Mesha

King of Moab, 2 Kings 3: 4. The name hath been thought to signify burden.

Mesha, 1

Me´sha, a place mentioned in describing that part of Arabia inhabited by the descendants of Joktan (Gen 10:30) [See NATIONS, DISPERSION OF].

Mesha, 2

Mesha (deliverance), a king of Moab, who possessed an immense number of flocks and herds, and appears to have derived his chief wealth from them. In the time of Ahab, he being then under tribute, ’rendered unto the king of Israel 100,000 lambs, and 100,000 rams, with the wool’ (2Ki 3:4). These numbers may seem exaggerated, if understood as the amount of yearly tribute. It is, therefore, more probable that the greedy and implacable Ahab had at some one time levied this enormous impost upon the Moabites; and it is likely that it was in the apprehension of a recurrence of such ruinous exactions, that they seized the opportunity for revolt, which the death of Ahab seemed to offer (2Ki 1:1; 2Ki 3:5). The short reign of Ahaziah afforded no opportunity for reducing them to obedience; but after his death his brother and successor, Jehoram, made preparations for war; and induced Jehoshaphat to join him in this expedition. The result, with the part taken by Elisha the prophet, has been related under other heads [ELISHA; JEHORAM; JEHOSHAPHAT]. King Mesha was at length driven to shut himself up, with the remnant of his force, in Areopolis, his capital. He was there besieged so closely, that, having been foiled in an attempt to break through the camp of the Edomites (who were present as vassals of Judah), he was reduced to extremities, and, in the madness of his despair, sought to propitiate his angry gods by offering up his own son, the heir of his crown, as a sacrifice, upon the wall of the city. On beholding this fearful sight, the besiegers withdrew in horror, lest some portion of the monstrous crime might attach to their own souls. By this withdrawal they, however, afforded the king the relief he desired, and this was, no doubt, attributed by him to the efficacy of his offering, and to the satisfaction of his gods therewith. The invaders, however, ravaged the country as they withdrew, and returned with much spoil to their own land [MOABITES].

1. A place on the eastern frontier of the territory of Joktan, Gen 10:30, supposed to have been in the region of Bassora, at the northwest end of the Persian Gulf.\par 2. A king of Moab, who paid an enormous tribute to Ahab king of Israel, but revolted at his death, 2Ki 1:1 ; 3:4-27. Joram the son of Ahab, with the aid of Judah and Edom, made war upon him, and besieged him in his capital. Unable to force his way through the besieging host, King Mesha sought the aid of his gods by sacrificing his own son on the city wall; and the besiegers, horrorstruck at this atrocious act, withdrew in terror, lest some curse should fall on them.\par

Me’sha. (freedom).

1. The name of one of the geographical limits of the Joktanites, when they first settled in Arabia. Gen 10:30.

2. The king of Moab, who was tributary to Ahab, 2Ki 3:4, but when Ahab fell at Ramoth-gilead, Mesha refused to pay tribute to his successor, Jehoram. When Jehoram succeeded to the throne of Israel, one of his first acts was to secure the assistance of Jehoshaphat, his father’s ally, in reducing the Moabites to their former condition of tributaries.

The Moabites were defeated, and the king took refuge in his last stronghold, and defended himself with the energy of despair. With 700 fighting men, he made a vigorous attempt to cut his way through the beleaguering army, and when beaten back, he withdrew to the wall of his city, and there, in sight of the allied host, offered his first-born son, his successor in the kingdom, as a Burnt Offering to Chemosh, the ruthless fire-god of Moab.

His bloody sacrifice had so far the desired effect that the besiegers retired from him to their own land. (At Dibon, in Moab, has lately been discovered the famous Moabite Stone, which contains inscriptions concerning King Mesha and his wars, and which confirms the Bible account. -- Editor).

3. The eldest son of Caleb, the son of Hezron, by his wife Azubah, as Kimchi conjectures. 1Ch 2:42.

4. A Benjamite, son of Shabaraim, by his wife Hodesh, who bore him in the land of Moab. 1Ch 8:9.

1. King of Moab. (See DIBON on his victorious campaign against Israel, and confirmation of Scripture.) Revolted at Ahab’s death (2Ki 1:1; 2Ki 3:4-5). Being "sheepmasters" the Moabites had rendered tribute to Israel ever since David’s days (2Sa 8:2) in flocks, 100,000 lambs, and 100,000 rams with the wool. Isaiah (Isa 16:1) counsels Moab to resume payment, "send the lamb to the ruler ... from Sela unto ... Zion." (See JEHORAM, JEHOSHAPHAT, ELISHA, ENGEDI, CHEMOSH, on the confederacy against Mesha and the superstitions indignation raised against Israel because of their reducing him to such desperation that he sacrificed his own son (Mic 6:7), so that the allies departed to their own land.)

2. Firstborn of Jerahmeel’s brother Caleb; father, i.e. founder, of Ziph (1Ch 2:42).

3. A descendant of Benjamin, born in Moab, son of Shaharaim and Hodesh (1Ch 8:8-9). 1Ch 8:4. Joktan’s descendants "dwelt from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the East." The western port of Arabia; Muss (Bothart), Mesene ("a fluviatile island") at the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates, near Bassora (Gesenius) (Gen 10:30); Beishe in the N. of Yemen (Knobel).

Mesha (mç’shah), deliverance. 1. A king of Moab who refused to pay tribute to Jehoram, king of Israel. Jehoram determined to punish him; but Mesha made the horrible sacrifice of his eldest son to some idol god, openly upon the wall, in sight of the Israelites, who fearing that they might incur the anger of God by having given occasion to a human sacrifice, retreated to their own country. 2Ki 3:4-27. A most wonderful corroboration of the Scripture history is found In the famous Moabite stone. See Moab. 2. A son of Caleb, and brother of Mareshah. 1Ch 2:42. S. A Benjamite, son of Shaharaim. 1Ch 8:9.

[Me’sha]

1. One of the limits of the Joktanites, Gen 10:30; probably in the S.E. Perhaps Musa on the Red Sea.

2. King of Moab, described as a sheep-master: a pastoral prince rich in flocks and herds. He was tributary to Ahab, but rebelled and suffered an entire defeat from Jehoram, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom. With 700 men he endeavoured to break through the allied forces but failed. In desperation he offered his eldest son as a sacrifice on the wall. 2Ki 3:4-27.

3. Eldest son of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel. 1Ch 2:42.

4. Son of Shaharaim, a Benjamite. 1Ch 8:9.

By: Emil G. Hirsch, Caspar Levias

King of Moab, tributary to Ahab, King of Israel. He was a sheepmaster, and paid the King of Israel an annual tax consisting of the wool of 100,000 lambs and of 100,000 rams (II Kings iii. 4). He rebelled against Israel and refused to pay tribute; whereupon Jehoram, King of Israel, uniting his forces with those of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, and of the King of Edom, marched round the southern end of the Dead Sea and invaded the Moabitish territory. That route was chosen, as is mentioned in the Moabite Stone, because the cities north of the Arnon were fortified by Mesha.

The invading army suffering from want of water, the prophet Elisha, who was present, was consulted upon the suggestion of the King of Judah. He bade them dig trenches in the sandy soil, which were speedily filled with water. The Moabite army, seeing the rays of the sun reflected in the water, imagined that the enemies had quarreled and massacred one another; they made a reckless rush to spoil the camp, only to be repelled, routed, and put to flight with great loss, the few who escaped entering Kir-haraseth. The combined armies advanced into the land unopposed, "marred" the fields with stones, stopped up the cisterns and fountains, felled the forests, and beleaguered the fortress. With 700 warriors Mesha attempted to break through the enemy's lines. Utterly failing in this, and reduced to desperation, he went to the top of the wall, and, in full view of the invaders, offered his eldest son, who should have reigned in his stead, as a burnt offering to propitiate the wrath of his god Chemosh. In consequence of this "there came great wrath upon Israel"; and the Israelites, without pursuing their successes further, at once evacuated the country, leaving Mesha in undisturbed possession of it (ib. iii. 6-27). See Moabite Stone.

MESHA.—1. Son of Shaharaim, a Benjamite (1Ch 8:2). 2. Firstborn of Caleb (1Ch 2:42).

MESHA.—A king of Moab in the 9th cent. b.c. According to an inscription (on the ‘Moabite Stone’ discovered at Dibon in 1868) describing his deeds, he expelled the Israelitish inhabitants from northern Moab, or from a portion of the debatable land between the two monarchies east of the northern third of the Dead Sea. Under Omri, the builder of Samaria, the border of Israel had been extended southwards to near its ancient limits (Num 21:24 ff.); and Mesha reclaimed it by vindictive warfare, from Kiriathaim as far as Nebo. 2Ki 3:1-27 also deals with the relation between northern Israel and Mesha, and it is difficult to reconcile the two accounts in every detail. The matter can best be dealt with here by giving the most probable order of the events: (1) the conquest by Omri [Inscription, lines 4, 5] about b.c. 880; (2) the expulsion of the Hebrews by Mesha in the time of Ahab [Inscr. 1. 8 ff.] about b.c. 855, Mesha’s ‘forty years’ being, as also often in Hebrew narrative, a round number; (3) the refusal of Mesha to again submit, which is all that the Hebrew of 2Ki 1:1; 2Ki 3:5 (EV [Note: English Version.] ‘rebelled’) necessarily implies; (4) the unsuccessful expedition by Joram and his allies to reduce Mesha to submission, recorded in 2Ki 3:6-27.

J. F. M‘Curdy.

MESHA is mentioned as marking one of the boundaries of the territory ascribed to the descendants of Joktan in Gen 10:25. Its position has not yet been satisfactorily identified. The proposed identification with the late territory of Mesene at the head of the Persian Gulf is improbable. A better case can be made out for identifying it with Mash or Mashu, a general term in the Assyrian inscriptions for the Syro-Arabian desert; though the passage suggests that a single place, or tribe, rather than so vast a region, is referred to. If the vowel points be emended the word may be read as Massa, the name of a son of Ishmael in Gen 25:14 and 1Ch 1:30. Traces of this latter tribe have been sought in place names in central Arabia, but no identification yet suggested can be regarded as certain.

L. W. King.

mē´sha:

(1) (מישׁע, mēshā‛; Codex Vaticanus, Μαρισά, Marisá; Codex Alexandrinus, Μαρισάς, Marisás): Caleb’s firstborn son, the father of Ziph, probably the ancestor of the Ziphites (1Ch 2:42).

(2) (מישׁא, mēshā’; Codex Vaticanus, Μισά, Misá; Codex Alexandrinus, Μωσά, Mōsá): A Benjamite, son of Shaharaim by his wife Hodesh, born in the land of Moab (1Ch 8:9).

(3) (מישׁע, mēsha‛;Μωσά, Mōsá): A king of Moab. All the Biblical information regarding this monarch is contained in 2 Ki 3. Here we gather that Mesha was contemporary with Ahab, Ahaziah and Jehoram. He was tributary to Israel, his annual contribution consisting of 100,000 lambs and 100,000 rams. after the death of Ahab he asserted his independence. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and the king of Edom joined forces with Jehoram in an attempt to quell the rebellion at the instance of Elisha, who accompanied the host, water was miraculously provided when the army of the allies was ready to perish of thirst. Mesha came out against them and fell upon the camp. His attack was repulsed with heavy slaughter, and the defeated king was chased by the victors until he took refuge in the great fortress of Kir-hareseth. A vigorous siege was begun. Seeing that his case was desperate, Mesha attempted, with 700 men, to break through the lines. Failing in this, he offered his firstborn as a burnt offering upon the wall. Then “there came great wrath upon Israel” (by which, probably, panic is meant), and the besiegers retired, leaving their conquest incomplete.

In his inscription - see MOABITE STONE - Mesha gives an account of his rebellion, naming the places captured and fortified by him. It is not surprising that he says nothing of his defeat by Jehoram and his allies. There is, however, one serious discrepancy. The time Moab was under the supremacy of Israel, during the reign of Omri and half the reign of Ahab, he puts at 40 years. According to Biblical chronology, Omri and Ahab together reigned only 34 years. If, with Mesha, we deduct half the reign of Ahab, the period is reduced to 23 years. It is impossible to add to the length of either reign. So great a difference cannot be explained by the use of round numbers. Why Mesha should wish to increase the time of his people’s subjection is not clear, unless, indeed, he thought in this way to magnify the glory of their deliverer.

In Mesha the sentiment of patriotism was wedded to some measure of military capacity. Judging by his inscription, he was also a deeply religious man according to his lights. Substitute “Yahweh” for “Chemosh,” and his phraseology might be that of a pious Hebrew king. The sacrifice of his son is at once the mark of the heathen and an index of the strength of his devotion.

(4) (משׁא, mēshā’; Μασσῆ, Massḗ): This appears to mark the western boundary of the land occupied by the descendants of Joktan (Gen 10:30). No certain identification is possible, but several more or less probable have been suggested: e.g. (a) The Greek Mesene, on the Persian Gulf, not far from the mouth of the Tigris and the Euphrates; (b) the Syro-Arabian desert, called Mashu in the Assyrian inscriptions; the name here, however, could hardly cover such a vast tract as this; more probably it denoted a place; (c) Dillmann would alter the vowels and identify it with Massā’, a branch of the Ishmaelite stock (Gen 25:14; 1Ch 1:30). This, however, furnishes no clue to the locality, the territory of that tribe being also unidentified.