Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Joe Baker <joebaker AT cygnus.uwa.edu.au>]

Now this is the Ian Hutchesson I know - welcome back.

Maybe we can compare Judah with Moab. Now the books of Samuel and Kings has
this state existing from David's time (2 Sam. 8:2) to the end of the kingdom
of Judah (2 Kings 24:2). But external extent sources only know of its
existence from 734, when its king Salamanu (and his Judahean counterpart -
also mentioned for the first time) paid tribute to the Assyrians.

Could I therefore say that the first evidence for a Moab "springs from the
time of the demise the Israelite state".

Some might say that this is not true for there exists two earlier
inscriptions by a Mesha king of Moab. But if one accepted that Moab did not
come into being until about the time of the demise of Israel, then why not
see Mesha as a king of Moab who, around 750, liberated his country from an
Israelite king whose father was called Omri. From Assyrian source this
Israelite king might have been Menahem and Salamanu could have been the
successor of Mesha.

But if you think this is nonsense, and instead want to date Mesha to about
850, then might I add that the only direct evidence for such a position is
to be found within the book of Kings. The same book that mentions a
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, as campaigning against Mesha. Now that would be
my position but then again it appears that my idea is "that the only
alternative idea to the true and faithful record of the histories is simple
making it up".

Regards
Joe Baker ===========\
Perth                |
Western Australia ===/