The authors analyze both the Mesha inscription and the text of 2 Kings 3, and ask what role the Israelite-Moabite conflict plays in them. They argue that these texts mention a conflict, but otherwise have hardly anything in common; they differ both in terms of the literary genre and as concerns the historical details. Thus, they should not be harmonized, and when used for a reconstruction of Transjordan history in 9th century BC, their specific literary genres should be respected. In contrast, however, the authors compare the role of divinity in both texts, and came to the conclusion that divinity plays a distinctive, decisive role in both texts. In this respect, the Mesha stele is much closer to 2 Kings 3 than to other royal memorial (or dedicatory) inscriptions.
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