King Mesha (
Moabite: 𐤌𐤔𐤏 *''Māšaʿ'';
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: מֵישַׁע ''Mēšaʿ'') was a king of
Moab
Moab ''Mōáb''; Assyrian: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀
''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; Egyptian: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū'', name=, group= () is the name of an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territo ...
in the 9th century BC, known most famously for having the
Mesha Stele
The Mesha Stele, also known as the Moabite Stone, is a stele dated around 840 BCE containing a significant Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions, Canaanite inscription in the name of King Mesha of Moab (a kingdom located in modern Jordan). Mesha tel ...
inscribed and erected at
Dibon
Dhiban, (Arabic: ''Ḏiʾbān'') known to the Moabites as Dibon ( Moabite: *; Hebrew: ''Dīḇōn''), is a Jordanian town located in Madaba Governorate, approximately 70 kilometres south of Amman and east of the Dead Sea. Previously nomadic, ...
. In this inscription he calls himself "Mesha, son of Kemosh-
.. the king of Moab, the Dibonite."
The two main records: Mesha Stele and the Bible
The two main sources for the existence and history of King Mesha are the Mesha Stele and the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
.
Per the
Mesha Stele
The Mesha Stele, also known as the Moabite Stone, is a stele dated around 840 BCE containing a significant Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions, Canaanite inscription in the name of King Mesha of Moab (a kingdom located in modern Jordan). Mesha tel ...
, Mesha's father was also a king of Moab. His name is not totally preserved in the inscription, only the theophoric first element ''Chemosh''(-...) surviving; throughout the years scholars have proposed numerous reconstructions, including ''Chemosh-gad'', ''Chemosh-melek'', and ''Chemosh-yat(ti)'', the latter of which has found some acceptance, as a Moabite king named ''Chemosh-yat'' is known from the
Kerak Inscription.
In the
Books of Samuel
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshu ...
account,
Moab
Moab ''Mōáb''; Assyrian: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀
''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; Egyptian: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū'', name=, group= () is the name of an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territo ...
is said to have been conquered by
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
(traditional ''floruit'' c. 1000-970 BC) and retained in the territories of his son
Solomon
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
(d. c. 931 BC). Later, after the split of Israel into two kingdoms, King
Omri
Omri ( ; he, , ''‘Omrī''; akk, 𒄷𒌝𒊑𒄿 ''Ḫûmrî'' 'ḫu-um-ri-i'' fl. 9th century BC) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the sixth king of Israel. He was a successful military campaigner who extended the northern kingdom of ...
of the northern
kingdom of Israel, reconquered Moab after it had been lost subsequent to King Solomon's reign.
The
Mesha Stele
The Mesha Stele, also known as the Moabite Stone, is a stele dated around 840 BCE containing a significant Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions, Canaanite inscription in the name of King Mesha of Moab (a kingdom located in modern Jordan). Mesha tel ...
, named after the Moabite king who erected it, makes no mention of earlier history and only mentions the conquest of the land by Omri. The stele records Mesha's liberation of Moab from under the suzerainty of Israel in c. 850 BC. The liberation is stated directly in the Hebrew Bible in 2 Kings 3:5, which reads: "But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel."
reports the same events from the point of view of the Israelites, stating that "King Mesha of Moab ... used to deliver to the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs, and the wool of one hundred thousand rams", before rebelling against "the king of Israel...
Jehoram Jehoram (meaning " Jehovah is exalted" in Biblical Hebrew) was the name of several individuals in the Tanakh. The female version of this name is Athaliah.
*The son of Toi, King of Hamath who was sent by his father to congratulate David on the oc ...
" (the Mesha Stele does not name the king against whom Mesha rebelled).
The Second Book of Kings and the Mesha Stele differ in their explanation for the success of the revolt: according to Mesha, "Israel has been defeated", but 2 Kings says the Israelites withdrew when Mesha
sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
d the eldest son of either himself or the Edomite king to his god
Chemosh (the text is not explicit at this point) on the walls of the capital city in which he was being besieged. If the latter is the case, the interpretation would be that Mesha's deed caused Edom to withdraw from the coalition. While it is plausible that one king held the eldest son of a neighbouring king hostage and sacrificed him when attacked, it is at least as plausible that he offered his own son to his main god in exchange for deliverance from destruction. Although the stele and the Bible do agree that the revolt occurred, the stele claims that Mesha won decisively, while the Bible conversely says that Israel did not suffer any losses.
[Philip D. Stern]
'Of Kings and Moabites: History and Theology in 2 Kings 3 and the Mesha Inscription,'
Hebrew Union College Annual
The ''Hebrew Union College Annual'' (HUCA) is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of Jewish studies. It was established in 1924 and is published by the Hebrew Union College. The editors-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also kn ...
, Vol. 64 (1993), pp. 1-14 p.2:'the 2 Kgs 3 narrative and the Mesha Inscription (=MI) paint opposing pictures Mesha claimed a strong of unbroken victories, while Israel, though ultimately thwarted, retreats without losses. Both cannot be true. In no war in history did both sides go unscathed.' In any case, the effect stated in the Bible is remarkable. "And there came great wrath against Israel. And they withdrew from him and returned to their own land." ().
See also
*
List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources
These are biblical figures unambiguously identified in contemporary sources according to scholarly consensus. Biblical figures that are identified in artifacts of questionable authenticity, for example the Jehoash Inscription and the bullae of Ba ...
Further reading
*"The Cambridge Ancient History", Vol. III Pt. i, 2nd Ed.; Boardman, Edwards, Hammond & Sollberger eds.; Cambridge University Press, 1982
*"Reading the Old Testament";
Lawrence Boadt Lawrence Edward Boadt, C.S.P. (October 26, 1942 – July 24, 2010), was an American Paulist priest and Biblical scholar, who advocated on behalf of improved communication and understanding between Christians and Jews.
Life
Boadt was born in L ...
; Paulist Press, 1984
*"The History and Religion of Israel"; G.W. Anderson; Oxford University Press, 1966
References
{{Authority control
9th-century BC monarchs
Moab
Monarchs of the Hebrew Bible
Sacrifice
Middle Eastern kings
Books of Kings people