Digging Up the Bible: Amarna Tablet

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
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Linda Manuel—1996
 

Amarna Tablet

(late 15^th to early 14^th century B.C.)

In 1887 in the el-Amarna district of Upper Egypt, 195 miles south of Cairo and 225 miles north of Thebes, along the eastern bank of the Nile Rivera, a peasant discovered some clay tablets with Akkadian cuneiform writing. Archaeologists began excavating the site a few years later and found 350 similar tablets, each about the size of a 3x5 card. These documents were diplomatic correspondence between two pharaohs and their vassal kings in Canaan.

 

 

The El-Amarna letters reflect chaotic conditions in Canaan as various groups vie for control of the area. The king of Jerusalem addressed several letters to the pharaoh complaining about the Apiru:

As sure as there is a ship in the midst of the sea, the mighty arm of the king conquers Nahrim and Kapasi, but now the Apiru are taking the cities of the king. There is not a single governor remaining to the king, my lord. All have perished. (EA 288.33-40)

The name Apiru does not refer to a specific people. It is a general term for raiders, but some scholars have thought it might refer to Hebrew tribes advancing through the land.

 

Abdi-Khepa classifies all his enemies as Apiru, so it is difficult to identify any particular group. The situation in Canaan had so degenerated that, according to this king, the tribute he sent to Pharaoh was stolen by these marauders on its way to Egypt. This theft may have happened, but some reports imply that it would not have been beneath Abdi-Khepa to fabricate such a story to avoid paying his taxes.

 

Relations between vassal kingdoms were often unstable, fluctuating between conflict and cooperation. Suwardata, king of Hebron and Abdi-Khepa's neighbor to the south, complained to Pharaoh:

The king, my lord, should know that Abdi-Khepa has taken my city out of my hand. Further, let the king, my lord, ask if I have taken a man, or even an ox or ass from him.... Further, Lab'ayu who had taken our cities is dead, but verily Abdi-Khepa is another Lab'ayu, and he takes our cities. (EA 280.21-35)

On other occasions, however, Suwardata and Abdi-Khepa worked together against a common foe, the Apiru. Suwardata wrote, "The king, my lord, should know that the Apiru have arisen in the land which the god of the king, my lord, has given me.... I and Abdi-Khepa are left alone to fight." (EA 290a)

 

Significance for Biblical Studies: God's people did encounter resistance to their invasion, but it was generally limited to the local forces of a single city-sate. There was no central government, so they faced no Grand Army of Canaan, which enabled them to carry out a very vulnerable task unmolested: "After the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed" (Josh 5:8). It further helped that the population of the land was divided, with "Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites" (Josh 3:10), making it difficult to present a united front against invading forces. Consequently, the conquest was a series of engagements and skirmishes rather than one long war.

 

Some scholars believe that the Apiru are the Hebrews, but the evidence is inconclusive. What these texts do provide is a glimpse into the unstable political climate of Canaan when Israel arrives on the scene: vassal city-states fighting among themselves, harassed by bandits and ignored by Egypt, ideal conditions for God's people to invade and conquer.

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