Ancient Moabite Poetry – The National Museum of Language

Mesha Stela

About the Poem

Erection of a sanctuary at the city of Dibon, modern Dhiban, prompted the inscribing of this Moabite poem. The portion treated below concerns the Israelite colonization of Moab. The latter’s king Mesha is presented as the speaker of the text. Notice how the vanquished are massacred in honor of the national god Chemosh (“And I seized it and killed everybody of it . . . because I had dedicated it to Ashtar-Chemosh”). That sort of ban is familiar from the context of holy war in the Bibles of Judaism and Christianity.

Moabite

English

`omriy melek yisra’el wayyi`anniw ‘et mo’ab yamin rabbin kiy yi’nap kamosh ba’artsoh

wayyachlopehu benoh wayyo’mir gam hu’ ‘a`anniw ‘et mo’ab

biyamay ‘amar ken

wa’er’ boh wabibetoh

wayisra’el ‘abod ‘abad `olam wayarash `omriy ‘et kol ‘erets mahedaba’

wayyeshib bah yamehu wachetsiy yamey benoh ‘arba`in shat wayyashibeha kamosh biyamay

wa’iben ‘et ba`alme`on wa’a`as bah ha’ishwach wa’iben ‘et qiryaten

wa’ish gad yashab ba’erets `atarot mi`olam wayyiben loh melek yisra’el ‘et `atarot

wa’iltachim baqqir wa’ochazeha

wa’ehrog ‘et kol ha`am mihaqqir riyyat likamosh walimo’ab

wa’ashib misham ‘et ‘ari’el dawdah wa’eschabeha lipney kamosh biqariyot

wa’osheb bah ‘et ‘ish sharon wa’et ‘ish macharit

wayyo’mir liy kamosh lek ‘echoz ‘et neboh `al yisra’el

wa’ahlok bilelah wa’iltachim bah mibaqi` hashshachrit `ad hatstsuhrem

wa’ochazeha wa’ehrog kullah shib`at ‘alapin gabarin wagerin

wagabarot wagerot warachamot

kiy la`ashtar kamosh hachramtiha

wa’eqqach misham ‘et keley yahweh wa’eschab himmo lipney kamosh

wamelek yisra’el banah ‘et yahats wayyeshib bah bihiltachimoh biy

wayyigarishehu kamosh mipney

wa’eqqach mimo’ab ma’ten ‘ish kol roshoh

wa’issa’ehu biyahats wa’ochazeha lispot `al daybon

Omri was the king of Israel, and he oppressed Moab many days because Chemosh was angry with his land.

Then his son succeeded him, and he too said: “I will oppress Moab!”

In my days he said so.

But I gloated over him and over his house,

while Israel was utterly destroyed forever. Now Omri had occupied all the land of Medeba

and dwelt in it his days and half the days of his son, forty years. But Chemosh restored it in my days.

Then I built Baal-meon and made the reservoir in it, and I built Kiriathaim.

Now the men of Gad had dwelt in the land of Ataroth from eternity, and the king of Israel built Ataroth for himself.

But I fought against the city and seized it

and killed all the people from the city–a satiation for Chemosh and Moab.

Then I brought back from there the altar-hearth of its beloved and dragged it before Chemosh in Kerioth.

And I settled the men of Sharon and the men of Maharit in it.

Next Chemosh said to me: “Go, seize Nebo from Israel!”

Thus I went at night and fought against it from the break of dawn until noon.

And I seized it and killed everybody of it–seven thousand male citizens and aliens,

and female citizens and aliens, and slave women–

because I had dedicated it to Ashtar-Chemosh.

Then I took the vessels of Yahweh from there and dragged them before Chemosh.

Now the king of Israel had built Jahaz and dwelt in it when he fought against me.

But Chemosh drove him out before me.

I took two hundred men from Moab, its entire unit,

and brought it against Jahaz and seized it to annex to Dibon.

Listen to the Poem in Moabite

Read by Edwin Hostetter

Listen to the Poem in English

Read by Michael Cai

Historical Information

The poem was discovered in Dhiban and dates to the second half of the ninth century BCE, after Moab rebelled against Israel. The text is inscribed on a black basalt stone, measuring slightly over one meter tall and roughly two-thirds of a meter across. The Moabite script used is the same as Hebrew writing of the time. Here the words are separated by dots, and the sentences are separated by vertical strokes–as can be seen in the accompanying photograph and handcopy.