The Merneptah Stele

          Archaeology is a very helpful tool in establishing the existence of a place, ruler, or event. It becomes of increased interest to us when these discoveries shed light on a Biblical place, figure, or event. The past three articles here have focused on those types of discoveries. The remains of the Hittite city of Hattusa confirms the existence of the Hittites, which the Bible records. The Kurkh Monoliths and Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III both record the outcome of battles at the end of the ninth century BC. Some discoveries can enlighten us on chronologies where confusion may have reigned before.
          The Exodus of the Children of Israel from Egyptian bondage is one such event. Those interested in establishing a date for the Exodus have classically been divided between two dates: the mid-fifteenth century BC and the early twelfth century BC. Most scholars have taken the twelfth century BC date as the most likely. This is probably due to the name Raamses being used in the Bible. Exodus 1:11 says, “And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses.” A lesser known verse in Genesis 47:11 says, “So Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered.” The mention of Raamses, or Rameses, is evidence to some that Ramesses II was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Ramesses II ruled Egypt from 1279-1213 BC according to scholars. This means that if Moses would have been born during his reign. If Moses was born in 1279 (the first year of Ramesses reign), then the year of Moses flight to Midian would have been 1239 BC. After this, he would have stayed forty years in Midian then returned to Egypt to lead the people out of bondage. They year that the Exodus began would be 1199 BC, which would be after Ramesses II was dead. So, the twelfth century BC date for the Exodus is problematic if taken only because of the name “Raamses” being used in the Biblical text. The name must have either been used as a reference to some other ruler with this name. It may also have been called by these names as a descriptor of the area when the books were being written, i.e. they were called one thing during the days of the events and are now called Raamses.
          Calculating a date for the Exodus is something that is possible from the Biblical text. One clue is to look at I Kings 6:1, “ Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.” This passage speaks of the building of the Temple in the days of Solomon, but holds a clue by which the Exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt can be dated. The fourth year of Solomon’s reign was 480 years after the Exodus. Now we simply have to find a date for Solomon’s reign and count backward. According to scholars, King David ruled from 1010-970 BC. This means that Solomon would have ruled from 970-930 BC, with the fourth year of his reign being 966 BC. When 480 years are counted back from 966 BC, the year 1,446 BC is established as the year of the Exodus.
          This brings us to the archaeological discovery of the day, the Merneptah Stele, which casts major doubt on the twelfth century BC date for the Exodus. Pharaoh Merneptah was ruler of Egypt from 1213-1203 BC. He led Egypt in several battles against the people of the Levant. The Merneptah Stele lists the Egyptian victories. The lines of the stele in hieroglyphics reads:
The princes are prostrate, saying, "Peace!"
Not one is raising his head among the Nine Bows.
Now that Tehenu (Libya) has come to ruin,
Hatti is pacified;
The Canaan has been plundered into every sort of woe:
Ashkelon has been overcome;
Gezer has been captured;
Yano'am is made non-existent.
Israel is laid waste and his seed is not;
Hurru is become a widow because of Egypt. (Sparks)

 In the stele, Israel is referred to alongside such nations as Libya, Hatti, Ashkelon, and Gezer. It is an established nation that has been “laid waste” by Egypt. Yet, according to the calculations at the outset, the Israelites would have exited Egypt in 1199 BC. Even if Ramsses II was taken to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus, and the Israelites exited Egypt in 1240 BC, they wandered in the wilderness for forty years which would have been just past the time of the conquering referred to in the Merneptah Stele. However, if we take the early date for the Exodus of 1446 BC, there is no problem. Merneptah would have “laid waste” to Israel sometime during the Judges.
 The stele was discovered in 1896 at the city of Thebes by archaeologist Flinders Petrie. It is a granite slab with a height of about 10 feet. It is housed at the Egypt Museum in Cairo.

The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III of Assyria

          Last week I reported on one of a set of Stele’s known collectively as the Kurkh Monoliths. The one which was our subject was the stele of Shalmaneser III. Shalmaneser III was the ruler of the Assyrian Empire from 859-824 BC. The Kurkh Monolith recorded his advancement to the Syrian coast and attempt at taking the upper Levant. He was met by a coalition of smaller kingdoms, including Israel, Damascus, Hamath, and Ammon at the Battle of Qarqar in 853 BC. The coalition fended off the Assyrian ruler and kept their sovereignty for a time. However, in 841 BC, Shalmaneser was successful in putting many of these kingdoms under tribute, most notably, Jehu king of Israel.

         

         The Bible records Jehu being instructed by Elisha through “one of the sons of the prophets” (II Kings 10:1) to make an end of the House of Ahab and that he was being anointed as king of Israel. Jehu followed through on the order, taking the throne of Israel by force from Jehoram (Joram), killing both he and his mother Jezebel in the process. He also kills Ahaziah, king of Judah, at the same time. Jehu went on to attempt to purge the land of Baal worship. Soon after this, it appears that Jehu decided to side with Assyria, who was advancing to take Damascus from King Hazael. The Biblical history involving Jehu can be read in II Kings 9-10.

          Jehu’s payment of tribute is recorded by Shalmaneser III’s administration in the Black Obelisk. This is a black limestone sculpture that is four sided. It contains five scenes (registers) of five different rulers paying tribute to Shalmaneser. The registers go from top to bottom and each register wraps around the sculpture with four sides (A though D) completing the scene. Jehu’s tribute payment is recorded in the second from the top register. The rulers from top to bottom are as follows:

Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III registers D (right) and A (left)

            

                    1)        Sua of Gilzanu (in northwestern Iran)

                    2)      Jehu of the House of Omri 

                    3)      A ruler of Musri who is unnamed (some have identified as Egypt)

                    4)      Marduk-apil-usur of Suhi (a Babylonian ruler)

                    5)      Qalparunda of Patin (present day region of Turkey)

          Some scholars, most notably George Smith, P. Kyle McCarter, and Edwin R. Thiele, believe the second register to record a tribute given by Jehoram (Joram) of Israel to Shalmaneser. However, most believe it to be a depiction of Jehu. Regardless, this is, at the present time, the earliest depiction of a Biblical figure. The inscription for register 2 reads, "The tribute of Jehu, son of Omri: I received from him silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden vase with pointed bottom, golden tumblers, golden buckets, tin, a staff for a king [and] spears."

          The obelisk was erected as a public monument in 825 BC at Nimrud (ancient Kalhu) in northern Iraq. It was likely erected at a time of civil war (Taylor). It is housed at the British Museum in London.

Two Assyrian attendants - Shalmaneser III - Jehu (or Jehoram) bowing - Two Israelite officials
Register 2 frame A

Two Assyrian Officials - Three Israelite Tribute Bearers
Register 2 Frame B

Israelite Tribute Bearers with Offerings
Register 2 Frame C

Israelite Tribute Bearers with Offerings
Register 2 Frame D

Thanks to The Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus for the images provided. Their website can be viewed at http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/nimrud/livesofobjects/blackobelisk/index.html

The Kurkh Monoliths - Stele of Shalmaneser III

  

     To see a Biblical figure referenced in a stone inscription is a beautiful thing. It testifies that the book which we revere and study from is a trustworthy historical document and based in reality. Sometimes the secular inscriptions can reveal details of the Biblical figure’s life that aren’t included in the Biblical narrative. Today we will discuss one such monument which records the exploits of King Ahab of Israel, the Kurkh Monoliths.

     There are two steles which are under consideration as the Kurkh Monoliths, both of which record the military campaigns of Assyrian Rulers of the late ninth century B.C., Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BC) and Shalmaneser III (859-824 BC). At the time they ruled, the Assyrian Empire was seeking to establish dominance over the region of the upper Levant (Syria) to gain a foothold on the Mediterranean coast. It was Shalmaneser’s march that was met by fierce opposition in the region north of the Bible lands. Several of the local, smaller kingdoms made an alliance to oppose the march of the Assyrian monarch. Among the opposition was Israel under the leadership of Ahab. The stele records the famous Battle of Qarqar of 853 BC and the opposition that was mounted against Shalmaneser’s war machine. Daniel Luckenbill translated the inscription this way, 

       “To Karkar I drew near. Karkar, his royal city, I destroyed, I devastated, I burned with fire. 1,200 chariots, I,200 cavalry, 20,000 soldiers, of Hadad-ezer, of Aram (? Damascus); 700 chariots, 700 cavalry, 10,000* soldiers of Irhulêni of Hamath, 2,000 chariots, 10,000 soldiers of Ahab, the Israelite, 500 soldiers of the Gueans, 1,000 soldiers of the Musreans, 10 chariots, 10,000 soldiers of the Irkanateans, 200 soldiers of Matinuba'il, the Arvadite, 200 soldiers of the Usanateans, 30 chariots, [ ],000 soldiers of Adunu-ba'il, the Shianean, 1,000 camels of Gindibu', the Arabian, [ ],000 soldiers [of] Ba'sa, son of Ruhubi, the Ammonite, - these twelve kings he brought to his support; to offer battle and fight, they came against me. (Trusting) in the exalted might which Assur, the lord, had given (me), in the mighty weapons, which Nergal, who goes before me, had presented (to me), I battled with them. From Karkar, as far as the city of Gilzau, I routed them. 14,000 of their warriors I slew with the sword. Like Adad, I rained destruction upon them. I scattered their corpses far and wide, (and) covered (lit.., filled) the face of the desolate plain with their widespreading armies. With (my) weapons I made their blood to flow down the valleys(?) of the land. The plain was too small to let their bodies fall, the wide countryside was used up in burying them. With their bodies I spanned the Arantu (Orotes) as with a bridge(?). In that battle I took from them their chariots, their cavalry, their horses, broken to the yoke. (*Possibly 20,000).” (Luckenbill)

     The Battle of Qarqar is not recorded in the Bible, but there is certainly a great deal about King Ahab of Israel. He reigned from 871-852 BC, a reign which would certainly have encompassed the Battle of Qarqar. Ahab is described as a wicked king who, along with his wife Jezebel, instituted Baal worship in the northern kingdom of Israel. His story in the Bible is recorded in II Kings 16:29-22:40 and II Chronicles 18.

     The alliance he joined kept the Assyrians at bay for a time, but Israel was put under tribute during the reign of its next king, Jehu, which is recorded on an archaeological find known as the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III.

     The steles were discovered in 1861 in the town of Kurkh in Turkey. They are now housed at the British Museum in London.

The Hittites

Lion's Gate at Hattusa

 There is little that can call into question the veracity of the Bible story more than the mention of a major person of whom we have no evidence of. However, this is magnified greatly when it is not an individual who is missing from secular world history, but an entire culture. A book which claims to be historical (the Bible), but includes several references to an entire group of people who are unknown outside of it. It is easy to understand that such could be a major obstacle to some for belief in the Bible.

Such was the case for centuries regarding a group of people with whom Abraham of the book of Genesis interacted with. The people are the Hittites and are spoken of on several occasions in the first book of the Bible. Take a look at a few of the following verses:

“In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” – Genesis 15:18-21

“Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth…” - Genesis 23:10

“And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite” - Genesis 25:9

“When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.” - Genesis 26:34

“I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” - Exodus 3:17

They are perhaps referenced most famously in II Samuel 11:3, “So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?’”

In all, they are referenced some 48 times in the scriptures, although some of the references are to a group of smaller, later kingdoms that were collectively known as “Neo-Hittites”. Yet, there was no evidence of the existence of such a people for centuries. This gave reason for some to doubt the historicity of the Scriptures, making it tempting to determine that the Bible was merely a mythological book.

The first Hittite ruins were discovered in 1834, but were misidentified. In the 1880’s there began to be smaller widespread finds in the middle east that referred to the Hittites. In Turkey and inscription was discovered referring to the “People of Hattusas”. There were references in Egypt, between Pharaoh Amenhotep III and his son Akhenaten, which reference the “Kingdom of Hatti”. It was in 1906 that archaeologist Hugo Winckler discovered the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa while excavating in Boghazköy, Turkey.

Since its discovery and the subsequent study of it, the Hittite Kingdom has been discovered to have been massive, a Bronze Age empire that ruled northern Syria and eastern Turkey. In power it was on par with Egypt and Assyria at the time. It utilized a complex web of trade with these kingdoms as well as the Mycenean civilization on the Greek island of Crete and the ancient city of Troy. Its capital at Hattusa has been estimated to have been the home of some 50,000 people in the years leading up to its demise at the end of the Bronze Age. In the early part of the twelfth century BC, the Hittite Empire, along with Mycenae, Troy, and Ugarit in northern Syria (possibly a Hittite controlled city), experienced mysterious, widespread, upheaval and collapse. The cities were abandoned over a short period of time and were burned.
  Apparently, there were people who were from this empire who at times played a part in the lives of the people we read about in the Bible. Enjoy a few images of the ruins that have been discovered over the past 110 years.

Extent of the Hittite Empire at the beginning of the 13th Century BC

"Land of Hatti" (orange) shows the extent of the Hittite Empire

Hattusa ruins with reconstructed section of the ancient city wall

Have a blessed day!

The Wonder of Archaeology

     There is little that bolsters the faith of believers more than a discovery in the field of archaeology that substantiates an event, place, or person that is read about in the Bible. It is such a rich field of study, one which I really am still discovering and exploring. There are some archaeological finds that are given full credence as legitimate evidence, some that experts are divided over, some about which they are undecided, and some that are roundly rejected as hoaxes. It is my aim in this blog to take a look at some of these discoveries, discussing their relevance to the Biblical narrative. I will try to be fair and give due diligence to explaining the veracity of the find and, if possible, reasons for its rejection by some experts. On that note, realize that I am approaching this topic from a biased standpoint, but almost everyone is. If you believe the Bible to be true, then you are biased. However, if you believe the Bible not to be true, you will also view the evidence with bias. If you are one who truly seeks, not having formed an opinion on the authenticity of the Bible, my sincere prayer is that you will find this information helpful and honest. I hope that this site can be helpful to all who visit. May your growth in the truth be magnified and your faith in the word of God be firmly established!

In Christ,

David