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Chemosh

A reference page linking a name, group, or concept to the materials that discuss it.

Prominent Moabite deity whose anger and favor explain defeat and recovery in Mesha’s royal inscription.

Mesha Stele, basalt from Dhiban, ninth century BCE, Louvre AO 5066. The displayed monument is reassembled with restored missing areas
Mesha Stele, basalt from Dhiban, ninth century BCE, Louvre AO 5066. The displayed monument is reassembled with restored missing areasTangopaso / Wikimedia Commons / public domain · Public domainImage source

Text

In Mesha’s inscription Chemosh commands an attack and receives captured YahwehYahwehThe divine proper name written YHWH in the Hebrew Bible.Glossary · Click to read the explanation-related cult equipment. This attests the king’s religious discourse, not divine action independently. The illustration is the inscription, not a statue of Chemosh.[1][2]

References and notes

  1. Louvre catalog: basalt, Dhiban, ninth century BCE, and a fragmented, reassembled and completed object. Louvre AO 5066 / KAI 181 Return to the text ↑
  2. Inscription and K. C. Hanson’s translation hosted by Bethel University; analysis of the royal testimony, without reproducing the translation. Mesha inscription, lines 1–9, 14–18, 21–26 Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.

  1. Edition 2 · 12 October 2026 · editor:aladmin

    Substantive record update

    Read this revision in its original language (Arabic)

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Cite this record

IL Archive, «Chemosh», Edition 2, https://ilarchive.com/en/entities/chemosh