2 Kings 3:4
“Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder; and he supplied the king of Israel with the wool of one hundred thousand lambs, and of one hundred thousand rams.”
What does 2 Kings 3:4 mean?
Mesha, the king of Moab, was incredibly wealthy through his vast sheep herds, and part of his tribute to the stronger king of Israel involved sending massive quantities of wool each year. This arrangement shows the political relationship between these neighboring kingdoms: Moab was essentially under Israel's control and had to pay heavy taxes to maintain the peace. The specific numbers here (one hundred thousand of each) emphasize just how prosperous and productive Mesha's kingdom was, even while being subordinated to Israel. Understanding this tribute system helps explain why the conflict described in the following verses matters so much to Mesha, who was clearly tired of giving up his nation's wealth to a foreign power.