Mesha Inscription

In this inscription (ca. 835 BCE), Mesha, king of Moab, who was a contemporary of Ahab, king of Israel, boasts about his triumph over Israel. Israel had controlled Moab since the time of Omri, Ahab’s father, but Mesha rebelled against Israel, defeated “the son of Omri,” and took back Moabite land. Mesha also took control of additional Israelite cities in Transjordan: Ataroth, Nebo, and Jahaz. He carried off a “Davidic” altar and the vessels of YHWH and presented them to the Moabite god, Chemosh. Mesha also took Haw-ronen (Horonaim), where Judah (called “the House of David”) had settled. A biblical account in 2 Kings 3 tells of an Israel–Judah–Edom alliance against Mesha when, after the death of Ahab, Mesha rebelled against Israel.