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What is Dibon?
        DI'BON
        (wasting), the name of two towns. 1. Dibon in Moab. Num 21:30; Gen 15:2. It was built by Gad, Num 34, and hence called Dibon-gad; was assigned to Reuben, Josh 13:9 was also called Dimon. Isa 15:9 afterward returned to Moab, Isa 15:9; Jer 48:18, Josh 11:22; now called Dhiban, about 12 miles east of the Dead Sea and 3 miles north of the Amon. Its ruins are extensive, covering the tops of two adjacent hills. The famous Moabite Stone, bearing an inscription of Mesha, a king of Moab, about 900 b.c, was found here within the gateway by Rev. F. A. Klein (a German missionary at Jerusalem) in 1868. The stone is of black basalt, 3 feet 8 1/2 inches high, 2 feet 3 1/2 inches wide, and 1 foot 1.78 inches thick. It has 34 lines of Hebrew-Phoenician writing, and contains a most remarkable corroboration of the Scripture history in 2 Kgs 3. Translations have The Moabite Stone. been made by Dr. Ginsburg, M. Ganneau, and Prof, Schlottmann. The latter's translation is as follows: I Mesa, son of Chamos-nadab, the king of Moab [son of] Yabni. My father ruled over Moab [ . . years], and I ruled after my father. And I made this high place of sacrifice to Chamos in Korcha, a high place of deliverance, for he saved me from all [who fought against Moab]. Omri, king of Israel, allied himself with all his (Moab's) haters, and they oppressed Moab [many days]; then Chamos was irritated [against him and against] his land, and let it go over [into the hand of his haters], and they oppressed Moab very sore. In my days spoke Ch[amos], I will therefore look upon him and his house, and Israel shall perish in eternal ruin. And Omri took possession of the town of Medeba, and sat therein [and they oppressed Moab, he and] his son, forty years. [Then] Chamos looked upon Moab in my days. And I built Baal Meon, and made therein walls and mounds. And I went to take the town of Kirjathaim, and the men of Gad [lived] in the district [of Kirjathaim] from days of their grandfathers, and the king of Israel built Kirjathaim. And I fought against the town and took it, and I strangled all the people that were in the city [as a sacrifice] to Chamos, the god of Moab. (Here follows a lacuna: at the end of it the words 'before the face of Chamos in Kirjathaim.' Probably stood here, just as in lines 17, 18, a notice of the change of an Israelitish to a Moabite sanctuary.) And I destroyed the High Place of Jehovah, and dedicated it before the face of Chamos in Kirjathaim. And I allowed to dwell therein the men of .... and the men of ... . And Chamos said to me, 'Go up. Take [the town of] Nebo against Israel . . .' and I went up during the night, and fought against it from the dawn to midday, and I took it . . . and I saw it quite . . . (In the rest of this part-more than two lines-there are, besides isolated letters, only legible through the gaps the names of God separated from each other.) to Astar Chamos . . . Jehovah .... before the face of Chamos. (It may safely be presumed that mention was made here of the restoration of heathen in the room of the Israelitish worship.) And the king of Israel built Jahaz, and sat therein, while he fought against me, and Chamos drove him before my sight. And I took from Moab two hundred men, fully told. And I beleaguered Jahaz and took it, in addition to Dibon. I built Korcha, the wall toward the forest, and the wall . . . and I built her gates, and I built her towers, and I built the king's house; and I made store-places for the mountain water in the midst of the town. And there were no cisterns within the town, in Korcha. and I said to all the people, 'Make (you) every man a cistern in his house.' (Here follows a sentence with difficult expressions at the beginning and a gap in the middle. The following is conjectural :) And I hung up the prohibition for Korcha [against association with the] people of Israel. I built Aroer, and I made the streets in Arnon. I built Beth Bamoth, for [it was destroyed]. I built Bezer, for men of Dibon compelled it, fifty of them, for all Dibon was subject; and I filled [with inhabitants] Bikran, which I added to the land. And I built . . . the temple of Diblathaim, and the temple of Baal Meon, and brought thither Ch[amos]. (After a hiatus are the words :) . . the land . . . And Horonaim . . dwelt therein . . . (Probably there followed the name of an Edomite parent tribe or clan. Then again after a gap:) Chamos said to me, 'Come. Fight against Horonaim and [take it].' In the last gap, out of more than two lines, it is only possible, besides separated letters, to read the word of Chamos. Without doubt it was here related how the king, by the help of Cheniosh, took the town. Prof. Schlottmann divides the inscription into three parts: the first to the sixth section, inclusive, of the victories of Mesa over Israel; the second, sections seven and eight, of the buildings and erections of the king; and the third, of a battle in the south, toward Edom. (See The Recovery of Jerusalem, pp. 396-399.) 1. A town in the south of Judah, Neh 11:25; the same as Dimonah, Josh 16:22, and probably modern eh-Dheib.


Bibliography Information
Schaff, Philip, Dr. "Biblical Definition for 'dibon' in Schaffs Bible Dictionary".
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