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Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone)
Image: Tangopaso / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Divided Kingdom · c. 840 BCE

Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone)

Basalt monument on which Mesha, king of Moab, recounts his revolt against Israel.

Date
c. 840 BCE
Culture
Moabite
Material
Basalt
Dimensions
124 cm x 71 cm
Found at
Dhiban, Jordan
Held by
Louvre Museum, Paris
Discovered by
F. A. Klein (1868)
inscriptionstelemoabite
Description

Erected c. 840 BCE by King Mesha of Moab, this stele records his rebellion against the Omride dynasty of Israel following Ahab's death, and includes references to YHWH and (according to reconstructed readings) the House of David.

Biblical significance

The Mesha Stele independently confirms the biblical account of Moab's subjugation and revolt (2 Kings 3), names Omri king of Israel, and provides one of the earliest attestations of the divine name YHWH outside the Hebrew Bible.