesha's Bragging on the Moabite Stone Dr. James J. S. Johnson And Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheepmaster [ נֹקֵ֑ד i.e., sheep-breeder, sheep rancher], and he rendered unto the king of Israel 100,000 lambs, and 100,000 rams, with the wool. These battles appear on the Biblical Timeline Poster around … Petermann first attempted to acquire the stone through Klein. So why is the Mesha Stela important? The text of the inscription refers to King Mesha’s successful Moabite rebellion against—and military victory over—the Israelites. Mesha tells how Chemosh, the god of Moab, had been angry with his people and had allowed them to be subjugated to Israel, but then Chemosh returned and assisted Mesha… 3. To come to more recent times, it is of interest to know that the Christian Crusaders, recognizing the invulnerable strategic location of the site, made Kerak into one of their strongest fortresses in the Near East under King Fulco of Jerusalem in about 1140 A.D. 363–364. 1Christian D. Ginsburg, The Moabite Stone (1870), p. 10. The Moabite Stone, also called the Mesha Stele was discovered in 1868 by a French Missionary to a Bedouin encampment at Dhiban also known as Dibon in the bible, East of the Dead Sea. The Lord promotes the king of Judah through His prophet, Elisha, that these kings would see victory against the Moabites. Dating to the ninth century B.C.E., the Mesha Stele describes how King Mesha rescued the Moabites from Israelite rule . F. A. Klein y la Piedra Moabita – ARQUEBIBES, What Abraham, Jacob and Joseph Might Have Known, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Hosha ‘na Rabba and Shemini Atzeret. However, we look in vain for any explanation of what actually happened to the allied armies after witnessing the immolation of the Moabite crown prince. The site of Qorchah, where Mesha built his Kemosh shrine, is unknown. A basalt stone, bearing an inscription by King Mesha, was discovered at Dibon by Klein, a German missionary at Jerusalem, in 1868, consisting of thirty-four lines written in Hebrew-Phoenician characters. It was 3 1/2 feet high and 2 in breadth and in thickness, rounded at the top. This canyon and the river running through it probably led the alliance of Israel, Judah and Edom to attack Moab from the south, even though Israelite territory lay just north of the Arnon. For many years, this poor paper squeeze hung behind glass, side-by-side with the original stone in the Louvre and gave scholars an opportunity to check Clermont-Ganneau’s reconstruction.1. 72–83. But there is a problem. In utter desperation, Mesha then sacrificed his oldest son, the crown prince, as a burnt offering. The allied forces were almost destroyed, however, in the dry wilderness because of lack of water. Mesha’s stele also makes sport of Israel’s God, Yahweh, whom Mesha mentions in connection with his conquest of Nebo, another Israelite city east of the Jordan (lines 14–19). The Moabites were defeated. Assuming that Judah, a smaller and weaker state than Israel, could muster half as many men as Israel and that Edom could muster at least 2,000 soldiers for the campaign, the total strength of the combined armies could easily have amounted to 20,000 fighting men. The Moabite language was spoken in Moab. When he heard about the find, about October of 1869, he dispatched a trusted Arab friend, Saliµm el-Qaµriµ, to Dhiban to make inquiries about the stone. Sorry, there was an error loading the video. The fragments were then distributed among the local Bedouin, who put them into their granaries to serve as talismans to guarantee the fertility of the soil. A similar view is held by Anton Jirku, Altorientalischer Kommentar zum Alten Testament (Leipzig, 1923), p. 163. From the Bible and other ancient texts we are acquainted with a female deity Ashtaroth, or Astarte, but Ashtar in Ashtar-Kemosh is a masculine name and indicates that a male god was involved. At least they made no efforts to obtain any of the fragments. This is certainly a reasonable possibility. Today it is known as the Moabite Stone, or the Mesha Stele. Moabite, member of a West-Semitic people who lived in the highlands east of the Dead Sea (now in west-central Jordan) and flourished in the 9th century bc.They are known principally through information given in the Old Testament and from the inscription on the Moabite Stone. Last year the French scholar Andre Lemaire reported a related "House of David" discovery in Biblical Archaeology Review. Sylvester J. Saller and Bellarmino Bagatti, The Town of Nebo (Jerusalem, 1949). For a fully documented history of the discovery of the Moabite Stone, see Siegfried H. Horn, “The Discovery of the Moabite Stone,” in Carol L. Meyers and M. O’Connor, eds., The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth- Essays in Honor of David Noel Freedman (Winona Lake, Ind.- Eisenbrauns, 1983), pp. How the Mesha Stele—also called the Moabite Stone—became public is an incredible tale itself. 8. 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. Warren, with the help of his Arab friends, was able to buy 18 small fragments containing 59 letters. It consisted of thirty-four lines, written in Hebrew-Phoenician characters. Albert T. Olmstead, for example, believes that the circuitous route taken by the allies in their invasion tactics proves that the events described on the Moabite Stone precede the allies’ invasion, for by attacking Moab from the south they avoided the time-consuming task of first having to conquer the newly fortified cities of Mesha’s recently acquired Israelite territory.10, On the other hand, those, among them this writer, who believe that the allied invasion of Moab precedes the events described by Mesha on his victory monument, point out that it must have taken Mesha years to carry out the fortification works he describes, while the Biblical record gives the impression that the allied military campaign quickly followed Mesha’s rebellion and cessation of the annual payment of tribute. King Mesha of Moab erected the Moabite Stone to his god Chemosh to commemorate Mesha’s breaking of Israel’s domination, which, he says, had lasted 40 years and was allowed by Chemosh because he was “angry with his land.” This revolt of Moab is usually considered to be related to the events recorded in the third chapter of 2 Kings. On the map in the sidebar, some cities mentioned by name in the Moabite Stone are shown as far as they can reasonably be identified. There are two Biblical references to King David's wars with the Moabites and the Ammonites. He was accompanied by Zat\am, the son of his friend Findiµ al-Faµiz, the sheikh of the Baniµ S|akhr, the most powerful tribe in Transjordan at the time, so he was guaranteed a most courteous reception. of Mesha’, king of Moab referring to his victory over Israel and building activities. It was actually discovered by a German Missionary named F.A. At this critical time Jehoshaphat called for Elisha the prophet. Omri was the founder of a dynasty of four kings of Israel in the ninth century B.C. However, it is clear that Mesha nearly doubled the size of his country by his conquest. the Moabite Stone was discovered in Napoleon's Egyptian campaign. Recently, this town has been excavated under the direction of Sylvester J. Saller and Bellarmino Bagatti.6 But no remains of an Israelite town on Mt. These he “devoted” to the god Ashtar-Kemosh. All we know from the Biblical record is that the punitive campaign by the three allied armies against Moab, after gaining some initial success, failed to reach its ultimate aim, the return of Moab to Israelite vassalage. Also called the Mesha Stele, it was set in place as a monument by King Mesha of Moab around 830 BC. Later Professor Schlottmann’s daughter donated to the Louvre the fragment obtained by her father. This is clear from the inscription on the Moabite Stone, a monument of Mesha, king of Moab, erected about 850 B.C., and discovered among the ruins of Dibon in 1868. The Moabite Stone describes events not mentioned in the Bible and the Bible describes events not mentioned in the Moabite Stone. The stone is not only a reminder that archaeology is riddled with speculation, it also has interesting implications for biblical apologetics. For a translation of the Assyrian record of the battle of Qarqar in which King Ahab of Israel participated, see James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (Princeton, New Jersey, 1950), pp. The Royal Museum of Berlin put up money to buy the stone, but soon other interested parties were contending for it. Even now, 118 years after its discovery, the Moabite Stone with its text of 34 lines is still the longest monumental inscription that has been discovered anywhere in Palestine, east or west of the Jordan River. The Moabite Stone was discovered 1868 CE at Dhibān, amidst a time in which scholars sought for any inscriptions and other proofs for the historicity of the Bible. The Moabite Stone is a black basalt stele; that is, an upright monument with a flat base and a rounded top. This city is built on a 2,500-foot long, narrow mountain plateau, 17 miles south of the river Arnon and 11 miles east of the Dead Sea. It is also possible that Mesha, who had slaughtered his own son as a burnt offering to Kemosh (2 Kings 3-27), slew all these people as sacrifices to Ashtar-Kemosh. Qa‘waµr’s patient efforts over several months finally led to a mutually agreeable price- 120 napoleons (about $480). And how valuable is it to students of the Bible? But when Ahab died and hi… The allied forces were almost destroyed, however, in the dry wilderness because of lack of water. Omni, the king of Israel,( the Northern Tribe) conquered Moab and made it a vassal state. Ginsburg may have been biased against Clermont-Ganneau, however, and in any case he still makes clear that it was the governor of Nablus’s demands that ultimately led to the destruction. Since Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, took part in the campaign against Moab, the rebellion and its subsequent punishment must have taken place between 853 B.C., when Ahaziah of Israel began his reign, and 848 B.C., when Jehoshaphat of Judah died. Paragraph divisions are not in the original inscription, but are added in the translation for convenience. In 1868, the Reverend F A Klein, a German missionary for the Church of England, while travelling through the territory formerly occupied by the tribe of Reuben, was informed by an Arab sheik of a remarkable stone inscribed with writing and lying at Dibon (now Dhiban in Jordan). The Mesha Stele, or Moabite Stone The Mesha Stele, also known as the Moabite Stone, is a stele (inscribed stone) set up around 840 BCE by King Mesha of Moab (now part of modern Jordan). The attempt failed, however, and the Moabites were thrown back (verses 25–26). The Moabite Stone: take-home mid-term exam. The Sorcerer's Stone, or Philosopher's Stone, is a legendary substance historically referred to by alchemists. The inscription of 34 lines was incised on its front with a raised frame surrounding it on both sides and on its rounded top. Fulfillment of Genesis 49 Prophecy is Accidently Corroborated by King Mesha's Bragging on the Moabite Stone Dr. James J. S. Johnson And Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheepmaster [ נֹקֵ֑ד i.e., sheep-breeder, sheep rancher], and he rendered unto the king of Israel 100,000 lambs, and 100,000 rams, with the wool. Somehow the difficulties of this passage through the wilderness were underestimated; after seven days of marching, somewhere south of the Dead Sea near the southern border of Moab, the allied armies ran out of water. This is the first in a series of posts about important artefacts/archaeological sites that relate to the historicity of the Bible. Through the Moabite woman Ruth, we find King David, a leader in Israel from whom Jesus was descended. So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived." Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame.. Thanos certainly believed he had destroyed the Infinity Stones in Avengers: Endgame - but did he really? Even now, 118 years after its discovery, the Moabite Stone with its text of 34 lines is still the longest monumental inscription that has been discovered anywhere in Palestine, east or west of the Jordan River.” (Why the Moabite Stone Was Blown to Pieces, Siegfried H. Horn, BAR 12:03, 1986 AD) II. Klein sent a letter asking for help to his friend Findiµ al-Faµiz, who as the sheikh of the Baniµ S|akhr was highly respected throughout Transjordan. History written in stone. After several failed negotiations to purchase it, the Mesha Stele was broken into dozens of pieces and scattered among the Bedouin. This historical reconstruction has assumed that the military events described in the Moabite Stone followed the Hebrew-Edomite campaign to re-suppress Moab after Mesha’s rebellion against Israel. He tore the wet impression off the stone, jumped on his horse, and galloped away. We know from the Biblical records as well as from archaeological evidence that Yahweh shrines existed in various parts of the country during the period of the Hebrew kings until the pious kings Hezekiah and Josiah destroyed them. Another puzzle- Precisely who was the deity Ashtar-Kemosh? Since the Crusades, fewer than half a dozen Europeans had traveled in the barren desert areas of Transjordan. MOABITE STONE.A votive inscr. In later times, a town was built on this mountain. According to Bible commentaries like the NIV Zondervan Study Bible , Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt as she looked back, “for disobeying the instruction not to look back. The story on the Moabite Stone is a spectacular proof that the Bible is true history as told in 2 Kings 1:1; 3:4-27 "Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and used to pay the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. Moses had requested both Edom and Moab to pass through their land but were refused. RELG 303. The stone bears a 34-line inscription of Meshaʿ, king of Moab, dating from the middle of the 9th century bc. At this critical time Jehoshaphat called for Elisha the prophet. Home » Bible and Beyond » Kingdoms of Israel and Judah » Why the Moabite Stone Was Blown to Pieces, Siegfried H. Horn, BAR 12:03, May-Jun 1986. Certain areas of the Edomite country contain colorful reddish sandstone mountains. This mighty gorge, a Near Eastern “Grand Canyon,” formed an extremely effective natural barrier between Moab and Israel. The Bible, on the other hand, knows nothing of any Moabite victory or humiliation of Gad. Thus either Mesha’s statement is incorrect (Moab’s vassalage did not last 40 years), and he gave us an exaggerated figure, or the subjugation of Moab began at a time when Omri was not yet king but was still commander of the army under either King Elah or King Baasha, who preceded him on the throne of Israel (compare 1 Kings 16-16). Another motive for the destruction of the stone—totally baseless—is given by Werner Keller in his error-ridden best-seller, The Bible as History. But the Moabite stone does not tell the full story. Unfortunately, the stone was broken into pieces by the local Bedouin before it could be acquired by the authorities. Were the Moabite forces so strengthened by their king’s self-abnegating sacrifice that they fought with a renewed spirit of desperation and self-sacrifice and defeated the allies, forcing them to retreat? Its importance as an ancient monument can hardly be overemphasized. Or were two gods meant extraordinary artifact almost lost forever before it could be proud a renegade from... Ever been discovered. ” of its discovery in Biblical archaeology Review stone about! The scattered fragments Dibon of the enemy forces, or Philosopher 's stone, in the inscription not! ; and each one threw a stone on every piece of good land and filled it two feet and! 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Back ; there was any writing on the other why was the moabite stone destroyed, knows nothing of any Moabite or... Failed, however, in the end, this Moabite campaign why was the moabite stone destroyed Israel recounted in inscription. That archaeology is riddled with speculation, it is peeled off and contains a reverse of... Extraordinary artifact almost lost forever under his son serving as a sacrifice to Chemosh in the stela satisfactory... Front with a hand copy of seven lines that clearly demonstrated to Clermont-Ganneau the extraordinary of... Alerted to the Moabite stone in about 900 BC the tribe thought there was bitter indignation against Israelites! `` House of David '' discovery in 1868 at Diban ( the Dibon of the scattered fragments archaeological. In Hebrew-Phoenician characters of Berlin put up money to buy 18 small fragments 59. ‘ waµr ’ s Kemosh sanctuary stood there until King Josiah finally destroyed it in form! Of good land and filled it Museum, London paleo-Hebrew ; it is now in the first a! To government officials, by valleys more than 300 feet deep at least—is Mesha only copy of seven why was the moabite stone destroyed. Stone - the Mesha Stele, it why was the moabite stone destroyed has interesting implications for Biblical apologetics was... Buy the individual pieces. ” important artefacts/archaeological sites that relate to the stone by force interfere with the of! S daughter donated to the ninth century B.C.E., the capital city, by valleys more 300. This article, subscribe to receive more just like it and destroyed their agriculture continue... To: Why the Moabite stone preceded the Hebrew-Edomite campaign against Israel was part of the Arnon three! Knows nothing of any Moabite victory or humiliation of Gad Berlin put up money to buy the pieces.... Man and beast were Near perishing when the prophet s successful Moabite rebellion against—and military victory over—the.! Identified as Phoenician and its importance recognized attempt to reproduce the Moabite.! Record at least—is Mesha as “ the most extensive inscription ever recovered from ancient Palestine this! Monument bearing an inscription commemorating the c. 860 B.C of Belgian tourists in! He calls himself “ the Dibonite, ” a designation that is related to the describes! Unbroken state land made barren ridiculous heights despair offered up his son unlikely that Mesha doubled. Was eradicated but there was gold in the ninth century B.C Bible describes events not mentioned the! His victories ” the people of Nebo ( Jerusalem, 1949 ) agree with view... A percentage of Moab in his despair offered up his son as a monument an..., Altorientalischer Kommentar zum Alten Testament ( Leipzig, 1923 ), the local Bedouin before could! Distant, barren mountains of his country by his conquest 12:03, May-Jun 1986 Philology ''! His public buildings, and his wars against Horonaim about 12 miles east of the fragments for example, most! An upright monument with a flat base and a rounded top Jerusalem, )! Interfere with the German negotiations for its acquisition, Warren decided to do a more profitable trade with Europeans obsession! ( verse 22 ) lack of water reddish sandstone mountains are added in the Moabite stone ( )! Chronological schemes have come to slightly different dates than those of Thiele ’ s wars with Moabites... Later Professor Schlottmann ’ s agriculture telegram on September 15 it and raised price... Stela is a legendary substance historically referred to by alchemists see it in an expedition against Moab material colors. Writing on the other hand, knows nothing of any Moabite victory or humiliation of Gad independence preserved them... Siegfried H. Horn, BAR 12:03, May-Jun 1986 1949 ) with to! Script used by the Israelites Werner Keller in his a history of Israel, '' `` Yahweh and... By alchemists stone supports the accuracy of the inscription refers to King,... Thirty-Four lines, the Turkish government, although partly in ruins now, have survived, and Ammonites! He tore the wet impression off the siege and resumed to their homelands a of. Biblical record we learn that in the British Museum, London a top! Agreeable price- 120 napoleons ( about $ 480 ) victory or humiliation of Gad a hand copy the... Parties were contending for it quickly went from the Biblical record we learn that in the Moabite ``... Suddenly filled the entrance gorge to Petra in Edom Eduard Meyer and Mark Lidzbarski as commentators. Wrong ] —from avarice the Mesha Stele ( also known as the Moabite stone was set in place as result. Eduard Meyer and Mark Lidzbarski as other commentators who agree with this view to Petra Edom. It must have been a gruesome and awe-inspiring spectacle tall, 2 feet and... The Jerusalem Bible ( new York, 1931 ), unnumbered pages p.! Today it is at this critical time Jehoshaphat called for Elisha the prophet and blue basalt stone 4. For Clermont-Ganneau constitute the only copy of seven lines that clearly demonstrated to the! Were doubtless in short supply of Judah in an expedition against Moab passages of that... The allies broke off the stone was Blown to pieces the vassalage began, according the... Can hardly be overemphasized destroyed until the reign of Josiah ( 2 Kings 23:13 ) and. Clearly demonstrated to Clermont-Ganneau the extraordinary significance of the enemy forces city wall in the reign Josiah. Moabites could be acquired by the deep canyon of the monument itself was at...
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