The Moabite Rebellion and the Mesha Stele/0

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The Moabite Rebellion and the Mesha Stele

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Biblical Sources

Melakhim II 3 tells how Mesha, the King of Moav, had originally paid tribute to Israel, but rebelled after the death of Achav. Achav's descendant, Yehoram, makes an alliance with Yehoshafat, the King of Yehuda, and with Edom to retaliate. They plan an attack from the south, but en route find themselves without water. Hashem intervenes by bringing a flash flood, taking care of their thirst.  The Moabites mistake the reddish hue of the water as blood and erroneously conclude that the allies have turned on each other, leading them to rush into the Israelite camp to plunder.  Israel is thus able to smite them, but despite the initial success, the battle ends without a clear victor. The verses are ambiguous but suggest that, in desperation, the King of Moav had offered his son as a sacrifice,1 leading to "great wrath on Israel."  Though the nature and reason for this "wrath" is unclear, it marked the end of battle and the return of the troops to Israel.

The Mesha Stele

The Moabite rebellion is attested to outside of Tanakh, as it is discussed in detail in an inscription known as the Mesha Stele or the Moabite Stone, dictated by Mesha himself. The monument was discovered by a missionary named Frederick Klein in 1868 in Dibon2 and is presently in the Louvre Museum in Paris.3

The stele opens by describing how Omri, king of Israel, had enslaved Moav, since Kemosh (the Moabite god) was angry at his people.  However, in the days of Omri's son, Mesha was able to triumph over Israel and end their oppression.  Mesha then describes his various victories, expansion of his borders, and various building projects

Significance of the Stone

  • Corroboration of Biblical account – Though Tanakh and the stele differ in their accounts, the inscription corroborates the fact of Moav's original submission to Israel and its subsequent rebellion. It also mentions figures known from Tanakh, such as Omri,  King of Israel, Kemosh, the Moabite god, place names such as Dibon, Nevo, Gad and Atarot.  [For a fuller discussion of the relationship to the Biblical text, see below.]
  • Earliest reference to Hashem -– The inscription bears the earliest extra-Biblical reference to Hashem, with lines 17-18 reading: "[ת כ] ואקח. משמ. א ...
     לי. יהוה. "
  • Earliest reference to House of David – According to the reconstruction of Andre Lemaire,4 line 31 contains a reference to the House of David.5  If he is correct, correct, this is the earliest extra-Biblical reference to the Davidic dynasty.

Relationship to the Biblical text