moabite stone hebrew

8/2/2019 Moabite Stone Hebrew

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Brian Moloney

Professor Goldstein

18 March 2012

Hebrew Bible

The Moabite Stone and 2 Kings 3

Today scholars approach the bible historically either from a maximalist or

from a minimalist viewpoint. A maximalist believes that the archaeological

discoveries and sources from the time period from surrounding civilizations

confirm the stories of the Bible. They also believe that the Bible should be viewed as

true unless it can be proven false. A minimalist believes that many of the

archaeological discoveries contradict the Bible stories, so the stories should be

viewed as false unless the can be proven by archaeology.2 Many of the Maximalist

scholars point to the Moabite stone as strong evidence for proving that the bible is

historically accurate. The Moabite Stone, which is sometimes referred to as the Mesa

Stele, is a stone engraved with information on the struggles of the Moabite King

Mesha versus Omri the King of Israels descendants.1 A missionary traveling in the

Transjordan discovered the Stone in Dhiban and his discovery remains the largest

known Palestinian inscription from the Iron Age.3 The story described in on the

Moabite Stone tells the story of the Moabite rebellion from the side of Mesha the

Moabite king. The stone states first Meshas qualifications for being king which are

2 Israel Without the Bible1 The Value of the Moabite Stone as a Historical Source3 Anchor Bible Dictionary


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thathe is son of Chemosh the God of the Moabites and that his father [from who

he inherited the throne] reigned over Moab thirty years he then stated that

Chemosh delivered me from all that attacked me, and because he had made me see

my desire upon all my enemies. He then went on to state the history of Israels

control over Moab stating Omri, King of Israel, oppressed Israel many days ... and

his son succeeded him, and he also decided, 'I will oppress Moab.' According to the

stone Omri and his descendants rule Moab for forty years but according to Mesha

Chemosh restored [Moab] from the rule of the Israelites ... [under his reign]. He

then goes on to describe his conquests with the help of Chemosh saying thatthe

men of Gad had occupied the land of Ataroth for a long time, and the King of Israel

had built up Ataroth for himself. And I fought against the city and took it, and I slew

all the people from the city, a sight for the eyes of Chemosh and of Moab ... And

Chemosh said to me, 'Go, take Nebo against Israel.' And I went by night and fought

against it from the break of dawn until noon, and I took it and slew all [that were in]

it, seven thousand men and boys and women and girls and maid servants; for to

Ashtor-Chemosh I had devoted it. And I took from there the vessels of Yhwh and

brought them before Chemosh. And the King of Israel had fortified Jahaz and

occupied it while he was at war with me, and Chemosh drove him out from before

me. And I took of Moab two hundred, all its chiefs, and I attacked Jahaz and took it,

in order to add it to Dibon. After he finishes describing his greatvictories with the

help of his god he goes on to describe his numerous rebuilding projects including a


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great palace for himself.4 The story described on this stone tells a very similar story

to the events described in 2 Kings 3 and the differences can be accounted to the

authors biases, which makes the Moabite Stone great evidence for the Bible being

based on history.

In 2 King 3 the story of the Moabite rebellion is described from the

perspective of the Israelites. The story starts by stating that Mesha had to pay the

king of Israel a tribute of a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred

thousand rams. The story states that soon after Ahab the king of Israel dies Mesha

the Moabite King decides to rebel. King Jehoram the descendant of Ahab then goes

on to form a coalition to put down the rebellion with King Jehoshaphat of Judah and

the King of Edom. When the coalition sets out to put down the Moabite rebellion

they run out of water. A prophet named Elisha is called in to ask God if they will

survive.

After slighting the king of Israel by saying if I did not have respect for the

presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah ... [I would not acknowledge you], he then

gives his prophecy saying the valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle

and your other animals will drink. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; he

will also deliver Moab into your hands. You will overthrow every fortified city and

every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and

ruin every good field with stones. The next morning God comes through and fills

the valley with water. The Moabites see this water from a distance and think it is

4 The Moabite Stone


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the blood of the coalition. Thinking they are weak the Moabites go on the attack to

the Israelite camp but are quickly sent into retreat by the coalition. From this point

on the coalition is constantly on the attack and destroys city after city and destroys

the Moabites fields until finally only Kir-hareseth remains. After a failed counter

attack the King of Moab in desperation sacrifices his son. After this a great wrath

came upon Israel and they went back to their own land. 5

While both the Moabite Stone and 2 Kings 3 describe the same story of the

Moabite Rebellion there are some very large differences in the accounts. Both

accounts describe the Israelites ruling over the Moabites and that King Mesha led

the rebellion. Both accounts also end with Israel exiting Moab seemingly through

the power of Chemosh. The middle of the accounts is what differs. First of all in the

Moabite Stone account the only enemy of the Moabites who is listed is Omri King of

Israel and his descendants. In the 2 Kings 3 account the King of Israel Ahab, King

Jehoshaphat of Judah, and the King of Edom form a coalition to fight the Moabites.

Although you could view this as a major difference in the accounts this discrepancy

can be blamed on the Moabites viewing the entire coalition as simply their true

enemy Israel. Another discrepancy is how the Moabites won their freedom. In the

2 Kings 3 account of the text the Israelite coalition dominates the Moabites until

Mesha sacrifices his son. After this a great wrath is visited upon the Israelites so

they withdrew. According to the Moabite stone version of the battles he simply

5 Jewish Study Bible


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went around re-conquering Moabite cities, making Israel eat a big serving of humble

pie in the process, with of course the help of his god Chemosh. The differences in

these accounts can simply be accounted to the Moabites and the Israelites trying to

make themselves look good. When you put theses accounts together and try and

look past the authors biases and read the accounts critically you get the complete

picture. You realize that most likely that the Israelites didnt completely dominate

the Moabites before they withdrew, and that the Moabites most likely didnt

completely dominate Israelites. It was most likely a tightly contested struggle that

eventually the Moabites came out on top of.

The Moabite Stone and 2 Kings 3 both recount the Moabite rebellion. With

the 2 Kings 3 accounts focusing on the success of the Israeli coalition and the

Moabite Stone focusing only on the Meshas victories. While both accounts paint the

pictures of the battles differently, when viewed together it is possible to have a clear

understanding of the events of the Moabite rebellion.

Works Cited

Jewish Study Bible. Oxford, 2004. Print.


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"The Moabite Stone."JewishEncyclopedia.com. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

.

Dearman, J. Andrew. "Mesha Stele." The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 4. New York:

Doubleday, 1992. 708-09. Print.

"What Does the Moabite Stone Reveal about the Biblical Revolt of Mesha?"

ChristianAnswers.net. Web. 17 Mar. 2012. .

Rendsburg, Gary A. "Israel Without The Bible."JewishStudies.Rutgers.edu. New York

University Press. Web. 11 Mar. 2012.

Emerton, John A. "The Value Of The Moabite Stone As An Historical Source." Vetus

Testamentum 52.4 (2002): 483-492. ATLA Religion Database with

ATLASerials. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

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