35821488 the moabite stone

8/3/2019 35821488 the Moabite Stone

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L ib ra ry o f R u slan K h aza rza rba rnascha .na rod . rukhaza rza r . skep t ik .ne t
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PREFACETHE text adopted in this edition is that of the lateDr, Driver's Hebrew transcription in the Appendix tothe Introduction of his Notes on the Hebrew Text ... ofthe Books of Samuel, 2nd edition, 1913, by the kindpermission of the Delegates of the Clarendon Press,~Oxford.The Moabite (Phcenician) re-transcription has been

made from the above-mentioned text. This feature ofthe present edition-new in such works-may, it ishoped, be of use to persons beginning the study ofSemitic palaeography. It should be noted that the typeused represents a more or less standardizedPhoonicianscript, and is not a facsimile of that of the Inscription,several letters of which (e.g. y, k, q, s, t)represent amore anoient fashion of writing.

I wish to acknowledge indebtedness to Dr. Driver'stranslation and commentary, Dr. W. H. Bennett's TheJ{oahite S t O ' l W (1911), and the Tafel in Smend and Socin:D ie Inschrift des KOnigs M e s a von Moab (1886) .

H. F. B. C.

Jan. 22, 1919.


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I

CON'fEN"rsPREFACE INTRODUCTION

lfoabite Text in Phoenician scriptThe Text in Hebrew square scriptTransIa.tion into English

. . .

rAGE35

7II

14


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INTRODUCTIONl'uE Inscription here set forth is accepted, with prac-tical unanimity on the part of experts, as authentic. Itwas chiselled on a monument of basalt, by order of the: rv l e s a~ ,King of Moab, who is mentioned in 2 Kings iii. 4,and who here recounts his v io t o r i e s s ove r Israel, tv whomMoab had long been. subject. The date must b e some-where about mid-ninth century B.C., the era of Omri andAhab, Elijah and Elisha, and Jehu. Line 7 may alludeto ' the overthrow of Omri's dynasty by Jehu, circa 843 B.C.The interest of this famous monument is mauifold,. (a) To the student of palreography it offers a goodspecimen of Phoenician script, parent of Alphabets,used not only by Moab but by Israel (as shown e.g. by

the Siloam Inscription, eighth century B.C.) ; the olderportions of the Old Testament were, in all probability,written in this script.(b) The linguist can here study the essential features

of the Grammar and Syntax, along with a usefulvocabulary, of the l\loabite language, separated fromHebrew by merely dialectical differences. A Hebrewstudent will find the inscription very like historicalnarrative in the Old Testament.(c) The historian finds in the Inscription a valuablecontribution to the little-known story of a people longextinct.(d) The theologian sees evidence confirming whatmodern Biblical study has revealed as to Semitiereligion. FO'r there are, e.g. references to K em o s , thegod of l\fO'ab,and to' Yahweh God of Israel, and Hisshrine at Nebo, with allusions to the treatment of con-


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6 INTRODUCTIONquered cities hdevoted," i . e . put under the ban < l u : i ' e m ) ,to the national god.The stele, or rather the upper portion of the originalmonument, measuring 3l feet in height, 2 feet in width,

and 2 feet in thickness" was discovered in 1868 by theRev..F. A. Klein, of the Church Missionary Society, onthe site of the ancient Moabite city of Dibon. Its ex-istence was known, from the report of natives, shortlyprevious to this event, to Monsieur Clennont-Ganneau,the eminent French archreologist. The great interestshown by Europeans, and their offers to purchase, ledthe Arabs in the neighbourhood to break it np, possiblywith the object of selling the fragments at fancy prices.Fire was kindled beneath the stone, cold water dashedon the top of it, and the priceless monument was sooncracked in pieces. Happily, before this stupid act ofvandalism was perpetrated, rubbings of the inscriptionhad been secured. Later on most of the fragments wererecovered, the missing portions restored with the help ofthe rubbings, and the Stele of l\lesa~ now stands in theLouvre. There is a facsimile in the British Museum.The Inscription may be studied more fully with theaid of the works mentioned in the Preface to tile presentedition and other works named in their bibliographies,

or in tile various Dictionaries of the Bible.Students offering the subject for examination shouldpractise transcription in Phcenician and Hebrew, andshould add vowel-points to the latter. This wouldprove a useful exercise. After the revision of his vocali-zation the student should, with a fine pen, point theHebrew text on pp. 11-13, adding in the margin, or onan inserted fly-leaf, any various readings or alternativepointings,


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IVINSCRIPTION OF MESA(

I. THE 1\IOABITE TEXT IN PH


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B THE l\IOABITE STONt~.

"h \,~ ,\ . ~ ijrrr ~~ . ~&J.Irrr ,\ J ){'~~~ij. ~ 8- - -W"h\ . rc .H }O'~Jf' . ~}~ . "hiji7'9

}0'fl.,o~ . rJf' . }~Jf'\ i ""''1'' ' ' '~. c .H 'fi . ~~ 9-}~Jf'\ . ~\H Jf'~ . ~~ . &J.i0Jf'\ ~ ~ J f ' , . ~W".., ~" WJf', I }ri7'9~V . r Y ( 10"" . ,l., . ~ l. . }~ ,,_ ,\ . '1 l.0cr . r~00

~ ~~ . ij~ r l.,Y ('1 I "'~0. r ( . l . ,)1(~ I.H 11['1]. '10~ .l..,o r ( . 1\,\~Jf"\ i ~""~Jf'\ ~&JJJf',\ I ~~'7'1,\ . &JJ'r,1 , . r " " '~ . - \ ~ ~ 12

[1K Y ( , . ~ ~ \ ~ .1.,)1(~ ( . rJf' . ' r&J.i 'r 'W ~'\ I f t l " r f ~ A q ~ & JJij, . "h>7l. . ~~ ~ 13

&JJ( . r(\ .}~c .H c .H( . r ( ~~'V'e;.. ( . ,l. . & J . I ' 1 ' . " " i. . . ~ 'rJf''1'f,\ I r'\~c r 14

Y('\I~(-\&JJ""~O.~,}.rY( rv~ '1 . ~~ . CJ j'0 .r l.) f(\ . ~/.,l" . ' 1 1 . . ~ 15

~(\ I 'r~~\'~ .~o . r - \ ~&JJ~ }71,Y ( . r O ,w . " ; > . / " ' 1 . 1\,\~(\ . ~"" 16[~I\]\ r~~"\}~"\ . }~[']I\

'\ ~ ~ . w"'!! . '\rIHol. . "", I r"'!"e > .,\ \. . r 17[, . r]~ . ' 1 & J . 1 ' 1 . '0 .VJ(' , I ~ r c r


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rrHE l\[OABITE :O;TONE. 9

'1'1}7~ . '1~ . 9~ 1K~, . ~~ ~.'7'f ".,l. L8r ( ~}4) . l.,(~Wh,('1\ J & H Y f ,I '7'f~ "'>.'1~fl,~i) . ~, . 4)w""', . ~~,.,., J! l

['"1 ",,] }7 '1 ' . w'1i . ~w~I\""\I ~ ~ ~ . ~I .~ ~ . }f~'1 . ~('1'r . '0.'\1( 20

.~~~(\.~~~~.~~w~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . I ' 7 ' f f t } ~ . '1}( I }~""'4 . 1 . . 0 . r7~1 , 21

r'1"0., . )~ o . . ,. .~ . r'r'tO. ,}Jf',. ' ? f " 7 ' r ~ Ow """'}4) . I}Jf', I 1.70~ 22

(\ I ~rl,o.l\ '1 . ""'-I'}~ 'hf~O . I}(,. ,/"'1 r ') . 'lVf }4). 't} 2 = 3

l)~ \1~. }'lV['11, . ~\] & o W J{~ . "" ) I ( / "'\\14) ~\7~ . ~'\'V~ . }~ . ~~~ I '\'\1~ 24

l . . . ~~O . '10~ . l.,L ., . ~ '1Jf'\ . ~~ ""r'\/' /' }~\ I ~r""4)l) '\ ~ . wJf' . Y f ' 2 [)

'\ 1KJf'4) ~ ~'\ '\1 1 . rr'\ 1'1~ '\ o~ 0 '7Vf}4) . r s I L.(~~'h [""] 2 .6

}},\Jf'i} . r l . ,11,{ '1~. " " r ~ o . I}Jf', '1K~ ~ . " h , . r '1~ . r~ ""''''}l) . I}( 27

} I7 'w O ""''1 . "\~, . rtYr}') . I}( t (~

. .

, . .


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10 TIlE MOABITE STONE.

34

. . }~ I'7 'r " . .l.,.' 7 Y , . . }w'1~ ..}~'1 "r~ .. &J.I 28,L .'1 .. ,}~ \ Ir'1w'1-.."" 'f7~"" . 4 \ . &.H Jf' }~ \1~ . rJf''1 ""." 29.,,}').I}~ \ ' ~ ~'?- .. (0

I }fl.,iJA. .. r9\ . ;f'[iJ]~~'1 [. f Jf 'J . . 'TV 30D t .A q } . . rJ{' '1w ..J{'w ~\ }0 '1 L .0 ') . f')~ ')Wt?f }}~ \~\ I \,~J{'~ .. }~\' 31- - -

&H J{' .. \7 '\ . .f" ..~)..'r'0.rl.~.D t.~ .. & H " I Y 6 " . , 1 . , . . ~ '1)f''''', 32--~~Jf'\ I }>~,'0.~. . 1 . . . 0 , 6 " " 'I f" '" ''} . .W'1i . ~'[&J.I""\] 33& H O 6 '1U1'1 . ~"


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THE MOABITE STONE. 1]

II. THE TEXT IN IIEBRE\V SQUARE SCRIPT ..Words and Zettel'sioit.hin Mjuu2'e bj'ackets aloe 'j"estored con-

jectu,oal l ! l . Ot'e ,.li,,,ed leUeao8a , e f f lOJ'e or Ieee uncertain ofidentijicati(m ..

,n ..lNO .. ,SO ? ? .. t!'~:l .. 1 : 1 . . liC'b ..1JN 1!JS~.1 ) N ' . .Me' ..l~~ ..:lN~..S l1 . ,S~ . .":IN ; ft D" 2... t!'b ~~ .. ~ T l'1b:lil .. ~ t - n I " :IN .. '-InN .. ttM 3[\ ..~~]:1 I nn'p:l..S~:l. 'tjN '-Ij'J . f t~, .i~S r!'j'J .. S~b..f t)l1t! 'i1 . . Il~ .. l't' 4'~l' I "N)t!'

. ., ~ . .1 : 1 ' . .l ~ " . :JN b . . l iN . . ,J]i" ..SN'~\ . .'~b.. '5'1N:1 .. r!'b!) ..9lN '

..n~ ..,jl'N ..Nn ..Cl ~N'" ..nJ:l ..IIII.!)~M'" I n~ 6:t ..,~ .."~ft:l I :lNb

. . c L ,v . . ':IN ..,:IN . S N ' C ' ' ' ' I ~n:l:t'.. - 1 : : 1 . . N'N' 7['-IN] ..liN ..'~11 ..r!',t,

..:-tl!1....~...."~n ' . .fib' ..: - t : : 1 . . :J~'" I N:li;,~ ..r 8t! '" . .~t' ..p 1 : J ' N

..i1:t ..t !'],'N 'I ..W b L ,v : J . . liN ..l : J N ' I 'b':l ..t!'b~..i1:J 9l : lN ' . .n't!'Ni1

* The n inDriver's text is obviously 8 misprint for:'1. Seetranslation. TheMoabiteis clearly ~ ..


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I:! 'rHE l\10ABITE STONE..C '17b n '~1J. .r'Nl .: lC ! !" . -rJ c . :N, i " " P " ~ ~ 10

, ' ~ 1 . J . 'iI~ . i : l ' "I 'ilTMN' " 'P) o n n S tl.nI n '~ v . t\N . ~~,~ 11[~j C V 'i l S : J . M N . )i:-t~'

M N . Ct'1 .J . :Jt!'N ' I :lNbS, t!'~::l~ . M " . ' p : ' 1 12[O]N' . ' i I ' " ~~'N

t!'N . MN : -I! l . :l~N' I n "p :l ~~::l ~ ')~S. r 1 : 1 M -13f!'N .n~'.1'~. . :'1 :1 ) ~~ .. T M N ,S . .~ 1 : J : J , , ~ . . ,~ " In'n~14

N1I ~N'e'~ S l 1..,i1..M,nt!'iI l1j'lb . : - t : l . C M n'N ' ..';ISS:l. - b : - 1 15

nN ' I C';'~:"1t I i'l' i':1 ] l . iEl"~' . nv:!e' . : " '1 " : 1 . . l''ilN' . 'ill 16

[,l)' .n':ll'n p~ ' I :'1 n~'n; , ..~1 .J:I ' n~vS" ':3 I n l .J M . ,' n 17D M J N . . C t ! '1 . J~ N'C " 1S~,t'~::l" ) ~ S eM ~M C N' M ':'1 '. I t S 18

R ~ . . - 1 ) : 1..~ lJ:1 .. 'ilt!J'l'" I ':1 ..:1~MnS0l. : - 1 : 1 . : 1 C '" . r;,' 19[, ,] l~1 .J

~Nt'N' I ;,~, . S~ ~N ir.~~:lN~1:J . MpN 20 ~fnN' . 1 ' : " 1 ' : 1


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'l'}IE llOABITE STO:Kl~. ]3

. n c n ; ,M 'P . 'Mj:l " 'l~1 :1 '" " ~l' Ti~O~ 21J ilJ n 1 1 ' 1 " M

. '11):1 .. 1lN' ..~"11t!' .. 'lil:1 .. 'l~ I ~~lin22N' I : " 1 n S ' l t )

tfN:-1 ' _ N S ~ . 'l i t :7V . 'l~n,,'~~.M:l 'M l:J . 1l 2 .1:lip:! ..l'[b' ..n ,l. . S : J S . ~ , " i 1 n 'p :1 ' p . " . : l i p : :1 : iN . . , : 1 , " p : - t 24

." ..'C'l) "C l 1 M..M~li.~n'~1lN' I1T't':1:J-,:1 lVN - t):l 25iON::l 0M'i '~

..'Ji~ 1lN ' ..il1'1' 'n):3 "1lN I ~N't!" . ['] 26-p'N:JonSCt J f 1

..4In)~ ..1N I N:-J" 0':-1 ",~ . Ji~:1 . Ji:J. 'Ji):l "1lN 27" 1 \1 / . . ':J . '~:l

IliV~tJ .. 1 : 3 " " S~ ':l It'tJn .. i:loti . t!' 28~S~ .1lN'-,It,n I f'N:-1. S y " ' M ~ ' it'N - l ' P : J liNlJ 'Ji 29nl:1. . p : o S 1 i ~ . .l1!n l i n S : J . , Ji:J, "ND]":'1~[.MN] ..' 30

"pl MN-.t:Jt'"N~~nt'N p 1 . ru :1 ::1 . :J~' . i l " n , I r ~ : " 1 . iNYiiN' Iil " : : 1 c n n S :1 " . ~tJ~ . ,~ it~4I'ft!'VOe'~ ..: - 1 , . S ln . '~'l t!'~~ ..:1:1 [t!",1IN' p - r~ . lit'

3132a s34


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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -14 'l'IIE :i\IOABrrE STONE.

III. TRANSLATION.WOI'de in italics are required by Englillh idiom: they arenot i7 J the moiginal. The franBliteration of proper nam& iein accordance with the flOtation in the Heb,"ell) Grammar ojGesfmius. Words and letters witkin equare bracket8 are re-stored colljoectu'rallg. Words within curved brackets are alter-native 10enderingst ltc..I I am Mcsa~son of Kemos ? king of 1{0'39 the Da-2 -ibonite. 1\Iy father reigned over Mo ' a b thirty years

and I reign-S -ed after my father. And] made this high place forKemos in ~r~h.* [High place of sa1-]4 -vation, forhe had saved me from all the assailants (?),

and because he had caused me to look upon t allmy foes. 'Omr-

5 -i ua king of Yisra'el, and he afflicted l \ io ' ab daysmauy, for Kemoswas angry with his Ia-

6 -nd, And his son succeeded him, and he too said Iwill afflict Mo ' i i b . In my days he said s[0],

7 and I looked upon t him and upon his house. AndIsrael utterly perished everlasting1y. And ~Omrip o s s e s s e d the [la-]

8 -nd of l \ l e bedeba . And (Israel) dwelt therein, hisdays and half the days of his son, forty years; and

9 I{c l l lo s restored it in my days. And I built Ba~al-Iueonand 1 made therein the reservoir (?), and I built

* line 3. Perha.ps" ~ere~ah" or UJ5 .0 r l}Mo"t lines 4, 7. " Look upon," i.e., with exultation over a fallen foe.Cf. Fs. Iix, 10 E.V.


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THE MOABITE STONE. 1510 ~{irya~en. Now the men of Gad had dwelt in the

land of Cfi.tar6!from of old; and the king ofYi[sra:el(beginning ottilie II)] built for himselfI] C l i t a r o t . And I fought against the city and took it.

And I slew all the people [from]12 the city, a gazing-stock for Ke lDOS and for lvlo'al i . An{l

I restored (or captured) from thence the altar-hearth (?) of Daw{\oh (or its tutelaryspirit ? ), andI drag-

IS -ged it before K em o ~ in ~e riy y o !. And I placedtherein the men of Srn * and the men of

14 l_\ll)rt.t And K( lmo s said unto me Go, seize N e b o hagainst Yis l "a ' e l . And I 15 went by night,.and fought against it from dawn U11tOnoon. And I sei-

16 -zed it and slew all of it,7000 men and men-vojourners tand women & [,vomen-sojourner-] t

17 S, and damsels j for to cast.a1."-Kemoshad I devoted it.And 1 took from thence the [ves-]

18 -sels of Yahweh, and dragged them before Ke n l o s .Now the king of Yisra'el had built

19 Yah a l } , and dwelt therein while he fought againstme. And I{"'mo8 drove him away from before me,and

20 I took from Mo ' i i b 200 men, all the head-men thereof;and I brought them up against Yaha~, and seized it

21 to add unto Dalbon. I built ~r1).b, the wall ofyecarin (or the woods), and the wall of

II < line 13. S i r o n (?)t line 14. MaI}ar8.~ (?)t line 16. I.e., recognised settlers. Cf. 2 Sam. i. 13. line 21. Seenote, line 3.


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lli THE MOABITE STOXE.22 fvp~l (or the Acropolis). And I built the gates

thereof, and I built the towers thereof And23 J built the king's house, and I made the two reser-[voirs? fOI" wa]ter in the middle of24 the city. Now cistern there was none in the middle

of the city, in ]~rJ~h. And I said to all the people,:!\Iake to

31

25 yon every man a cistern in his house. And I cut outthe cutting for ]~rl.lh* by means of the prisoner-

20 [- 8 captu 'J" l3d fro1n] Yisra'el. I built liro"erand I madethe high-road by the Arnon.27 I built Be!-biimo! for itwas destroyed. I built Belrfor rni its 28 (bad it become, And the head-me'[n of ])aibim were50, fOI' all Daibon was Joyal. And I reign-

~9 -ed [oler] ]00 in the cities which I added to thelana. And I buil-

30 -t ll'hede[b]a and He!-diblii!ell, and Be!-bs'al-me'on;and I brought thither the eheep-masters (?) t.. . . .. . . sheep of the Iand, And ~o r o n e n ,there (1welt therein ??... ........ (And]K emo s said unto me,Go down, fight against J: loronen. And I went dOWJl

and I~('mos [restojred it in Iny day~.Al1(l.. .. . .. from thence

. . And I .. .. .. .. . . . .

3233 ..34

;to lines 24J25. See note, line 3. t li,ltc 30. Se e 2 Kings jii. 4.L ib ra ry o fR u sla n K h az arz ar

barnascha .narod. ruk h a z a r za r . s k e p t i k . n e t

35821488 the moabite stone

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