The Kings, the City and the House of David on the Mesha Stele in Light of New Imaging Techniques

Thanks to new imaging techniques applied to the Mesha stele and its squeezes, the decipherment of this major inscription is significantly improved. In this essay, I present three case studies, in lines 4, 12 and 31 respectively. In line 4, the reading 'kings' is to be preferred; in line 12...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Langlois, Michaël 1976- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Peeters [2019]
In: Semitica
Year: 2019, Volume: 61, Pages: 23-47
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
HH Archaeology
KBL Near East and North Africa
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:Thanks to new imaging techniques applied to the Mesha stele and its squeezes, the decipherment of this major inscription is significantly improved. In this essay, I present three case studies, in lines 4, 12 and 31 respectively. In line 4, the reading 'kings' is to be preferred; in line 12, the reading 'city' is confirmed; in line 31, the mention of the 'house of David' remains hypothetical but is the most probable reading. With the Tel Dan inscription, the Mesha stele might be the earliest historical witness of a ruler named David who, in the ninth century BCE, was remembered as the founder of a Judahite dynasty.
Grâce aux nouvelles techniques d'imagerie numérique appliquées à la stèle de Mésha et à ses estampages, le déchiffrement de cette inscription majeure est considérablement amélioré. Dans cet essai, je présente trois études de cas aux lignes 4, 12 et 31 respectivement. À la ligne 4, la lecture «rois» doit être retenue; à la ligne 12, la lecture «ville» est confirmée; à la ligne 31, la mention de la «maison de David» demeure hypothétique mais reste la lecture la plus probable. Avec l'inscription de Tel Dan, la stèle de Mésha pourrait ainsi constituer le plus ancien témoin historique d'un certain souverain nommé David qui, au IXe siècle avant Jésus-Christ, était perçu comme le fondateur d'une dynastie judaïte.
ISSN:2466-6815
Contains:Enthalten in: Semitica
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.2143/SE.61.0.3286681