THE SCOTTISH REVIEW. APRIL, 1887. ART. I.-THE APOCRYPHAL CHARACTER OF THE MOABITE STONE. I. HE Stone of Moab was mysteriously brought to light in 1868, thirteen years after the inscribed sarcophagus of Ashmunazar had been disinterred in Sidon. How greatly biblical science has profited by the discovery of these stonerecords is universally admitted. The Society known under the name of 'The Palestine Exploration Fund'-whose epochmaking labours began twenty-two years ago-has with unabated energy sent forth explorers and travellers of whose ability and indomitable perseverance their native country has good reason to be proud. The various localities mentioned in the Sidonian and Moabite monuments have attracted especial attention, and thereby a powerful impulse has been given to most fruitful studies of biblical archeology and of kindred sciences-studies which are closely allied to the researches into Syrian and Egyptian antiquities. But no one has hitherto ventured to undertake a critical examination of the Stone of Moab, with a view of ascertaining whether its inscription is really 2800 years old, although, according to Professor Kautzsch, a small number of eminent scholars entertain the gravest doubts as to the genuineness of King Mesha's epigraph. It is possible that the present essay will induce reticent scholars to join in pronouncing their opinions boldly and dispassionately, notwithstanding the like lihood that they will arouse the hot anger of those whose honour might seem to be pledged to an assertion that the Moabite inscription is coeval with the history of the Bible. According to our opinion, resting on external and internal evidence, the inscription on the Moabite Stone is a fraudulent fabrication. In our exposure of this fraud we make no reference to persons who imposed upon accredited and honoured archæologists and explorers. We have no other object in view but to state the plain and simple truth, as it presents itself to us, and as it should be put before the public. After the Sidonian Coffin had been purchased by the Duke de Luynes for the sum of £400, the cupidity of all sorts and classes of men in Palestine, as also in regions East of the Jordan, became excited by the expectation that large profits might be realised through the fabrication of curiosities inscribed or uninscribed. In Damascus, even Mahomedans bestirred themselves to become acquainted with the Phoenician characters. In Jerusalem and other localities, plots were hatched to multiply spurious articles of manufacture for the purpose of deceiving the collectors of antiquities. The work done in this field of imposition has been exposed by Professors Socin and Kautzsch in a publication entitled Die Echtheit der moabitischen Alterthümer. In 1869 Shapira, the notorious forger, was already actively engaged, in conjunction with Europeans and Arabs, to bring into the market all sorts of spurious articles alleged to have been discovered in the land of Moab. Some of his accomplices were in the employ of M. Ganneau, and it seems that they tried in vain to impose upon this shrewd archeologist; yet even men of his experience were deceived by the skilfully executed fabrication of the Stone of Moab. It cannot be said that the inscription on that stone was concocted by Shapira. The plot was evidently laid by persons more skilled than he was in the arts and wiles of imposition. The first who gave notice of the existence of the Stone of Moab was the Rev. F. A. Klein, a native of Strasbourg, who at one time was employed by the Church Missionary Society of England. This missionary wrote a letter to the Pall Mall Gazette on the 19th April, 1870, which was republished in the Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund, and as this letter gave the first distinct account of the supposed monument of Mesha, King of Moab, we reproduce in the following extract the principal portion of these important statements which were dated from Jerusalem, 23rd March, 1870. 'It was on the 19th August 1868,' says Mr. Klein, that in the course of a journey which I undertook to Jebl Ajloon and the Belka, I arrived at Dibân (ancient Dibon) about one hour to the north of Wadi-Mojeb (Arnon). For the sake of my friend and protector Zattam, the son of the famous Fendi-elFaiz, Sheikh of the Beni Sachr who accompanied me, I was received in a most friendly way by a tribe of the BeniHamideh encamped near Dibân. My friend Zattam, who was always most anxious to make my tour as pleasant and interesting as possible, had informed me that there was among the ruins of Dibân scarcely ten minutes from our encampment, a most interesting stone with an ancient inscription on it which no one had ever been able to decipher (!!) which he would take me to see. As sunset was drawing near I was burning with impatience to see the inscription which the Sheikh of the BeniHamideh, also described to me as one of the wonders of this region which no Frank had yet seen, and which he now had offered to show me as a mark of honour to his friend Zattam, and to me who was travelling under his protection. I, of course, took this for what it was in general meant to be: a Bedouin compliment calculated to bring out a nice backshish. I was the last who had the privilege of seeing this monument in its perfect state of preservation, and it is for this reason I think the few observations I am able to offer on the subject may be welcome. When I came to the spot where this precious relic of antiquity was lying on the ground, I had time enough to examine the stone and its inscription at leisure and to copy a few words from several lines at random, chiefly with a view on my return to Jerusalem to ascertain the language of the inscription and to prevail on some friends of science to obtain either a complete copy of the inscription, or better the monument itself. The stone was lying among the ruins of Diban perfectly free and exposed to view with the inscription uppermost. 'According to my correct measurement on the spot the stone And according to my calculation had thirty four lines, for the two or three upper lines were very much obliterated. The stone itself was in a most perfect state of preservation, not one single piece being broken off, and it was only from great age and exposure to the rain and sun that certain parts, especially the upper and lower lines, had somewhat suffered. 'On my return to Jerusalem I showed my sketch and parts of the inscription to Dr. Petermann of Berlin who I knew took great interest in archæological researches, and he immediately took the necessary steps to acquire the Moabite monument for the Berlin Museum. A young clever Arab at Salt was entrusted with the business of transacting the matter with the Bedouins at Dibân, but the difficulties he met with and the greediness of the Arabs put an insuperable obstacle in his way. The services of another native were subsequently engaged, but also without success. The matter being thus necessarily entrusted to the hands of natives of course ceased to be a secret, and other parties also heard of it and exerted themselves with laudable zeal and energy to obtain, if not the stone itself, at least a copy of it, and one cannot too highly praise the zeal, energy, and tact of M. Ganneau and Captain Warren who through their exertions have preserved to the learned world parts, at least, of this most valuable monument of Hebrew antiquity, and who I trust will ultimately succeed in obtaining and deciphering the whole inscription. 'I have to add that among the letters I copied from the Moabite inscription I see several letters which are not found in the parts published by M. Ganneau and Captain Warren. Probably these letters are of rare occurence, and found on pieces not secured. I have not thought it necessary to give you my entire alphabet, but only those letters I missed in the inscription published by the gentlemen referred to.' |