EA 290 (Translated by William L. Moran)

“Say to the king, my lord: Message of Abdi-Heba, your servant. I fall at the feet of the king, my lord 7 times and 7 times. Here is the deed against the land that Milkilu and Saurdatu did: against the land of the king, my lord, they ordered troops from Gazru, troops from Gimtu, and troops from Qultu. They seized Rubutu. The land of the king deserted to the Hapiru. And now, besides this, a town belonging to Jerusalem, Bit-NIN-URTA, by name, a city of the king, has gone over the the side of the men of Qultu. May the king give heed to Abdi-Heba, your servant, and send archers to restore he land of the king to the king. If there are no archers, the land of the king will desert to the Hapiru. This deed against the land was at the order of Milkilu and at the order of Suardatu, together with Ginti. So may the king provide for his land.”

Some of the Amarna Letters housed in the British Museum.

This is a replica of one of the Amarna letters (EA290). This letter was written by the ruler of Jerusalem.

The Amarna letters are a collection of clay letters found in the ancient city of Amarna, in Africa. The city of Amarna was established by Pharaoh Akhenaten in 1346 BC. Akhenaten is a unique pharaoh in that he abandoned all other Egyptian deities, except Aten, the “sun god,” becoming the first Egyptian “monotheist.”

These letters were written from kings and tribal leaders throughout ancient Canaan and Assyria (equating to modern day Israel, Syria, and Lebanon). Many of the letters were written in a desperate plea to seek the pharaoh’s military help in their battle against the invading Apiru (Hapiru). Who were these Apiru? There is a strong case to be made that they were the Hebrews who were taking the Promised Land after the Exodus. Of course, popular scholars refuse to acknowledge this, given their anti-biblical stance. Let’s take a closer look at the reasons why the Apiru where the ancient Hebrews.

Now hold on to your hats, this is a bit of a history lesson. By comparing the written materials from other cultures (e.g. the Assyrians) that provide dates for Israelite and Judean kings, to information in the Bible, we can firmly come to a date for the building of Solomon’s Temple. That data is 967 BC. The Bible states that Solomon started to build the Temple in the 480th year after the Exodus began. Adding 480 to 967 we get 1447. Because it happened in the 480th year and not after the 480th year, we subtract that year, bringing us to 1446 BC. This date is supported by ancient (non-Biblical) Jewish writings. Given that the Exodus lasted 40 years, that brings us to 1406 when the Israelites started the conquest of the Promised Land. Most people believe that the conquest was quick, but that is not what the Bible implicates. Rather, it took many years and was never fully completed.

Even though the Amarna letters were found in a city founded by Akhenaten in 1346, some of the letters were written to a previous pharaoh who started his reign in 1386 (Amenhotep III). This places the writing of the Amarna letters during the time of the Israelite conquest of the Promised Land. Why is this important? In the Amarna letters, many of the rulers of Canaan wrote to the Pharaoh seeking military assistance in their battle against the Invading Apiru. The Apiru were referred to as a nomadic clan that was bent on taking their land. Oddly, there is no evidence that the Pharaoh sent any military aid, even though Canaan was under Egyptian control at the time. How could the Israelites take such a vast land? In the Amarna letters, we find out that these Apiru were assisted by other clans who were in rebellion against Egyptian Rule. Of course, the Apiru didn’t need assistance, they had the backing of God. As time progressed, we find that the Egyptians lost control of this region. Oddly, we never learn what happened to the Invading Apiru in other writings. Could this simply be because they were eventually called Israelites, who established their presence in the Promised Land?

For more information see the Thutmosis Scarab.

For more information consider reading:

The phenomenal four part series by Dr. Clyde E. Billington in Artifax Magazine.

The article by Doug Petrovich called Amenhotep II and the Historicity of the Exodus Pharoah (Access through the Associates for Biblical Research).

The Article by Christopher Eames called 967 B.C.E.: How the Lynchpin Date for Solomon’s Temple Was Determined at the Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology.

The Amarna Letters by Editor William L. Moran

*On loan from the Llewelyn Collection