Ataroth was an Iron Age Israelite city named in the Hebrew Bible and in the Mesha Stele, the Moabite king's own inscription. Through 2020 the opening quoted the Stele's boast that the king "massacred all the Israelites at Ataroth as satisfaction for the blood lust of Chemosh and Moab." Today the opening only identifies Ataroth as an Iron Age city, though massacre survives twice in the body. A reader arriving now does not learn from the opening that the Mesha Stele itself records the massacre of the Israelite population at Ataroth.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-01. “massacre” appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 2.
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The opening as it read in 2015
Ataroth (עטרות) means "crowns" in Hebrew .1The Mesha Stele from about 840 BC was erected commemorating Mesha 's victory over the "son" of Omri , but he fails to say which one. He states that he massacred all the Israelites at Ataroth as satisfaction for the blood lust of Chemosh and Moab . He adds that he captured Nebo (Ataroth) and killed everybody, 7,000 men, boys, women, girls, and maidens, because he had dedicated it to the goddess Ashtar-Chemosh . In the Bible , the name Ataroth refers to one of two or perhaps three towns: A town east of the Jordan in Gilead , mentioned in Numbers , 32:3 & 32:34 , in the territory of the Tribe of Gad . Ataroth lay within the tribal allotment of Reuben , but was built up by the Gadites during the period of Israelite conquest. This is very probably Khirbet Ataruz, north of the Wadi Heidan. The Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone) is likely referring to this town. A town west of the Jordan, mentioned in Joshua , 16:2 , which describes the southern border of the children of Joseph (the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh ). This southern border of Joseph would also be the southern border of Ephraim within Joseph, and also be the northern border of Benjamin . This Ataroth is almost surely the same as Ataroth-Addar, mentioned in Joshua, 18:13 , in a description of the border of Benjamin. A possible location is 'Atara , south of al-Bireh in the West Bank . Another is Khirbet ed-Darieh. A town west of the Jordan, possibly the same as above, mentioned in Joshua, 16:7 , which gives the borders of Ephraim within Joseph. From the Stone Age to Christianity .2
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The opening as it stood in 2010
Ataroth (עטרות) means "crowns" in Hebrew . In the Bible , the name Ataroth refers to one of two or perhaps three towns: A town east of the Jordan in Gilead , mentioned in Numbers 32:3 and 32:34, in the territory of the Tribe of Gad . Ataroth lay within the tribal allotment of Reuben , but was built up by the Gadites during the period of Israelite conquest (Numbers 32:34). This is very probably Khirbet Ataruz, [1] north of the Wadi Heidan. The Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone) is likely referring to this town. A town west of the Jordan, mentioned in Joshua 16:2, which describes the southern border of the children of Joseph (the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh ). This southern border of Joseph would also be the southern border of Ephraim within Joseph, and also be the northern border of Benjamin . This Ataroth is almost surely the same as Ataroth-Addar, mentioned in Joshua 18:13, in a description of the border of Benjamin. A possible location is 'Atara , south of al-Bireh in the West Bank . Another is Khirbet ed-Darieh. A town west of the Jordan, possibly the same as above, mentioned in Joshua 16:7, which gives the borders of Ephraim within Joseph.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 268372217.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Ataroth ( ‘Ǎṭārōṯ ) may mean "crowns" or "cattle pens" in Hebrew . The Mesha Stele from about 840 BC was erected commemorating Mesha 's victory over the "son" of Omri , but he fails to say which one. He states that he massacred all the Israelites at Ataroth as satisfaction for the blood lust of Chemosh and Moab . He adds that he captured Nebo (Ataroth) and killed everybody, 7,000 men, boys, women, girls, and maidens, because he had dedicated it to the goddess Ashtar-Chemosh . In the Bible , the name Ataroth refers to one of two or perhaps three towns: A town east of the Jordan in Gilead , mentioned in Numbers , 32:3 & 32:34 , in the territory of the Tribe of Gad . Ataroth lay within the tribal allotment of Reuben , but was built up by the Gadites during the period of Israelite conquest. This is very probably Khirbet Ataruz, north of the Wadi Heidan. The Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone) is likely referring to this town. A town west of the Jordan, mentioned in Joshua , 16:2 , which describes the southern border of the children of Joseph (the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh ). This southern border of Joseph would also be the southern border of Ephraim within Joseph, and also be the northern border of Benjamin . This Ataroth may be the same as Ataroth-Addar, mentioned in Joshua, 18:13 , in a description of the border of Benjamin. A possible location is 'Atara , south of al-Bireh in the West Bank . Another is Khirbet ed-Darieh. A town west of the Jordan, possibly the same as above, mentioned in Joshua, 16:7 , which gives the borders of Ephraim within Joseph. From the Stone Age to Christianity .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 961689809.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 15 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Three Israelite cities mentioned in the Hebrew Bible Not to be confused with Astaroth .Ataroth ( עטרות ‘Ǎṭārōṯ ) is the name of two or three Iron Age cities mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and the Mesha Stele .
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Today
“massacre” appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 2. Read the current article and compare.
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