Kyle Greenwood and David Schreiner: Chemosh and the Mesha Stele

Kyle R. Greenwood and David B. Schreiner, Ahab’s House of Horrors: A Historiographic Study of the Military Campaigns of the House of Omri (Lexham Press, 2023), 126.

The [Moabite Stone] inscription praises the important role of Chemosh, who sanctioned the oppression and the rebellion of the Moabites. In addition, Chemosh is the direct recipient of military honor, which is clarified not only by his stated ownership of Ataroth (line 12) but also his receipt of the plunder of Nebo. The latter description of honor is described in terms of *ḥrm (חרם), which reveals important ideological connections between the inscription and 1 Kings 20. In both texts, Ahab and Mesha seek to reclaim land that was traditionally governed by their respective countries. Also, both Ahab and Mesha experience divine sanction for their pursuit of ḥrm, although it is more implicit in the Moabite text. However, the major difference between these texts is Ahab’s violation of the ḥrm, while Mesha appears to obediently honor it.

2 thoughts on “Kyle Greenwood and David Schreiner: Chemosh and the Mesha Stele

  1. jiuberto monteiro's avatar
    jiuberto monteiro 7 Dec 2025 — 4:51 pm

    About your last comment, I’m not sure I understood you correctly, but the impression I got is that you take Job to mean that God deliberately wanted Job to sin as the ultimate goal when you say, “God does tempt people to do evil.” Please correct me if I’m mistaken, but if that is what you mean, it seems excessive to me and goes beyond what the text actually says. God’s objective was not to make Job sin, but to see whether he would remain faithful.

    Like

    1. The Amateur Exegete's avatar

      God in Job does not seek to see if Job would remain faithful; Job *is* faithful. He is seeking to see if he can interrupt that. Twice he directs the attention of his agent, the satan, toward Job in order to trip him up. It seems the deity is interested to see how far he can push Job before he breaks.

      Like

Leave a comment

search previous next tag category expand menu location phone mail time cart zoom edit close