At the BAR Library — When Did Ancient Israel Begin? New hieroglyphic inscription may date Israel’s ethnogenesis 200 years earlier than you thought. By Hershel Shanks
This is a very good article about a paper by scholars Manfred Görg, Peter van der Veen, and Christoffer Theis, based on their understanding of a pharaoh’s “name ring” on a gray granite slab, which they believe cites ancient Israel. That would acknowledge Israel’s existence much earlier than the Merneptah Stele, which was 1210-1205 BCE. He also discusses how this could potentially indicate multiple exoduses during the Hyksos reign of Northern Egypt.
The German scholars also have another string to their bow: the other two name-rings on this slab of granite. One of the other names is Ashkelon, in southern Israel. The third name appears to be Canaan, although there is some question as to whether it refers generally to the land of Canaan or more specifically to the city of Gaza. As the German scholars contend, “The geographical proximity of [the proposed name Israel] to Ashkelon and Canaan makes the identification with Israel likely.”
More than one Exodus?
The view that there was more than one Exodus has gained considerable traction since the publication of Abraham Malamat’s article in BAR titled “Let My People Go and Go and Go and Go.” Barbara Sivertsen has denominated the plural as “Exodi” in a recent book.5 Perhaps there was one with the Hyksos, another at the time of Ramesses II and still another at the end of the Late Bronze Age. Perhaps different groups (or tribes) that included proto-Israelites left (or escaped) at different times. Nothing conclusive here, but much food for thought.
Both articles are in Dropbox/BAS in pdf format.
