Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Ian Hutchesson" <mc2499 AT mclink.it>]

>Maybe we can compare Judah with Moab.

Sure can, Joe, and you find out the problem of attempting to show what can
be known. I think a lot of our ideas about Moab have been retrojected from
later conflicts, but that is just an opinion.

Don't forget, Joe, that the lack of evidence for a "divided monarchy" comes
from a brief archaeological survey of evidence from Kuntillat Ajrud, Khirbet
el-Qom, Lachish and Gezer, that these locations should be considered in
relation to Israel not Judah. While there are architectural links between
these site, what are the links between Jerusalem and any other city of the
period?


Ian

>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".