How much of the Bible can be address as diachronic documents and how much is just fan fiction ?
Take , for example , King Balak . Previously , there ’s been no citation of this person outside the Book of Numbers , the 4th record in the Hebrew Bible , so was he actually a actual monarch or just a character in a fabulous story ? A reevaluation of an ancient lettering stone might retain the answer .
archaeologist have latterly noted an etched pad go out from the 9th century BCE , sleep together as theMesha Stele , might contain the name of Balak . The gem , which has been heavily cut off and cracked over the centuries , is written in the ancient terminology of Moabite . Dating back to 840 BCE , the pitch-black basalt stone was excavate around the ruins of the biblical town of Dibon in present - day Jordan in the 1800s . It ’s now held in the Louvre art museum in Paris , although Jordan hasdemanded its return .
Its 34 surviving lines tell the news report of how King Mesha of Moab triumph over the Kingdom of Israel . In fact , it is also one of four known contemporary lettering containing the name of Israel . report inTel Aviv : The Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University , archaeologists are now timid about whether conventional interpretation may have mistranslate the name of a monarch in Line 31 . Previously it was assumed to read “ House of David , ” but the researchers now cautiously argue it could actually read “ Balak . ”
The disarray is largely due to the fall apart experimental condition of the Mesha Stele . So , the researchers used fresh high - resolution photographs of the stone that better spotlight the original lettering . The new images appear to show that the name on Line 31 has three consonant , the first of which is the Hebrew letter " beth , " which sounds like " B. " The squad ca n’t be too sure this correspondent to Balek , however , this Billie Jean Moffitt King was mentioned as being a rival of Mesha .
If their hypothesis is on the money , this would be the first reference to Balak outside of the Bible , suggest he was a genuine historical figure .
“ The new photographs of the Mesha Stele and the squeeze suggest that the recital , ' House of David ' – accept by many learner for more than two decade – is no longer an choice , " the authors reason .
" With due carefulness , we suggest the name of the Moabite king Balak , who , harmonize to the Balaam story of Numbers 22 - 24 , essay to institute a godly swearing on the people of Israel . ”
“ Thus , Balak may be a historical personality like Balaam , who , before the find of the Deir Alla dedication , was considered to be an ' invented ' figure . "
The story ofBalaam and Balakis told in the Book of Numbers , in the Old Testament . Balaam , a prophet , is invited by Balak to curse the Israelites , but resist to do so as God has not done so . However , the history also imply a verbalize donkey , so make of that what you will .
