In his highly interesting article, “Why the Moabite Stone Was Blown to Pieces” (BAR, May/June 1986), Professor Siegfried Horn recounts the ninth-century B.C. war between Moab and an alliance of Israel, Judah and Edom. When the alliance besieged the Moabite capital of Kir-Hareseth, the Moabite king Mesha, in desperation, sacrificed his eldest son to the god Chemosh. King Mesha offered the crown prince as a burnt offering on top of the city wall in full view of the enemy forces (2 Kings 3:26-27).
With this horrifying act, Mesha turned defeat into victory. The allied forces retreated and Moab retained its independence for the next two centuries.
What was the reason for this sudden volte-face of the allied forces? Professor Horn offers a number of speculations, but concludes with the admission that “no one has been able to give a satisfactory answer.”
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Author: Baruch Margalit
Keywords: King Mesha, Mesha, infanticide, human sacrifice, King Mesha's son, King Mesha's firstborn
Bible reference(s): 2 Kings 3:26-27
Source: “Why King Mesha of Moab Sacrificed His Oldest Son,” Biblical Archaelogoy Review, Nov./Dec. 1986, pp. 62-63, 76.
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