Hyatt 1971 wrote his commentary as an attempt to integrate the then emerging. It is clear that the merneptah stele can be interpreted in line with the united and divided monarchy periods of israelite history. Ancient israel in egypt and the exodus university of toronto. Hoffmeier 1997 and seeks to combine the grammatical interpretation with termi. The merneptah stela also known as the israel stela, this 7 foot high stela was discovered in pharaoh merneptah s theban mortuary temple. The text of the final poetic strophe of the famous stele of the pharaoh merneptah item je 31408, the cairo museum appears to mention israel. The monument was found where it had once stood in ancient egypt, at the temple that honored pharaoh merneptah. The ahmose tempest stela, thera and comparative chronology article pdf available in journal of near eastern studies 731. The merneptah stele also known as the israel stele or the victory stele of merneptah is an inscription by the ancient egyptian king merneptah reign. Furthermore, if it can be demonstrated that merneptahs father, ramesses ii, was in fact shishak, many synchronisms previously held by both supporters of the cec conventional and revisionists between the people of israel and their neighbours collapse, and a. Most of the lengthy poem is about his campaign against libyan tribes, but at the end he describes some victories in canaan.
The stele of merneptahassessment of the final israel. Error or forgery on the stele of merneptah, known as. Merneptah stele, which has long been considered the. Combine multiple pdf files into one single pdf document. The inscriptions are put down on a ten foot high piece of black granite. In 1896 archaeologists discovered a stele in pharaoh merneptahs mortuary temple in thebes,egypt. It was discovered by flinders petrie in 1896 at thebes.
The stele was originally erected by pharaoh amenhotep iii, but later inscribed by merneptah 121203 bc, the. It is mostly taken as synonymous with the semitic israelites. History of the jews and judaism in the land of israel. Pdf the merneptah stela charlie brownonne academia. Nobody any more raises the head among the nine arcs. The merneptah stele or israel stele is an engraved stone slab which describes pharaoh merneptahs military victories in 1207 b. Year 5, 3rd month of summer, day 3, under the majesty of horus. Hasel, israel in the merneptah stela, basor 296 1994, 4561. Water management associated with hydraulic fracturing. Does combining these segments and lines re main faithful to the egyptian grammar and syntax.
The stela primarily recounts the victories of merneptah over the libyans, his enemy to the west. What has archaeology taught us about the origins of israel. Merneptah was probably the fourth child of isetnofret i, the second wife of ramesses ii, and he was married to queen isetnofret ii, his royal wife, who was likely his full sister bearing the name of their mother. The israel stela also known as the merneptah stele is a slab of rock which was found in 1896 at thebes, egypt. The stela of merneptah in spite of the proximity of palestine to egypt, even though the israelites spent more than four hundred years as slaves in the nile delta and notwithstanding the numerous contacts in peace and war between the two countries after the conquest of the promised land under joshua, there is only one sure reference to israel in the recorded history of ancient egypt. The merneptah stele is the name given to a stone slab engraved with a description of. The merenptah stela continues to play a central role in the current. One reads in lines 26 to 28 of this stele, according to the official translation. The th son of his longlived father, ramses ii, merneptah was nearing 60 years of age at his accession in about 12. Mesha stele or moabite stone, bible and name of god. The stele describes the military campaign undertaken in 1207 b.
The majority of egyptologists are in agreement regarding the entity ysry3l as israel based on the syllabic orthography of the name and the context of the final poetic unit of the merneptah stele. Discovered by flinders petrie in 1896 at thebes, it is now housed in the egyptian museum in cairo. It is presumed that merneptah was also married to queen takhat and one of their sons would succeed him as seti ii. I am presuming that the one you are referring to is the victory stele or the israel stele uncovered in thebes in 1896 by flinders petrie. The israelites were a semitic hebrewspeaking people of the ancient near east, who inhabited part of the land of canaan during the tribal and monarchic periods 15th to 6th centuries bce, later evolving into jews and samaritans of the hellenistic and.
At a 20 colloquium in israel, an international group of scholars debated the question. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. An archaeological expedition in 1896 ad, led by flinders petrie, uncovered the merneptah stele in. Australian marian academy of the immaculate conception. U ndoubtedly, the most important mention of israel outside the bible is that in the merneptah, or israel, stela. Merneptah, king of egypt reigned 124 bc who successfully defended egypt against a serious invasion from libya. The discussion here is about the merneptah stele which never mentions israel, and how it mistakenly came to be called the israel stele. If the pdf documents have different page sizes, you can keep the original. Given the more serious nature of my last two posts involving politics, blech i want to take it easy for a few weeks and explore some fun stuff, or at least fun for me. Why do historians not accept the merneptah stele as.
The merneptah stele also known as the israel stele or the victory stele of merneptah is an. Bible history online the israel stela or merneptah stele. Hasel institute of archaeology, southern adventist university the merenptah stela continues to play a central role in the current debate over the origin of ancient israel. The structure of the final hymnicpoetic unit on the. The four sarcophagi not only was the pharaohs outer sarcophagus huge but the fact that he used four of them, made of stone, is unusual. The structure of the final hymnicpoetic unit on the merenptah stela. This victory stele belongs to merneptah, though it may be his taking credit for what was accomplished by his predecessor ramesses ii.
The stela of merneptah and the conclusions to be derived from the information, slight as it is, are often employed as an argument by those who hold that the exodus from egypt took place at the later of the two dates favoured by most writers on the subject. The stele of merneptahassessment of the final israel strophe and. In his last years, rameses ii had allowed the whole of the west side of the delta to fall into the hands of foreigners, and on the east side the native egyptians were being rapidly ousted by foreign settlers. It is certain that ramesses ii held a level of control over the region, so if this stele truly pertains to merneptah it would have him. Merneptah stele, the amarna letters, new kingdom egyptian military campaign. With few exceptions, the majority of archeologists date this text and merneptah s reign to the 1200s bc in. Merneptah, content with maat, magnified by the power, exalted by the strength of horus. Dever 1986, and it is further corroborated by the amada inscription which refers to merneptah as the subduer of gezer youssef 1962. Merneptahs tenyear reign is documented by three great inscriptions. The merneptah stele also known as the israel stele or victory stele of merneptah is an inscription by the ancient egyptian king merneptah reign.
It is the chronological placement of israel where scholars of. Evidence of the exodus from egypt merneptah stele one of the most. The merneptah stelealso known as the israel stele or victory stele of merneptahis an inscription by the ancient egyptian king merneptah reign. It contains the earliestknown reference to israel, which merneptah counted among the peoples that he defeated. One of these, the famous israel stela, refers to the suppression of the revolt in palestine. The stele measures 104 x 54, and is written in egyptian hieroglypics.
In some interpretations of the text on usersatets stela, amenhotep ii has not fared well, nor. Merneptahs tomb has been recently reopened to the public. Although they had first emerged centuries earlier as an outgrowth of southern canaanites, and the hebrew bible claims that a united israelite monarchy existed starting. This would place both this pharaoh and his stele in the biblical time of the judges. One of the enemies he claims to have thoroughly obliterated is the people of israel. With few exceptions, the majority of archeologists date this text and merneptah. Bible scholars are adamant that the stele of merneptah stone engraving found by the british intelligence officer flinders petrie see below at thebes luxor, egypt in 1896 contains the name israel. Hebrew scholars suggest that the circumstances agree approximately with the period noted in biblical books from late exodus. The merneptah stele is a 10 feet 3 m tall monumental inscription that records the victory hymn of pharaoh merneptah 121203 bc. The merneptah stele has long been touted as the earliest extrabiblical reference to israel. This is my final project for anp 264 at michigan state university, spring semester 2014. Dated to the 3rd day of the 3rd month of the 3rd season, summer, 1207 b.
Discovered in 1896 in merneptahs mortuary temple in thebes by flinders petrie, the stela is a poetic eulogy to pharaoh merneptah, who ruled egypt after rameses the great, ca. Pdf the interpretation of the book of exodus is used as an example. The history of the jews and judaism in the land of israel is about the history and religion of the jewish people who originated in the land of israel, and have maintained physical, cultural, and religious ties to it ever since. Bulletin of the american schools of oriental research 296.
The subject is the merneptah stele, an archaeological find from ancient egypt. Merneptah was a pharaoh who ruled over egypt in the late th century b. By the time that ramesses ii died, he had apparently outlived twelve of his sons, so it was his th son, merenptah who ascended the throne of egypt. Rohls revised chronology, according to which ramses ii was the biblical pharaoh shishak at the time of king rehoboam of judah i kings 14. The stele and its significance to old testament historiography. An analysis of this egyptian text indicates that merneptah s reign should instead be dated to 9903 bc. Stele is a carved stone block, slab, or pillar, generally decorated with relief sculpture on one face. The stelae and its significance to old testament historiography stele stela pl. It dates to 12091208 bc, which places it during the time of the judges. The obvious reason is that the stele does not contain any information about the exodus or the conquest of canaan by the israelites. The structure of the final hymnicpoetic unit on the merenptah stela 75 the structure of the final hymnicpoetic unit on the merenptah stela by michael g. The merneptah stele is an enticing inscription by the ancient egyptian king merneptah discovered in 1896 at thebes by flinders petrie. With this overview of these key periods of jewish history, get the facts about the figures who influenced each era and the events that made the eras unique. The stela of amenophis iii, raised by merneptah and bearing the earliest mention of israel cairo, egypt.
Why do historians not accept the merneptah stele as evidence for the exodus. The merneptah stele would be a permanent reminder that an egyptian king and his army once met all of these enemies on the battlefield and utterly destroyed them. The early history of israel rutgers jewish studies. The seven major eras of ancient jewish history have been covered in religious texts, history books, and even literature. Pdf the ahmose tempest stela, thera and comparative. At the center of the debate was har karkom, a mountain ridge in the negev desert that archaeologist emmanuel anati believes to be the biblical mt.
The stele of merneptahassessment of the final israel strophe and its implications for chronology patrick clarke the text of the final poetic strophe of the famous stele of the pharaoh merneptah item je 31408, the cairo museum appears to mention israel. Merneptahs reign itself is assigned to the period 121203 bc, which would place both this pharaoh and his stele. Toward the end of his fathers reign, egypts military. Foreword nothing contained in any api publication is to be construed as granting any right, by implication or otherwise, for the manufacture, sale, or use of any method, apparatus, or.