Mesha

Heb. id, a king of Moab, the son of Chemosh-Gad, a man of great wealth in flocks and herds (2 Kings 3:4). After the death of Ahab at Ramoth-Gilead, Mesha shook off the yoke of Israel; but on the ascension of Jehoram to the throne of Israel, that king sought the help of Jehoshaphat in an attempt to reduce the Moabites again to their former condition. The united armies of the two kings came unexpectedly on the army of the Moabites, and gained over them an easy victory. The whole land was devastated by the conquering armies, and Mesha sought refuge in his last stronghold, Kir-harasheth (q.v.). Reduced to despair, he ascended the wall of the city, and there, in the sight of the allied armies, offered his first-born son a sacrifice to Chemosh, the fire-god of the Moabites. This fearful spectacle filled the beholders with horror, and they retired from before the besieged city, and recrossed the Jordan laden with spoil (2 Kings 3:25-27).

The exploits of Mesha are recorded in the Phoenician inscription on a block of black basalt found at Dibon, in Moab, usually called the “Moabite stone” (q.v.).

Recorded scripture occurrences (1)

References recorded in the source data; this is not an exhaustive list of mentions.

Show passage in OET: KI2 3:4

OET-RV KI2 3:4

4 Now Moav’s (Moab) King Meysha was a sheep breeder, and he would pay an annual tribute to Yisrael’s king of a hundred thousand young rams, plus the wool of a hundred thousand rams.

OET-LV KI2 3:4

4 And_Mēyshaˊ the _king _of Mōʼāⱱ he _was a _sheep-breeder and_he _returned to_the _king _of Yisrā^ʼēl/(Israel) one _hundred thousand lambs and_one _hundred thousand rams wool.

Jump to OET KI2 3:4 section.

Words tagged with this person or place

These links follow the source-word tags and may include pronouns. Tagging is not exhaustive.