During the time of king Merneptah (Nephtoah), Israel was not living permanently in the places they inhabited, neither they were having their own city nor they were a state or a country that has a king, as inscribed by the writer of the pharaoh in the inscription now known Merneptah Stele (JE 31408). They are hieroglyphically described on the stele as a vagabond tribe near Horite country (Kharu) in Negev in the border of Egypt, or it is also possible that they were described as part of Egyptian but revolting against the pharaoh's government.
Like Libyans who wandered from Tehenu to Egypt, Israel is described as composed of vagabond men and women. The only difference, Merneptah described that Tehenu Libyans are travelling with their king and throne, whereas Israel has no king and no royal throne. Libyans are also described to have their own state, whereas Israel is described as being part of Egypt or having no own territory. Israel in Seir (Deut. 33:2) was not yet established. Israelites are vagabonds whose disturbances and influence to other countries (e.g. Kharu and Yenoam) are enough to call the attention of Merneptah, the first leader of Egypt who used the word "pharaoh" as the title king. For the first time since the latter part of king Rameses II, when chaos was brought by Israel and by the Late Bronze Age Collapse out, Merneptah broke the silence against the people who was under the influence of Yar-su (Yah-mesu) and made an official announcement that he devastated Israel and annihilated its seeds. He wrote it in a big document now known the Victory Stele (JE 31408)
Some of the contents of Merneptah Stele are events really corroborated by the Bible and other Egyptian inscriptions. And by this document we can learn how ancient scribe wrote their history during their era, e.g., they wrote it in a poetic way or by a song.
"Year 5, 3rd month of summer, day 3, ...Merneptah,... slays his foes,...
Shu [Air] dispelled what was covering over Egypt, letting Egypt see the rays of the sun, and imprisoned folk can breathe now when the bar from their neck,
the mountain of copper,
was removed,
when Hut-ka-Ptah [Ai-gu-ptos] exults over its foes,...who steadied the hearts of 100,000s,...
Woe to Libyans,...In a single year were the Tjehenu burned!...There's no work of carrying [loads] these days. Hiding is useful, it's safe in the cave.... [for those] who attacks the border!
...So say they who gaze toward their stars, And know all their spells by looking to the winds.
...Merey the vile foe, the Libyan foe had come to attack the walls of Ta-tenen, whose lord had made his son arise ...He will deliver him to his ka in Southern Heliopolis, ...Merneptah,...
...Fortresses are left to themselves,
wells are open for the messengers' use.
...The [elderly] princes are prostrate saying: "Shalom!"
Not one of the 9 Enemies lifts his head:
Libyan Tehenu [people, enemy state] is vanquished,
Hittite Khatti [enemy state] at peace,
[Central] Canaan is plundered with all woe.
Ashkelon state is conquered,
Gezer state seized,
Yanoam state is seen to totally not exist;
[tribe] Israel, of many wandering hunted men & women, is devastated, his seeds no longer exist,
Kharu enemy-state [Horite in Seir] is become a widow because of Egypt.
All who roamed [restless] have been subdued.
By the King of... Egypt,..."
- Merneptah Stele (1208 BCE)
King Merneptah is reporting that "wells are open for the messengers' use," and this claim is confirmed both by Amenomopet in 1211 BCE (ANET 1969, 258) and Joshua.
"And the south quarter was from the end of Kirjathjearim [City of Forests], and the border went out on the west, and went out to the
Mayan Mei-Nephtoah
[Well of waters of Nephtoah]." -Joshua 18:15
This same Well of Mei-nephtoah is also recorded in Papyrus Anastasi III when Amenomopet from the Wells of Mer-neptah in forests attended a judicial investigation heard at Sile in around 1211 BCE.
The meaning of "mayan mei nephtoah" literally is "spring of water of water's spring."
The last words "mei nephtoah" appear to be a name of "mayan," hence it could be "Well of Mei-Nephtoah" or "Well of Mer-Neptah."
King Merneptah was popular by these wells, that scribes during his time named them after him.
Why he needed to make wells or water supply? Because drought was spreading from Atlas (Tursha) to Anatolia (Lydia and Hittite territories), causing famine. Late Bronze Age Collapse was very disastrous as described by scribe Ipuwer (fl. 1250- c.1160 BCE) in the Admonitions of the Sage written during the latter time of king Rameses II to the time of Rameses III (1186-1155 BCE).
Merneptah is accurate in his timeline because Joshua (1248-1138 BCE) was contemporary of Caleb, who was the uncle of Othniel, the judge who defeated Chushanrishathsim of Aram Naharim in 1185 BCE, causing the destruction of Emar. This Chushanrishathsim had likely founded a town after his own name which was contemporary to king Rameses II (1279-1213) and Ramesses III (1186-1155 BCE). Thus, Joshua in effect is accurate too in mentioning the Spring or Well of Mei-Nephtoah during his own time.
Anti-Bible thinkers rejected this accuracy and claim that it is an anachronism because "future" or later scribes wrote it. When asked who were those later scribes. They are the nameless scribes in their imagination, not found in the Bible (basing their belief from the imagination of their mind), and worst they claim that their imagination is more accurate than the Bible and Egyptian inscriptions.
But the fact is, both Joshua, king Merneptah and Amenomopet are accurate because they were chronologically contemporary of each other (that is, both Joshua and Amenomopet of their days have mentioned "Well of Mei-Nephtoah" and "Wells of Mer-neptah," respectively).
Historical fact and scientific studies confirmed that there was a great famine during the time of king Rameses II and Merneptah, and this famine occured in Hittite territories and nearby countries. Not only this, Israel marked 1210 BCE as the year zero of their historical Jobilee because of that worst famine. Historically speaking, the worst famine was during the reign of Merneptah, who reported about Hittite king Tudhaliya IV, whom he "caused to take grain in ships to keep alive that land of Hatti" (KRI IV 5,3).
Tudhaliya IV (1237-1209 BCE) built 10 dams for water supply, and this may be connected to what Ugarit king Ammurapi (r. c.1214- c.1190 BCE) wrote, that there was a "severe famine" (RS 18.147, KTU 2.46).
Merneptah considered this phenomenon as a favor to him by Air, the god Shu of Egyptians, which cleared the covering upon Egypt up that caused darkness in the past, and
removed the mountain called "Copper" (the area of the Kenite copper smithers),
resulting to the freeing of the Egyptian folks.
Were the Israelites in Canaan firmly established during Merneptah's time?
Unfortunately, no. We can know this fact because until 1208 BCE Israel did not have their own city or territory in Canaan, and they were hieroglyphically described by Merneptah as vagabond tribe composed of fighting men and women, particularly that Moses was not around and no leader on the ground to take responsibility, leading to the leadership of prophetess Deborah and the request for Gideon (Jerubbaal) to be a leader. Just in the previous year (1210-1209 BCE), Akwesha (Asherites) and Shakarus (Issacharites) stopped circumcising Hebrew babies after Merneptah became determined to annihilate Israel. The news of this situation reached Moses, who pampered them that though their sons were not circumcised in the flesh, " YHWH thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love YHWH thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live" (Deuteronomy 30:6).
The rite was resumed by Joshua on March 28, 1189 BCE likely after their long sojourning in Har Karkom (5 days distant from the center of Makhtesh Ramon), but this resulted to king Rameses III to revive to hunt the circumcised fighters of the confederation headed by Yar-su (Yah-mesu).
"And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even
all the men of war,...
...were circumcised:
but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised. - Joshua 5:4- 5
Needless to say, there was a period in Israel's history that Israelite babies' circumcision ceased, and when this abolition became complete, Merneptah boastfully announced that the seeds or children of Israel were annihilated (Victory Stele, line 27). The people is devastated, and the children were taught to be annihilated for having no circumcised boys. He depicted Israel not as a state (nation) but as a people wandering near Horite state (Kharu).
Merneptah did not write determinative "three hills" - read as "khasu" ("khasut"), beside or under the hieroglyphic sign for the sitting men & women. This may mean that Israelites were indeed vagabond, wandering from one place to another to fight.
Khasut, the hill-country, is understood as a "country of foreigners" - that is, foreigners' territory, which lacks in the description for Israel. Khasut suggests of being a state or a nation, district, or land with military capabilities.
This may imply that Israel was probably under the claw of Egypt if we will consider the absence of "foreign land" determinative as an acknowledgement of being part of Egyptian, because that is also how Egyptians depicted themselves in the hieroglyphic spelling.
However, unlike Egyptian fighters in the hieroglyphics, the "throw stick" determinative, which was first used to mean to hunt or as weapon in the animal hunt (being portrayed in the Hunters Palette), hence it signifies hunted foreigner or foreigner territory ("enemy"), is used in line 27 before the signs of men & women.
The pronoun used for Israel is masculine ("his," referring to the patriarch - owner of the name, hence to his tribe) rather than feminine ("her," which is usually being used to mean a country/nation).
The hieroglyphic sign "horned viper" is what letter "f" in English alphabet but it signifies masculine in Egyptian writing if used to refer to a person or patriarch and translated "he," "his," or "him." It is used as masculine pronoun for Israel in the stele. The hieroglyphic signs used here mean that "Israel" was a people and not a land.
And this wandering of Israel in 1209 BCE or earlier was part of their 40-year exodus from the time that the Crown Prince of Rameses sitting on the throne of the pharaoh died in 1229 BCE (Num. 33:3-5) until Yar-su (Yah-mesu) and Queen Tausert died in 1189 BCE.
Merneptah concluded that he facified these people who roamed in Kharu (Seir) to Canaan.
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