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Dibon (Tell Dhiban): Mesha's Capital

The Moabite royal city that produced the Mesha Stele, dug from 1950 to today

Israel & Judah · city / site, fortification / gate, temple / altar · Accepted by scholars · found 1950

Found 1950 — American Schools of Oriental Research — Fred V. Winnett and William L. Reed (1950–1953), A. Douglas Tushingham (1952–1953), William H. Morton (1955, 1956, 1965); Dhiban Excavation and Development Project (Benjamin Porter, Bruce Routledge, Danielle Steen Fatkin) from 2004

Where Tell Dhiban, Madaba governorate, 4 km north of the Arnon (Wadi Mujib) (Jordan)

Dates from c. 850–600 BCE (Moabite city) · Iron Age II (Moabite); occupied Early Bronze – Ottoman · Mesha's revolt against Israel; oracles against Moab

Now at In situ; finds in the Jordan Archaeological Museum, Amman (the Mesha Stele itself is in the Louvre)

How Dibon (Tell Dhiban): Mesha's Capital was found

Eighty years after the Mesha Stele was found among these ruins, ASOR opened trenches on the south-east and north of the mound. They uncovered a Moabite city wall and tower, a large Iron II podium building (perhaps Mesha's palace or temple), a Nabataean temple, a Roman bath and two Byzantine churches. The Berkeley–Liverpool project since 2004 has re-dated the Iron Age town, documented the Mamluk village and studied how the town lived through drought and empire.

What it is

A 15-hectare double mound on the King's Highway. Its Iron II remains include a stone city wall with a tower, a monumental building on a raised platform, and pottery and seal impressions of the Moabite kingdom. Above them lie Nabataean, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic towns.

Why it matters for the Bible

Dibon is the city Mesha says he built and where his stele stood, the town Reuben and Gad claimed after Sihon's defeat, and a target of Isaiah's and Jeremiah's oracles. The excavation puts a real city behind the most important Moabite inscription and behind 2 Kings 3, showing a fortified capital with public buildings exactly in the 9th century when Mesha 'rebelled against the king of Israel'.

The Hebrew word: mo-AHV

מוֹאָב

מוֹאָב is pronounced mo-AHV and means Moab — the kingdom east of the Dead Sea (Strong's H4124).

People this discovery connects to

Places

Events

Mesha's rebellion against Israel · Gad rebuilds Dibon · Isaiah's and Jeremiah's oracles against Moab

Dibon (Tell Dhiban): Mesha's Capital in Scripture

Numbers 21:30 First mention of Dibon in Scripture.

Numbers 32:34 The Gadites build Dibon — the town's first appearance in Israel's story.

2 Kings 3:4-5 Mesha, king of Moab, rebels after Ahab's death; Dibon is the capital where he recorded that revolt on his stele.

Questions people ask

What is Dibon (Tell Dhiban): Mesha's Capital?
A 15-hectare double mound on the King's Highway. Its Iron II remains include a stone city wall with a tower, a monumental building on a raised platform, and pottery and seal impressions of the Moabite kingdom. Above them lie Nabataean, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic towns.

When was Dibon (Tell Dhiban): Mesha's Capital discovered?
It was found in 1950 by American Schools of Oriental Research — Fred V. Winnett and William L. Reed (1950–1953), A. Douglas Tushingham (1952–1953), William H. Morton (1955, 1956, 1965); Dhiban Excavation and Development Project (Benjamin Porter, Bruce Routledge, Danielle Steen Fatkin) from 2004, at Tell Dhiban, Madaba governorate, 4 km north of the Arnon (Wadi Mujib).

Where is Dibon (Tell Dhiban): Mesha's Capital today?
In situ; finds in the Jordan Archaeological Museum, Amman (the Mesha Stele itself is in the Louvre).

Which Bible verses does Dibon (Tell Dhiban): Mesha's Capital relate to?
Numbers 21:30, Numbers 32:34, 2 Kings 3:4-5.

Related discoveries

Sources

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