what was the moabite stone?

Answer 1

In case you want the exact source for the previous answer, it is found at the following link, along with a picture ..
http://www.allaboutarchaeology.org/moabite-stone-faq.htm

Actually, it ought more properly to be called the "Mesha stele" -- Mesha is the name of the king who wrote it, "stele" is the proper term for monuments of this sort, such as those used in the Ancient Near East to celebrate/brag about the exploits of a king., both in battle and in building cities (very typical subjects for Near Eastern kings to brag about in their inscriptions).

The WRITING and LANGUAGE of this royal inscription are also interesting, showing a strong relationship to the Hebrew language and to other writings in this cluster of languages (related also to Phoenician) of that time period, though it is too brief to answer many of our questions about the Moabite language (grammar, etc).

For a traditional translation of the text on the stele see here:
http://www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/westsem/mesha.htm

(This translation is about 40 years old. Improvements might now be offered, but this will do for most purposes.)

The inscription follows standard formulas. Here is a basic analysis of its structure:

the elements of the inscription are highly formulaic:

* Name of individual, Mesha
* Patronym, Chemosh[yat(?)] )
* Position, king of Moab
* Occasion, I built...
* Name of deity, ...for Chemosh...
* Object dedicated, ...this high place in Qarhoh
* Blessing and curse, lacking
* Summary of achievements
http://pages.sbcglobal.net/zimriel/Mesha/index.html

The stele text also gives us a glimpse of Moabite "theology" -- that is, how they explained events in relation to their god-- providing some interesting parallels with ancient Israel's understanding of Yahweh. See a bit more on the religious issues here:
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=M&artid=680

Answer 2

Mesha was the king of the Moabites who was forced to pay tribute to his neighbor, the Nation of Israel. The Bible tells us that this tribute suddenly stopped: "Mesha, king of Moab, rebelled against the king of Israel..." (2 Kings 3:5).

Mesha’s account of his rebellion against Israel is found on a large stone monument known as the Moabite Stone (Mesha Stele). The stone inscription was discovered by a German missionary in 1868 at Dibon (ancient Moab; present-day Jordan).

The Moabite Stone is a dark-colored, basalt monument about four feet high by two feet wide, dating to the reign of King Mesha in about 850 B.C. This artifact is another important source that corroborates the biblical account of the early Israelites. It currently resides in the Louvre Museum, Paris.