Mesha Stele
- Language
- Moabite
- Composed
- c. 840 BC
- Oldest surviving copy
- Louvre AO 5066
- Status
- Not scripture
"Omri was king of Israel, and he oppressed Moab many days… and his son succeeded him."
Ancient Mysteries & Interpretations
Omri and the House of Omri
Kings gives Omri twelve verses. The Moabite Mesha Stele says Omri "oppressed Moab many days"; Assyrian kings called Israel "the house of Omri" for over a century. Samaria, which Omri founded, has a royal acropolis with fine masonry and ivories. Omri is the first king of Israel attested in near-contemporary outside sources.
Omri: documented · Samaria: documented · Details of his rise: known only from Kings
1 What Scripture says
"And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver" (1 Kings 16:24).
2 What evidence we might expect
- Foreign recognition of a powerful northern dynasty; a new royal capital.
3 What ancient sources survive
Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III
- Language
- Akkadian
- Composed
- c. 825 BC
- Oldest surviving copy
- British Museum
- Status
- Not scripture
"Jehu son of Omri."
4 What discoveries exist
Samaria's royal enclosure, casemate walls, ashlar masonry and ivories; the Samaria Ostraca (8th c. BC).
5 How interpretations compare
Scholarly reconstruction
A major dynasty
Omri founded the first strong northern state, recognized internationally.
Scholarly reconstruction
Kings' theological focus
Kings judges Omri by religion, not power, and refers to other records for his deeds.
6 The strongest supported reconstruction
Omri established a powerful dynasty and capital in the early 9th century BC.
7 What remains possible or unknown
- The exact phasing of Samaria's palace.
What the evidence shows
- The Mesha Stele names Omri.
- Assyria called Israel "the house of Omri."