Archaeology and the Old Testament - Part 1

Merneptah Stele

The Merneptah Stele (also known as Israel Stele) - a seven-and-one-half feet slab engraved with hieroglyphics - boasts of the Egyptian pharaoh’s conquest of Libyans and peoples in Palestine, including the Israelites. This is known to be the earliest reference to Israel in extra-biblical sources and demonstrates that as of 1230 BC, the Israelites were already living in the Promised Land. From the perspective of Egyptian history, the Merneptah Stele is rather insignificant but from the standpoint of biblical history, it is one of the most important objects ever discovered. It contains the first mention of Israel outside the Bible. It was found in 1896 by Sir Flinders Petrie in western Thebes, the stele remains an important document in uncovering the earliest origins of Israel. Today it can be found in the Egyptian Museum and is unlabeled as to its historic significance for the history of the Israelites. In the fifth year of his reign, Merneptah, the thirteenth son of Ramses II, began a major military campaign into Libya. Since he ruled for ten years, beginning in 1213 BC, Merneptah’s attack on Libya would have occurred in 1208 BC. His encounter with the people identified as “Israel” likely took place prior to that, perhaps between 1211 – 1208 BC.

The Merneptah Stele records not only the defeat of the Libyans but the close of this “Hymn of Victory” contains a cryptic passage that mentions a campaign even earlier in his reign: “Carried off is Ashkelon; seized upon in Gezer; Yanoam is made as that which does not exist; Israel is laid waste, his seed is not.” Alfred Hoerth explains that the south-to-north alignment of the three cities (Yanoam is located somewhere in Galilee) is sometimes thought to imply that the confrontation with Israel took place in the north of Palestine but others are doubtful if that would be a correct inference. A lot of attention has been paid to the determinatives (signs in the text that indicate the nature of the accompanying word) after each of the city names and Israel. The determinatives following Ashkelon, Gezer, and Yanoam indicate that they were city-states. However, the determinative for Israel is used for less settled people. Therefore, shortly before 1200 BC, an Egyptian scribe identified Israel as less politically established - a picture in keeping with the situation reflected in the first half of the period of the judges. Just as the Merneptah Stele reveals the earliest reference of Israel, the Tel Dan Stele affirms the historicity of Israel’s warrior king, David.