El-Kerak Inscription
Encyclopedia
The El-Kerak Inscription was discovered in 1958 in Jordan
, near the El-Kerak
wadi
. It is a basalt
inscription fragment measuring 12.5 centimetres (4.9 in) high by 14 centimetres (5.5 in) wide. The inscription has been dated to the late ninth century BC and contains 3 incomplete lines written in the Moabite language
. The form of letters is very similar to those found on the Mesha Stele
, but there is one special feature. Letter He has four horizontal strokes going to the left from the vertical stroke, while a typical He in tenth to fifth century BC northwest Semitic inscriptions contains only three strokes to the left. This letter is present in the inscription at least 3 times, and each time it appears with 4 horizontal strokes.
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, near the El-Kerak
Al Karak
Karak is a city in Jordan that is known for the famous crusader castle Kerak. The castle is one of the three largest castles in the region, the other two being in Syria...
wadi
Wadi
Wadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some cases, it may refer to a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream.-Variant names:...
. It is a basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
inscription fragment measuring 12.5 centimetres (4.9 in) high by 14 centimetres (5.5 in) wide. The inscription has been dated to the late ninth century BC and contains 3 incomplete lines written in the Moabite language
Moabite language
The Moabite language is an extinct Canaanite language, spoken in Moab in the early first millennium BC. Most of our knowledge about Moabite comes from the Mesha Stele, as well as the El-Kerak Stela. The main features distinguishing Moabite from fellow Canaanite languages such as Hebrew are: a...
. The form of letters is very similar to those found on the Mesha Stele
Mesha Stele
The Mesha Stele is a black basalt stone bearing an inscription by the 9th century BC ruler Mesha of Moab in Jordan....
, but there is one special feature. Letter He has four horizontal strokes going to the left from the vertical stroke, while a typical He in tenth to fifth century BC northwest Semitic inscriptions contains only three strokes to the left. This letter is present in the inscription at least 3 times, and each time it appears with 4 horizontal strokes.
Transliteration and Translation
Provided below is transliteration and transcription of the inscription in Hebrew letters as well as its English translation.| Line | Inscription Transliteration | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | [I am Mesha, son of K]emosh-yat, the Dib[onite]... | |
| 2 | [... in the te]mple of Kemosh as a sacrifice, because I lo[ve...] | |
| 3 | ... and behold, I have made ... |