Moabite stone

Mo´ab`ite stone

(Archæol.) A block of black basalt, found at Dibon in Moab by Rev. F. A. Klein, Aug. 19, 1868, which bears an inscription of thirty-four lines, dating from the 9th century b. c., and written in the Moabite alphabet, the oldest Phnician type of the Semitic alphabet. It records the victories of Mesha, king of Moab, esp. those over Israel (2 Kings iii. 4, 5, 27).

Moabite stone

(mō`əbīt'), ancient slab of stone erected in 850 B.C. by King MeshaMesha
, in the Bible. 1 King of Moab contemporary with Ahab. Ahab was his overlord, after whose death Mesha attempted a revolt against Israel. The account of this is inscribed on the Moabite stone. 2 Son of Caleb.
..... Click the link for more information. of MoabMoab
, ancient nation located in the uplands E of the Dead Sea, now part of Jordan. The area is unprotected from the east, hence its history is a chain of raids by the Bedouin.
..... Click the link for more information. ; it contains a long inscription commemorating a victory in his revolt against Israel. It was discovered at Dibon, Jordan (1868), by F. A. Klein, a German clergyman. Although it was later broken when Klein tried to purchase it, most of the fragments were recovered. They are in the Louvre. The language of the Moabites is a Phoenician dialect that represents an early form of Hebrew.