| Mdina steles | |
|---|---|
_1.jpg) The surviving stele (61A) | |
| Created | 6th century BC |
| Discovered | 1816 Northern Region,Malta |
| Present location | Valletta,South Eastern Region,Malta |
TheMdina steles are twoPhoenician language inscriptions found near the city ofMdina (ancientMaleth),Malta, in 1816. The findspot is disputed; the oldest known description places it near theTal-Virtù Church. The surviving stele is currently in theNational Museum of Archaeology, Malta; the other stele has been considered lost for more than a century.[1]
They were widely publicized byWilhelm Gesenius asMelitensia Tertia andMelitensia Quarta ("Maltese 3rd" and "Maltese 4th"). They are also known asKAI 61A,B orCIS i 123A,B.
Stele 61B has been dated to the sixth century BCE on the basis of letter forms.[2]
The two inscriptions read:[3][4]
| (A, lines 1-6) | NṢB MLK / B‘L ’Š Š/M NḤM LB/‘L-ḤMN ’/DN K ŠM‘ / QL DBRY | (This is) astele (commemorating) a molk-Ba‘al (or molkomor?) that Naḥḥum presented toBaal-ḥammon, his Lord, because he has heard the sound of his word(s) (i.e., Ba‘al had answered Naḥḥum's prayers). |
| (B, lines 1-6) | NṢB MLK / ’MR ’Š Š/[M ’R]Š LB/‘L-[ḤMN] ’DN [K Š]M‘ / QL [DB]RY | (This is) a stele (commemorating) a «molkomor» that ’Aris presented to Baal-ḥammon, his Lord, because he has heard the sound of his word(s). |
A "molkomor" (as inB) was a "substitute" sacrificial offering toBa‘al of a lamb instead of achild. The word is a composite ofmolk orMoloch, traditionally thePunic god Ba‘al but more probably meaning "(human) sacrifice (of a child)",[5] and’MR (cf. Hebrew’immēr), "lamb".[6] Another possible reading is "MLK’SR", meaningMoloch-Osiris, who was also worshiped by the Phoenicians.[7]
It is not clear whethermolk-Ba‘al inA is a variant ofmolkomor,[8] or that 61A refers to a real child sacrifice, while 61B refers to a substitute offering.[9]
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