A second stone inscription
revealed within the last three months provides remarkable
evidence for the reliability of the biblical texts.
Only a decade ago, skeptics were complaining that there was no
archaeological evidence for the Judah Kings of the House of David
(1008-586 BC) and the Jerusalem Temple of King David's son
Jedidiah (better known as King Solomon). However, in 1993, a
tablet was found with an inscription by King Hazael of
Aram-Damascus in about 825 B.C., which indicated that his father,
Hadad II, was victorious in battle against the "foot soldiers,
charioteers and horsemen of the King of the House of David"
(against Jehosaphat, c. 860 B.C.).
A second stone tablet, the "Moabite Stone," revealed in 1995,
contains 36 lines of Phoenician script that recounts the
rebellion of King Mesha of Moab against King Jehoram of Israel
and King Jehosaphat of Judah (recorded in 2 Kings 3:5-27).1
The newly revealed sandstone tablet has a 15 line inscription in
ancient Hebrew that is similar to the writings found in 2 Kings
12:1-6, 11-17.2 In the inscription, King Joash tells priests to
take "holy money ... to buy quarry stones and timber and copper
and labor to carry out the duty with faith."
The last part of the inscription indicates that if the work is
completed well, "the Lord will protect his people with
blessing."
Geologic studies of the stone and inscription by Israel’s
Geological Institute, confirmed that it is authentic. Carbon-14
dating confirmed that the writing was completed in the 9th
century B.C. Studies at the institute found microscopic flecks of
gold that might have been burnt into the stone when the temple
containing both the tablet and gold objects was destroyed by the
Babylonians in 586 B.C. According to Amos Bean, director of the
institute, "They could be from gold-plated objects in the home of
a very rich man, or a temple. ... It’s hard to believe that
anyone would know how to do these things to make it look
real.”
The new find is significant in that it corroborates the existence
of the Temple of Solomon and part of the history of that temple
recorded in the book of 2 Kings.
References
1.But it came
about, when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king
of Israel. And King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time and
mustered all Israel. Then he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat
the king of Judah, saying, "The king of Moab has rebelled against
me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?" And he said, "I
will go up; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses
as your horses." And he said, "Which way shall we go up?" And he
answered, "The way of the wilderness of Edom."
So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of
Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days' journey, and there
was no water for the army or for the cattle that followed
them.
Then the king of Israel said, "Alas! For the LORD has called
these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab." But
Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not a prophet of the LORD here, that
we may inquire of the LORD by him?"
And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said,
"Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who used to pour water on the
hands of Elijah." And Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the LORD is
with him."
So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went
down to him. Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What do I
have to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the
prophets of your mother." And the king of Israel said to him,
"No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to give
them into the hand of Moab." And Elisha said, "As the LORD of
hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the
presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look at
you nor see you. But now bring me a minstrel."
And it came about, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the
LORD came upon him. And he said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Make this
valley full of trenches.' "For thus says the LORD, 'You shall not
see wind nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled
with water, so that you shall drink, both you and your cattle and
your beasts. 'And this is but a slight thing in the sight of the
LORD; He shall also give the Moabites into your hand. 'Then you
shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and fell
every good tree and stop all springs of water, and mar every good
piece of land with stones.'"
And it happened in the morning about the time of offering the
sacrifice, that behold, water came by the way of Edom, and the
country was filled with water. Now all the Moabites heard that
the kings had come up to fight against them. And all who were
able to put on armor and older were summoned, and stood on the
border. And they rose early in the morning, and the sun shone on
the water, and the Moabites saw the water opposite them as red as
blood. Then they said, "This is blood; the kings have surely
fought together, and they have slain one another. Now therefore,
Moab, to the spoil!" But when they came to the camp of Israel,
the Israelites arose and struck the Moabites, so that they fled
before them; and they went forward into the land, slaughtering
the Moabites. Thus they destroyed the cities; and each one threw
a stone on every piece of good land and filled it. So they
stopped all the springs of water and felled all the good trees,
until in Kir-hareseth only they left its stones; however, the
slingers went about it and struck it.
When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him,
he took with him 700 men who drew swords, to break through to the
king of Edom; but they could not. Then he took his oldest son who
was to reign in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering on
the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel, and they
departed from him and returned to their own land. (2 Kings
3:5-27)
2.In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash became king, and he
reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was
Zibiah of Beersheba. And Jehoash did right in the sight of the
LORD all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him.
Only the high places were not taken away; the people still
sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. Then Jehoash
said to the priests, "All the money of the sacred things which is
brought into the house of the LORD, in current money, both the
money of each man's assessment and all the money which any man's
heart prompts him to bring into the house of the LORD, let the
priests take it for themselves, each from his acquaintance; and
they shall repair the damages of the house wherever any damage
may be found.
But it came about that in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash
the priests had not repaired the damages of the house... And they
gave the money which was weighed out into the hands of those who
did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and
they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders, who worked
on the house of the LORD; and to the masons and the stonecutters,
and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the damages to the
house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to
repair it. But there were not made for the house of the LORD
silver cups, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or
vessels of silver from the money which was brought into the house
of the LORD; for they gave that to those who did the work, and
with it they repaired the house of the LORD. Moreover, they did
not require an accounting from the men into whose hand they gave
the money to pay to those who did the work, for they dealt
faithfully.
The money from the guilt offerings and the money from the sin
offerings, was not brought into the house of the LORD; it was for
the priests. Then Hazael king of Aram went up and fought against
Gath and captured it, and Hazael set his face to go up to
Jerusalem. (2 Kings 12:1-6, 11-17)
This article comes from GOD AND SCIENCE.ORG to whom we
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