The Moabite Stone, also called the Mesha Stele, is an ancient inscription from the 9th century BC written by King Mesha of Moab. It was discovered in 1868 in Dhiban, Jordan (ancient Dibon). The text is written in Moabite, a language closely related to Hebrew.
The stone tells how King Mesha was ruled by King Omri of Israel and his son. He rebelled and defeated Israel, taking back Moabite lands. He captured several cities, killed many people, and dedicated them to Kemosh, the Moabite god. He took holy objects from Israelites and brought them to his god. Expanded and rebuilt Moabite cities.
This is the text on the Moabite Stone:
“I am Mesha, son of Kemoshyat, king of Moab, the Dibonite. My father ruled over Moab for thirty years, and I reigned after my father.
And I made this high place for Kemosh in Qarhoh, a high place of salvation, for he saved me from all kings and caused me to triumph over my adversaries.
Omri was king of Israel, and he oppressed Moab for many days, for Kemosh was angry with his land. And his son succeeded him, and he also said, ‘I will oppress Moab.’ In my days he spoke thus, but I triumphed over him and his house, and Israel has perished forever.
Omri took possession of the land of Medeba, and he dwelled there during his reign and half the reign of his son—forty years. But Kemosh restored it in my days.
And I built Baal-Meon, and I made in it a reservoir; and I built Kiryathaim. The men of Gad had dwelled in Ataroth from ancient times, and the king of Israel had fortified it. But I fought against the city and seized it, and I killed all the people of the city as a sacrifice to Kemosh and to Moab.
And I brought from there the altar-hearth of its god, and I dragged it before Kemosh in Kiryath. And I settled the men of Sharon and Maharith in it.
And Kemosh said to me, ‘Go, seize Nebo from Israel.’ So I went by night and fought against it from dawn until noon, and I seized it, and I killed all of them—7,000 men, boys, women, girls, and pregnant women—because I had devoted them to Ashtar-Kemosh.
And I took from there the vessels of Yahweh, and I dragged them before Kemosh.
And the king of Israel had built Yahaz, and he dwelled there while he fought against me. But Kemosh drove him out before me.
And I took 200 men from Moab, all its division, and I led them up to Yahaz. And I seized it to add it to Dibon.
I built Qarhoh, the wall of the forest and the wall of the citadel. And I built its gates, and I built its towers.
And I built the house of the king, and I made the double reservoir for the spring in the midst of the city. But there was no cistern in the city, so I said to all the people, ‘Make for yourselves each one a cistern in his house.’
And I cut out the moat for Qarhoh with Israelite prisoners.
I built Aroer, and I made the road in the Arnon. And I built Beth-Bamoth, for it had been destroyed.
And I built Bezer, for it was in ruins. And the men of Dibon were equipped for battle, for all Dibon was under my rule.
And I ruled over 100 towns that I added to my land.
And I built Medeba, and Beth-Diblathaim, and Beth-Baal-Meon, and I set there the sheep-raisers of the land.
And as for Horonaim, the House of David dwelt in it, and Kemosh said to me, ‘Go down, fight against Horonaim, and seize it.’ So I assaulted it, and Kemosh restored it in my days.”
These events are in the Bible. Specifically in 2 Kings 3:4-27 which describes Mesha’s rebellion. Here is the text:
4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he had to deliver to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. 5 But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So King Jehoram marched out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. 7 And he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to battle against Moab?” And he said, “I will go. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 8 Then he said, “By which way shall we march?” Jehoram answered, “By the way of the wilderness of Edom.”
9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the animals that followed them. 10 Then the king of Israel said, “Alas! The Lord has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” 11 And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?” Then one of the king of Israel's servants answered, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.” 12 And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
13 And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No; it is the Lord who has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” 14 And Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would neither look at you nor see you. 15 But now bring me a musician.” And when the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon him. 16 And he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will make this dry streambed full of pools.’ 17 For thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not see wind or rain, but that streambed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your livestock, and your animals.’ 18 This is a light thing in the sight of the Lord. He will also give the Moabites into your hand, 19 and you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree and stop up all springs of water and ruin every good piece of land with stones.” 20 The next morning, about the time of offering the sacrifice, behold, water came from the direction of Edom, till the country was filled with water.
21 When all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to put on armor, from the youngest to the oldest, were called out and were drawn up at the border. 22 And when they rose early in the morning and the sun shone on the water, the Moabites saw the water opposite them as red as blood. 23 And they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely fought together and struck one another down. Now then, Moab, to the spoil!” 24 But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose and struck the Moabites, till they fled before them. And they went forward, striking the Moabites as they went.[a] 25 And they overthrew the cities, and on every good piece of land every man threw a stone until it was covered. They stopped every spring of water and felled all the good trees, till only its stones were left in Kir-hareseth, and the slingers surrounded and attacked it. 26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was going against him, he took with him 700 swordsmen to break through, opposite the king of Edom, but they could not. 27 Then he took his oldest son who was to reign in his place and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel. And they withdrew from him and returned to their own land.
This is significant because:
- The Moabite Stone matches historical event to Biblical events.
- It confirms that Israel and Israelites were present in the Holy Land as early as 9th century BC
- It confirms that the Israelites worship Yahweh (יהוה)
This tells us quite a few things, including the etymology of the word Jew:
- Israel is named after Yisra’el (יִשְׂרָאֵל) previously known as Ya’akov (יַעֲקֹב ) or Jacob, is father of the 12 Tribes of Israel.
- Judah or Yehudah (Hebrew: יהודה) was the fourth son of Jacob and the ancestor of the Tribe of Judah, one of the 12 Tribes. Yehudah (יהודה) means “praise Yahweh“
- The Tribe of Judah along with the Tribe of Benjamin constituted the Kingdom of Judah
- The 10 other tribes constituted the Kingdom of Israel which eventually was later conquered by the Assyrians and were lost to history as The Lost Tribes of Israel.
- The people of the Tribe of Judah and later the Kingdom of Judah were called Yehudim (יְהוּדִים) literally The People of Judah.
- The singular is יְהוּדִי (Yehudi).
- In Greek, “Yehudi” became Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaios).
- In Latin (Roman), it became Iudaeus.
- In Middle English (12th–13th century CE) and eventually Modern English, it became Jew.
- Incidentally, the Arabic word for Jew is يَهُودِي (Yahudi).
This is history, recorded from two sources, Moabite and Hebrew. And in this ancient artifact, we see not only the events of the time but also the deep roots of identity — how the name Jew traces back to Judah, son of Jacob or Israel, ancestor of a people and a faith that endure to this day.