Merneptah's Israel

Author(s): G. W. Ahlström and D. Edelman

Source: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 44, No. 1 (Jan., 1985), pp. 59-61
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/544372
Accessed: 23-05-2018 18:29 UTC

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MERNEPTAH'S ISRAEL

G. W. A HLSTROM and D. EDELMA N, University oqf Chicago

As is well known, the earliest extra-biblical reference to Israe

in the coda section of the Merneptah Stela' which briefly summari
campaign in Palestine in his fifth year (1208 B.c.).2 Because Israel
Ashkelon, Gezer, and Yenocam, it has sometimes been seen to be the fourth element
in a south-to-north campaign sequence and, consequently, has been linked with the
region of Galilee.3
This conclusion ignores the internal structure of the coda section, in which Israel
serves as a parallel element to Canaan, not to the three city-states. The following ring
pattern can be discerned from a study of the section's structure:

I For a discussion of the literary style of the entire

tah's Syro-Palestinian Campaign," The Society.for
text, see A. Spalinger, Aspects of the Military Docu- the Study of Egyptian Antiquities Journal 8 (1982):
ments of the Ancient Egyptians, Yale Near Eastern 70. S. Yeivin, among others, suggests that this cam-
Researches 9 (New Haven and London, 1982), pp. paign took place in Merneptah's third year; see his
91 f., 208, and 239. For the full text, see J. A. The Israelite Conquest of Canaan, istanbul Neder-
Wilson, A NET, pp. 376-78; G. Fecht, "Die Israel-lands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut in het
stele, Gestalt und Aussage" in M. Gdrg, ed., FontesNabije Oosten, vol. 27 (Leiden, 1971), p. 30. This
atque Pontes: Eine Festgabe fiir Hellmut Brunner,could explain why only a few details are highlighted
Agypten und Altes Testament 5 (Wiesbaden, 1983),in the present description and yet, at the same time,
pp. 106-38; and (in the same vol.) E. Hornung, "Diewhy it has been included alongside the latest cam-
Israelstele des Merneptah," pp. 224-33. paign, an example of specific enemies which have
2 The genuineness of this campaign is confirmed by now been subdued and the restoration of peace in
the independent characterization of Merneptah asthe Empire.
the "Reducer of Gezer" on the Amada stela; see 3 See, for example, Yeivin, Israelite Conquest of
R. O. Faulkner, "Egypt: From the Inception ofCanaan, pp. 29, figs. 6, 30, and 85; and B. Peckham,
the Nineteenth Dynasty to the Death of Ramses III,"9"Israel and Phoenicia" in F. M. Cross et al., eds.,
Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 2, pt. 2 (Cambridge, Magnalia Dei: The Mighty Acts of God, Essays on
1975), p. 234. Consult also Frank Yurco, "Mernep- the Bible and Archaeology in Memory of G. Ernest
Wright (Garden City, New York, 1976), p. 227.
R. de Vaux, The Early History of Israel (Philadel-
phia, 1978), pp. 390 ff., concludes that Israel was
[JNES 44 no. 1 (1985)] located either "in the north or in the center." For
@ 1985 by The University of Chicago. the different theories about its location, see the dis-
All rights reserved. cussion in H. Engel, "Die Siegesstele des Merneptah,"
0022-2968/ 85/4401-0006$1.00. Biblica 60 (1979): 373-99.

59

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60 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

The princes are prostrate, saying "Peace!"

Not one raises his head among the Nine Bows.
Desolation is for Tehenu;4 Hatti is pacified; B
plundered is Canaan with every evil; C
carried off is Ashkelon; D
seized upon is Gezer; D1
Yenocam is made as that which does not exist. D2
Israel is laid waste, his seed is not; C'
Kharu has become a widow because of Egypt!5 B'
All lands together are pacified; > A'
everyone who was restless has been bound
by the King of Upper and Lower Egypt:
Ba-en-Re Meri-Amon; the Son of Re:
Mer-ne-Ptah Hotep-hir-Maat, given life
like Re every day.

Within the ring structure, the composer of the coda has used the ad
mon ordering principle of moving from the general to the specific. Begin
ermost "A" ring with Egypt's enemies at large, he moves within the "B
arena of Syria-Palestine (Hatti and Kharu) after a brief reference to th
paign which has been described at length in the preceding lines of the
further limits his discussion to the region of ancient Palestine (Canaa
the "C" ring, before focusing specifically on individual city-states wi
(Ashkelon, Gezer, and Yenocam) in the innermost "D" ring.
In light of the structure just outlined, two possible conclusions can b
Israel's location, depending upon one's assessment of the author's knowledg
Palestine and his precision in using terminology. If Hatti is used in its
designate Asia Minor and Syria, and Kharu in its usual sense to desig
dominions in Syria and Palestine, then it is possible to conclude that
intended them to be two complementary subregions which together
larger region of Syria-Palestine. In the same way, Canaan and Israel
here to subdivide the narrower area of Cisjordanian Palestine into two
sections which together would represent the whole. Since Canaan coul
geographical designation of the coastal plain and adjacent lowland area
that Israel, by contrast, has been used to represent the hill country area. T
determinative for people instead of land may be insignificant, resul
author's loose application of determinatives in connection with nam
regions and peoples with which he was not personally familiar. On the
could be an accurate record of Israel's primary association with the

personal
4 While Tehenu is formally a "B" element communication).
parallel
to Hatti and Kharu, it is not part of the account of
6 For a discussion of the history of the Egyptian
the Syro-Palestinian campaign, which usage
begins with
of the term "Canaan," see de Vaux, Early
the reference to Hatti. It defends its present place
History as
of Israel, pp. 390 f.; and Y. Aharoni, The
a reference to the Libyan campaign described
Land of the at
Bible, rev. ed. (Philadelphia, 1979),
length in the previous section of the stela. ThereThis
pp. 67-69. is restricted sense may be echoed in
now peace on all "fronts." the biblical tradition in Gen. 10:15, where Sidon is
5 The preposition n (which usually is dative)
named as here
the "first-born" of Canaan.
should be translated "because of" (E. F. Wente,

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 MERNEPTAH'S ISRAEL 61

population, which has been used here to rep

leling the term Canaan. This would sugge
coda did not know of any specific geograph
such as "Ephraim," but that he did know
this area.
Alternatively, the scribe could have used the common geographical terms associated
with the Egyptian-held regions of Syria-Palestine in a less precise way, using names he
considered to be roughly equivalent as synonyms for whole regions, rather than as
complementary subdivisions of a region. In this case, Canaan and Israel would be
synonymous designations for the entire Cisjordanian region usually called Palestine.
Since this would be an "extensive" use of Canaan to include the hill country as well as
the lowlands, it is possible to suggest that the term Israel was also expanded here from
a more restrictive sense to include the larger region of Palestine. In this event, how-
ever, all that can be ascertained about its possible narrower sense is that it would have
designated some area within Palestine other than the coastal strip of Canaan.7 The use
of the determinative for people can be explained by the two options already discussed
in the first alternative: scribal carelessness or genuine association.
By recognizing the existence of an internal ring structure in the coda section of the
Merneptah Stela, the linking of Israel with the three city-states of Ashkelon, Gezer,
and Yenocam into a four element campaign sequence can be discarded, along with the
conclusion based upon it that Israel was located in the region of Galilee at this time.
Rather, any attempt to locate Israel should be based on its use in the text in parallel
with Canaan, either as a synonym or as a complementary subdivisional unit, to desig-
nate the region of ancient Palestine.

7 W. F. Albright, "The Israelite Conquest of with Palestine but concludes that here Israel desig-
Canaan in the Light of Archeology," BASOR 74 nates "a strong and dangerous people, though not
(1939): 22, has correctly seen that Israel is correlated yet settled."

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