merneptah stele ( aka the menetaph stele, aka israel stele)
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Merneptah Stele ( aka the Menetaph Stele, aka Israel Stele). Merneptah Stele. Dated to 1209/1208 BCE Inscription by the Ancient Egyptian king Merneptah (reign:1213 to 1203 BC) Found at Thebes. Merneptah Stele. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Merneptah Stele
• Dated to 1209/1208 BCE
• Inscription by the Ancient Egyptian king Merneptah (reign:1213 to 1203 BC)
• Found at Thebes
Merneptah Stele
• “Canaan is captive with all woe. Ashkelon is conquered, Gezer seized, Yanoam made nonexistent; Israel is wasted, bare of seed.”
Merneptah Stele
• The determinative accompanying Gezer, Ashkelon and Yanoam indicate they are city-states.
• The determinative accompanying Israel indicates it is a foreign people, perhaps a nomadic tribe.
Merneptah Stele
• Scholarly debate about translation for I.si.ri.ar. Some scholars suggest it doesn’t refer to Israel but Jezreel.
• Only known Egyptian reference to the Israelites
• Earliest known reference to the Israelites
Mesha Stele
• Commemorates the victory of Mesha, a Moabite king, over Omri the king of Israel.
• Dated to 840 BCE