Bible Word Study
מֵישַׁע
Mêyshaʻ · Mesha, a Moabite
מֵישַׁע
Mesha, a Moabite
Definition
Mesha is the name of a Moabite king who reigned in the 9th century BC. He is most famously known for rebelling against the Kingdom of Israel after the death of King Ahab, as recorded in 2 Kings 3:4-5. Mesha is also the author of the Mesha Stele (or Moabite Stone), an extrabiblical archaeological artifact that corroborates the biblical account of his reign and his dedication to the god Chemosh. The name itself means 'safety' or 'deliverance,' which may reflect a parental hope or a royal ideology of security under his rule.
Biblical Usage
The name Mesha (מֵישַׁע) appears only once in the Old Testament, in 2 Kings 3:4. In this context, Mesha is identified as the king of Moab who was a sheep-breeder and paid a large tribute of wool to the king of Israel. His rebellion against Israel after Ahab's death triggers the military campaign described in 2 Kings 3, involving the allied forces of Israel, Judah, and Edom.
Etymology
Mesha (מֵישַׁע) is a variation of the Hebrew name Mesha (מֵישָׁע, H4337), both derived from the root יָשַׁע (yasha'), meaning 'to save,' 'to deliver,' or 'to give safety.' The final letter ayin (ע) in מֵישַׁע is a phonetic variation common in proper nouns. The name essentially means 'safety' or 'deliverance,' sharing a conceptual root with names like Joshua and Jesus.
Semantic Range
Mesha's story in 2 Kings 3 highlights themes of political rebellion, divine judgment, and the sovereignty of the God of Israel over neighboring nations and their gods. The conflict illustrates how God can use pagan kings to execute judgment (as seen in Mesha's rebellion following Ahab's death) and also demonstrate His power through miracles, like the provision of water in 2 Kings 3:16-20. The extrabiblical Mesha Stele, which mentions the Israelite god 'Yahweh,' provides rare archaeological validation of the biblical narrative, affirming the historical reliability of Scripture in its depiction of international relations. As a Moabite king, Mesha ruled a kingdom east of the Dead Sea, often in a tributary or adversarial relationship with Israel. The Moabites worshipped Chemosh as their chief deity, and the Mesha Stele records Mesha's dedication of captured Israelites as sacrifices to Chemosh, reflecting the brutal religious and warfare practices of the era. His role as a 'sheep-breeder' (2 Kings 3:4) indicates that Moab's economy was heavily pastoral, and such tribute in wool was a common form of wealth extraction by suzerain powers. מֵישָׁע (Mesha', H4337) — An alternate spelling of the same name, identical in meaning and derivation.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]