Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Peter Bekins’s Translation of the Mesha Inscription/Stele (ca. 840 BC)

  

1 I am Mesha son of Kemosh[yat], king of Moab, the 2 Dibonite.

(2) My father ruled over Moab thirty years, and I ruled 3 after my father.

(3) I made this high place for Kemsh in Qarhoh.

(3) (It is) a high place of 4 salvation because he saved me from all the kings because he made me prevail over all my enemies.

(4) Now Omri 5 (was) king of Israel, and he oppressed Moab many days because Kemosh was angry with his land.

6 His son took his place, and he also said, “I will oppress Moab.”

(6) In my days he said th[is], but I prevailed over him and his house. Israel has indeed perished forever.

(7) Omri took possession of the 8 l[an]d of Medaba.

(8) He settled in it during his days and half the days of his son, forty years. But 9 Kemosh returned it in my days.

(8) Then I built Baal-Meon, and I made the cistern within it. Then I bui[lt] 10 Qiryaten.

(10) Now the people of Gad had settled in the land of Ataroth for a long time, but the king 11 of Israel rebuilt Ataroth for himself.

(11) I fought against the city, and I seized it. I killed all of the peo[ple] 12 (because) the city had been (dedicated) to Kemosh and to Moba.

(12) I took captive from there the ‘R’L DWDH and I 13 [dra]gged it before Kemosh at Qiryoth.

(13) I settled in it the people of Sharon and the peo[ple] of Maharat.

(14) Then Kemosh said to me, “Go! Take Nebo from Israel!”

(14) So I 15 went in the night, and I fought against it from the break of dawn until noon, and I 16 took it.

(16) I killed all of them, seven thousand—men and foreign men, women and 17 [for]eign women, and maidens—because I had dedicated it to Ashtar-Kemosh.

(17) I took from there the 18 [ves]sels of Yahweh, and I dragged from them before Kemosh.

(18) Now the king of Israel had built 19 Yahaz, and he lived in it while he was fighting against me, but Kemosh drove him out before me.

(19) Then 20 I took from Moab two hundred men, its entire (elite) division. I brought them against Yahaz, and I took it 21 to add (it) on to Dibon.

(21) I built Qarhoh, namely, the wall of the forest and the wall of the 22 acropolis.

(22) I built its gates, and I built its towers. I 23 built the royal palace.

(23) I made the wall of the reserve[oir for a spr]ng with[in] 24 the city.

(24) There was no cistern within the city, in Qarhoh, so I said to all the people, “Each one make 25 for yourselves a cistern at his house.”

(25) I dug the water channels for Qarhoh with captives 26 from Israel.

(26) I built Aroer. I made the highway at Arnon.

27 I rebuilt Bet-Bamoth because it was destroyed.

(27) I rebuilt Bezer, because it was ruins, 28 with the companies of Dibon, because all Dibob were subjects.

(28) I rul[d 29 over the] hundreds in the cities that I added onto the land.

(29) I built 30 [also Med]aba and Bet-Diblaten and Bet-Baal-Meon.

(30) Then I brought there my sh[epherds 31 to tend the] flocks of the land.

(31) Now, as for Horonen—the House of [Da]vid had dwelled in it [   ]

32 (and) Kemosh said to me, “Go down, make war on Horonen.”

(32) So I went down and [I fought 33 against the city and I seized it.] Kemosh [retored] it in my days.

(33) and ‘L[ ] DH from there ‘š[  

(34) And I [] . . . (Peter Bekins, Inscriptions from the World of the Bible: A Reader and Introduction to Old Northwest Semitic [Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Academic, 2020], 160-61)

 

  

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