Archæology and the Bible

by George A. Barton

Mesha says in substance that Omri conquered Medeba and occupied it during his reign, half the reign of his son, a period of forty years, but Chemosh restored it to Moab in his (Mesha’s) day. It is said in 2 Kings 3:5, on the other hand, that “when Ahab was dead, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.” According to 1 Kings 16:23-29, Omri reigned twelve years and Ahab twenty-two years. All the reign of Omri, and half of that of Ahab would, accordingly, be but twenty-three years. It is possible, however, as has been suggested by several scholars, that Mesha uses the word son to denote descendant, and that he refers to the war with Israel in the reign of Jehoram, son of Ahab, described in 2 Kings 3:6-27. Another suggestion, which seems more probable, is that the recapture of Medeba, mentioned near the beginning of Mesha’s inscription, occurred about the middle of the reign of Ahab, while the capture of Ataroth may have belonged to the period of Jehoram, the whole time from Omri to Jehoram being forty years. Some scholars have supposed that the Biblical chronology is in error and that Omri and Ahab together ruled some fifty years. This supposition can hardly be correct, since the general accuracy of the chronology of this part of Kings is confirmed by the Assyrian inscriptions.

Mesha’s inscription mentions a number of places which the Bible also names, the Arnon (Num. 21:13, etc.; Deut. 2:24; 3:16, etc.), Aroer (Josh. 13:16), Ataroth (Num. 32:34), Baal-meon or Beth-baal-meon (Josh. 13:17; Num. 32:38), Beth-bamoth[511] (Josh. 13:17), Beth-diblathaim (Jer. 48:22), Bezer (Josh. 20:8), Dibon (Num. 32:34; Josh. 13:17; Isa. 15:2), Horonaim (Isa. 15:5), Jahaz (Josh. 13:18; Isa. 15:4), Kerioth (Jer. 48:24), Kirathaim (Josh. 13:19; Jer. 48:23), Medeba (Josh. 13:16; Isa. 15:2), and Nebo (Num. 32:38; Deut. 34:1; Isa. 15:2).

8. Adadnirari IV.

Adadnirari IV of Assyria (810-782 B. C.) has left an inscription which mentions Syria and Palestine. It reads as follows:[512]

Palace of Adadnirari, the great king, the mighty king, the king of the world, the king of Assyria, who conquered from the Euphrates, the Hittite country, the Amorite land in its entirety; Tyre, Sidon, the land of Omri, Edom, Palastu, to the coast of the great sea, where the sun sets, cast themselves at my feet; I imposed tribute and imposts upon them. To the land of Damascus I marched. Mari, King of Damascus, in Damascus his royal city I besieged. The fear of the luster of Ashur my lord overwhelmed him and he seized my feet and became subject. 2,300 talents of silver, 20 talents of gold, 3,000 talents of copper, 5,000 talents of iron, variegated garments, linen (?), an ivory bed, an ivory couch (?) with inlaid border, his goods without measure I received in the palace in his royal city Damascus.

“The land of Omri” was the kingdom of Israel. Omri had made such an impression on the East that the Assyrians still so called it. “Palastu” is Philistia. Edom is here mentioned for the first time as paying tribute to an Assyrian king, but Judah is not mentioned; she was still free. Adadnirari was a contemporary of Jehoahaz and Jehoash of Israel, and of Joash and Amaziah of Judah.

9. Tiglathpileser IV.

Tiglathpileser IV, one of the greatest of Assyria’s kings, made several campaigns into the west and had a profound influence upon the fortunes of the Hebrew people. Unfortunately, his inscriptions have been greatly mutilated. Esarhaddon, a later king, determined to remodel Tiglathpileser’s palace for his own use. Apparently he intended to erase Tiglathpileser’s inscriptions from the wall-tablets which adorned the palace, in order to inscribe these tablets with his own. Esarhaddon died before the work had progressed very far, so that the inscriptions were not entirely ruined. The beginnings and ends of many lines are, however, entirely destroyed, and at some points deplorable gaps exist in the body of an inscription. Much that is of interest to the Biblical student can still be made out, as the following translation will show:[513]

1. ..............................

2. [In] the progress of my expedition the tribute of ki[ngs] ..........