Passover Mystery

Hello Stormdancer,

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Originally posted by Stormdancer
As early as 13 centuries before the birth of Jesus, and 200 years before the birth of David, according to a stele now parked in the Cairo Museum, pharaoah Menapteh boasts of his armies' conquest of Israel. "Israel is laid waste . . . his seed is no more," the inscription reads.

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The "Mer-ne-ptah" or "Israel" stela (now Cairo 34025) does provide important information concerning the dating (or the veracity) of the exodus.The stela is dated to the fifth year of Mer-ne-ptah (c. 1230 b.c.)and is one of three known records of Mer-ne-ptah's conquest of the Libyans. Cairo 34025 (the "Israel" stela), unlike the other two records, is a poetic hymn of praise rather than strictly historical in nature and thus includes praise for Mer-ne-ptah's wide ranging victories over various Asiatic peoples in the last "chorus" of the hymn. A section from this "chorus" reads:

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Plundered is Cannaan with every evil;
Carried off is Ashkelon; siezed is Gezar;
Yanoam is made as that which does not exist;
Israel is laid waste, his seed is not; . . .
("Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament" James B. Prithard ed., Princeton University Press)

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Of particular interest here is the fact that Israel is the only one among all of those named in this verse that is written with the Egyptian determinative indicating a "people" as opposed to a "place". Thus, the fact that a stela dating to c. 1230 refers to Egypt plundering the place Canaan and indicates that, at this time, Israel was considered a "people" rather than a settled country, does indeed provide important insights into any alleged exodus event.Namaste'Amlodhi[This message has been edited by Amlodhi, 01-12-2004]

Hi Brian,

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Originally posted by Brian

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In an attempt at objectivity regarding the inscription, and how it can aid any investigation into the origins of Ancient Israel, we have to be honest and admit that there is nothing at all in the inscription that suggests that Merneptah’s ‘Israel’ was ever in Egypt, the only way we can link the two is by employing the biblical text. Without the biblical text however, all that can realistically be taken from the inscription is that at the end of the 13th century BCE there was a group of people in Canaan who were collectively known as ‘Israel’.

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I don't disagree with anything you said in your post; but I think you may have read too much into my post. Note the parenthetical phrase in my original statement:

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The "Mer-ne-ptah" . . . stela does provide important information concerning the dating (or the veracity) of the exodus.

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There has been a great deal of discussion regarding the determinative for Israel. It can be argued that the poetic construct discounts or modifies the determinative. It can also be argued that because there are several literary scribal blunders apparent in this stela, the determinative might be just another of these errors. Regardless of these arguments, however, the fact is that the determinative is not only there, but it is there in direct contrast to the other determinatives in the same context. Thus, it cannot be lightly dismissed that the determinative may mean exactly what it purports to mean.If then the stela is taken as it is written, this places an unsettled people known as Israel in or around Palestine c. 1230 b.c. Also, given the location, it seems not unreasonable to suspect that the biblical Israel is intended here unless some other people are eventually discovered to have been in the same area and calling themselves by the same name.Whether these people, Israel, were ever in Egypt or whether or not there ever was an "exodus", has no bearing on the statement made in my post. The very fact that a straightforward reading of this stela places these people in this area at this time is important to any consideration of the date (or the veracity ) of any proposed exodus event. IOW, any proposed chronology for an exodus event must either prove that this stela doesn't mean what it says or, conversely, it must fit with the chronology indicated in this stela.Namaste'Amlodhi