When was the moabite stone discovered

Omri, King of Israel, oppressed Israel many days because Chemosh was angry with his land; and his son succeeded him, and he also said, 'I will oppress Moab. Omri had taken possession of the land of Medeba and [his people] occupied it during his days and half the days of his son, forty years; but Chemosh restored it in my days.

And the 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 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. In the rest of the inscription Mesha tells of restoring and fortifying cities that rightfully belonged to Moab, of building a palace for himself, and of constructing reservoirs for water. The inscription is by far the most important yet found in Palestine.

It has added essentially to the scanty knowledge of the history and religion of Moab itself, and has thrown light on the fortunes of Israel east of the Jordan, as well as upon the foreign relations of the dynasty of Omri.

The character of the language of Moab is also pretty fairly indicated. In regard to the last point it may be noticed that the inflections depart but very seldom from those of classical Hebrew. In the inscription Mesha told how Chemosh , the god of Moab, had been angry with his people and had allowed them to be subjugated to Israel, but at length, Chemosh returned and assisted Mesha to throw off the yoke of Israel and restore the lands of Moab.

Mesha describes his many building projects. Some say the stele was written in the Phoenician alphabet , but others say it is written in the Old Hebrew script , which is closely related.

The stele is preserved in the Louvre. When Klein discovered the Mesha Stele amateur explorers and archaeologists were scouring the Levant for evidence proving the Bible's historicity.

News of the finding set off a race between France, Britain, and Germany to acquire the stone. The next year, the stele was smashed into several fragments by the Bani Hamida tribe in an act of defiance against the Ottoman authorities who had pressured the Bedouins to hand over the stele so that it could be given to Germany.

But evidently it was reassigned to the tribe of Gad , since Gad built the city Num. The site of Dhiban and was excavated and A city wall and gateway were found, as well as a large podium which the excavators believe supported the royal quarter constructed by Mesha.

Jeremiah predicted that the fortified cities of Dibon would be ruined ; cf. Baal Meon was allotted to the Reubenites Jos. An eighth century BC ostracon [an inscribed potsherd ] from Samaria no. Ezekiel said God would expose the flank of Moab, beginning with its frontier towns, including Baal Meon It is thought to be located at Kh. Ma'in, 5 mi southwest of modern Madaba, which has not been excavated.

The reference to sheep is significant, as it reflects the main occupation of the people of Moab , in agreement with the Bible. Now Mesha king of Moab raised sheep, and he had to supply the king of Israel with , lambs and with the wool of , rams.

Kiriathaim was another city allotted to the Reubenites and built by them Jos. Jeremiah predicted that the city would be disgraced and captured , and Ezekiel said God would expose the flank of Moab, beginning with its frontier towns, including Kiriathaim It is possibly located at al Qureiye, 6 mi.

Mesha devoted 3 lines of his memorial to a description of his operation against Ataroth. Although mentioned only twice in the Old Testament, the city seems to have been an important place. The Gadites built up Ataroth as a fortified city, and built pens there for their flocks Num. And the men of Gad had dwelt in the land of Ataroth from of old, and the king of Israel built Ataroth for himself, but I fought against the town and took it, and I slew all the people: the town belonged to Chemosh and to Moab.

And I settled in it the men of Sharon and the men of Maharath lines Kerioth was judged by God Jer. Its location is uncertain. Mesha's assault of Nebo is detailed in 4 lines, the most of any of the cities mentioned in the stela. Nebo is mentioned seven times in the Old Testament, being one of the cities built by the tribe of Reuben Num. Similarly, Jeremiah said that judgment would come upon her, and she would be laid waste , Take Nebo against Israel. And I took it and slew all: 7, men, boys, women, girls, and pregnant women, because I had devoted it to Ashtar- Chemosh.

Nebo is most likely Kh. Jahaz is the town where the Israelites fought and defeated Sihon and his Amorite army as they first approached the promised land Num. It was included in the Reubenite allotment Jos. Jeremiah predicted doom for the city as part of God's judgment against Moab , Mesha goes on to say,. And the king of Israel had built Jahaz , and dwelt therein while he fought against me; but Chemosh drove him out from before me, and I took from Moab men, all the chiefs thereof, and I established them in Jahaz; and I took it to add it to Dibon lines Here, Mesha refers to a northern campaign by the king of Israel which is not recorded in the Old Testament.

In order to achieve victory, Mesha had to marshal the best of his forces, chiefs. Once captured, Jahaz became a daughter city of Dibon. The location of Jahaz is uncertain, although Kh. Medeineyeh 10 mi southeast of Madaba is a likely candidate. It was a border fortress located at Kh. Three seasons of excavation were carried out there between and Remnants of the fortress constructed by the king of Israel were found, as well as a substantial new fortress constructed by Mesha over the earlier one.

In addition, a reservoir to store rainwater was built on the northwest side of the fortress. Aroer marked the southern boundary of the Transjordanian territory originally captured by the Israelites Dt. It was occupied and fortified by the Gadites Nm.