Bonus 26 - Merenptah Stele

Merneptah Stele known as the Israel stela (JE 31408)
from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Public Domain

The Merenptah (also Merneptah) Stele dates to the time of the Egyptian Pharaoh Merenptah (1213-1203 BC ca. 1208 BC). It was discovered by Flinders Petrie in 1896 at Thebes. It is presently kept in the Cairo Museum. It is famous for being one of the earliest records of the name "Israel" outside of the Bible. Kitchen has strongly argued that Israel in the Merenptah Stele was a people group rather than a formal nation. 1.

One line states:

"Israel is laid waste, its seed is not;
Hurru (ie. Syria) is become a widow for Egypt." 

Reproduction of the Merenptah Stele displayed in Egypt

See James Hoffmeier's Lecture
Footnotes

• 1. Kenneth A. Kitchen, “The Victories of Merenptah, and the Nature of Their Record,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 28, no. 3 (March 1, 2004): 272. 

For Further Study

• Bimson, John J. “Merenptah’s Israel and Recent Theories of Israelite Origins,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 49 (1991): 3–29.
• Brock, Edwin C. “The Tomb of Merenptah.”  in The Treasures of the Valley of the Kings: Tombs and Temples of the Theban West Bank in Luxor, ed. Kent R. Weeks. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2001, 218–20.
• Fisher, Clarence S. “Merenptah’s Throne Room.” The Museum Journal 15 (1924): 92–100.
• Hasel, Michael G. “Israel in the Merneptah Stela,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 296 (1994): 45–61.
• Hasel, Michael G. “Merenptah’s Inscription and Reliefs and the Origin of Israel.” Pp. 19–44 in The Near East in the Southwest: Essays in Honor of William G. Dever, ed. Beth A. Nakhai. Boston: American Schools of Oriental Research, 2003.
• Hoffmeier, James K. “These Things Happened: Why a Historical Exodus is Essential for Theology” in Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?: A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture. Edited by James K. Hoffmeier and Dennia R. Magary. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012.
• Hoffmeier, James K. “The (Israel) Stela of Merneptah (2.6).” Pp. 40–41 in The Context of Scripture Volume II: Monumental Inscriptions from the Biblical World, ed. William W. Hallo. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2000.
• Jaritz, Horst. “The Museum of the Mortuary Temple of Merenptah.” Egyptian Archaeology 19 (2001): 20–24.
• Kitchen, Kenneth A.  Ramesside Inscriptions—Translated and Annotated, Translations, Vol. IV: Merenptah and the Late Nineteenth Dynasty, vol. 4 (Oxford, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2003), 4:10–15.
• Kitchen, Kenneth A. “The Physical Text of Merenptah’s Victory Hymn (The “Israel Stela”).” The Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities 24 (1994): 71–76.
• Kitchen, Kenneth A. “The Victories of Merenptah, and the Nature of Their Record.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 28, no. 3 (March 1, 2004): 259–72.
• Veen, Peter van der, Christoffer Theis, and Manfred Görg. “Israel in Canaan (Long) Before Pharaoh Merneptah? A Fresh Look at Berlin Statue Pedestal Relief  21687.” Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 2, no. 4 (2010): 15–25.
• Wood, Bryant G. “Pharaoh Merneptah Meets Israel.” Bible and Spade 18, no. 3 (2005): 65–82.
• Wood, Bryant G. “From Ramesses to Shiloh: Archaeological Discoveries Bearing on the Exodus-Judges Period” in Giving the Sense: Understanding and Using Old Testament Historical Texts. Edited by David M. Howard, Jr. and Michael A. Grisanti. Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2003, 256-282.
• Yurco, Frank J. “Merenptah’s Canaanite Campaign,” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 23 (January 1, 1986): 189–215.