The book of Exodus,
a great theological book is historically quite false. (Gabreial, 2003)The Book of Exodus! A book that tells the pinnacle struggle that
the nation of Israel would wrestle with all throughout their mere existence of
leaving Egypt never to return. However,
despite inanimate objects coming to life and a series of plague’s haunting
Egypt the deliverance from the land of Egypt is not the mysterious part of the
story. No the mysterious part in this
book is why they are there in the first place? And with this one question
brings to light other concerns such as who are the Hebrew people? Why are they in Egypt? Why is the Pharaoh so
concerned with them? Were they just mere
slaves? And how did a nation of slaves escape Pharaoh’s great military and
begin a conquest that resulted in nothing but victories of humble beginnings? Are they the ancient people mentioned in the
Amarna letters and other ancient texts known as the Habiru?
Seeking to prove the Hebrew
and the Habiru people are one in the same.
We will look at what the Hebrew text states and with close reading
between the lines see what exactly is going on here historically. It is also crucial to understand that this
essay will pull away from mere scripture and look at the events portrayed as
ones of historical fact and attempt to put together a scholarly view on what is
taking place.
Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who
came into Egypt with Jacob…..
Exodus 1:1
Now to understand where this is headed it needs to be
understood who the Hebrew people are according to their own story. We cannot move forward without there being a
brief background to the narrative and have that background serve us later. According to the Hebrew narrative a few
generations before this mass exiting from Egypt the Hebrew people came in to
Egypt because of a great famine that had hit the land known as Canaan and all
the lands.
And the seven
years of famine began to come, according as Joseph had said; and there was
famine in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. Genesis41:54
Now all the lands were affected
by the shortage of food. However it was
because of Egypt’s preparedness that they had grain. Now the narrative offers a reason for this as
well and that of Joseph. Joseph was the
son of Jacob that was sold into slavery and now sits in power in Egypt. This will become more relevant very
soon. However, because of his (Joseph)
interpretations of Pharaoh’s dreams Egypt was able to store grain for this
famine. So according to the scripture
Jacob sends his ten sons into Egypt to buy grain (Genesis 42:2).
After much of the narrative depicting Joseph (this
Governor in Egypt) having a little inside family fun filled revenge with the
brothers who sold him into slavery; the story gets to the point where we pick
it up and that of Jacob and all of his sons coming into Egypt to reside. This consequently and one-sidedly answering
the question why the Hebrew people were in Egypt in the first place. The answer
is clear; there is food in Egypt and the one who gives the food is kin to us
(the Hebrew people.) And according to
the story they multiplied quiet well and their numbers increased.
As
in any scholarly work I must reveal a slight flaw and that is it is crucial to
know the only ancient source we have giving a reason for the presence of Hebrew
people in Egypt is the Hebrew Scriptures.
A little biased admitted.
However, this can be overcome by a close analysis of the text. That is to say it will not take away from the
overall point made here to use only the one source because after all we know
from Egyptian logs that the Hebrew people were in Egypt.
The Habiru
Before we
go further it is a must we know who the Habiru are in order to compare them to
the Hebrew people. The earliest known reference to the Habiru are from Sumer
and date from the Third Dynasty of Ur, about the year 1760 (2000 BCE.) (Rainey
2008) A characteristic of this period was the expansion of Semitic peoples;
mainly native Acadian speaking groups. Concurrent with this influx of Semites
the terms Habiru/Habiri begin to appear in Sumerian documents. The documents
show that the Habiru/Habiri was a new element in society, that they were
attempting to establish themselves, and that the judicial system was having
difficulty defining their legal status. (Muffs,
1982) All the Sumerian
records show that the Habiru were active in service roles in the community, as
well as the Israelites did in Egypt, and later in the court of Babylon. (Rainey
2008)
Excavations at Kultepe and Alishar in ancient Anatolia, uncovered several hoards of letters and legal and economic texts, belonging to Assyrian trading stations of the old Acadian period. Among these documents was a letter from one Assyrian merchant to another requesting that he seek the release of Habiru men who were in custody at the palace of Shalahshuwe, an unidentified neighbor, possibly north of Alishar. This land is near the residence of Abraham’s family after they left Ur. The recipient of his letter is uncertain of the cost he however is reminded that the Habiru themselves have money and could use it for their own release. In any case, the author of the letter wants to make sure they are released. He held them in high regard. Remember Abraham and his descendants were also wealthy. (Rainey 2008)
An Amorite kingdom dominated Mesopotamia in Abraham’s times, from Babylon in the south to Haran in the north, and across to the Mediterranean. This is also the lands Abraham seen in his travels from Ur of the Chaldeans to Haran and Canaan. This period in the city of Mari, that included some minor states among which appear some Habiru rulers. One document states that Yapah Adad had remodeled the town of Zallul on the banks of the Euphrates and, with 2000 Habiru soldiers, was then located in that town. In another document Izinabu, chief, had 30 Habiru men march in his charge. In another letter in which the destination and sender has lost "3000 asses of the Habiru" are mentioned. (Rainey 2008) If you recall in the Hebrew Scriptures the use of asses. In other letters the Habiru men went by night and seized the town of Yahmumam, attempted to seize other towns, and raided Luhaya. Note here this is the same way in which Abraham recued Lot and that of a night raid. The Habiru were a familiar part of the civic population. (Gabreial, 2003) The Habiru are mentioned in many documents of the Hurrian state of Nuzi, where they have been an important part of society. (Rainey 2008) What is strangely interesting is that the ancient peoples ascribe to the Habiru a mysterious relationship with the Divinity. In Hittite documents long lists of gods are invoked to protect the treaties. They include deities from many different regions and people. The curious nature of this invocation is illustrated by a treaty with Egypt. This list concludes with the following words: "and so on to... and the Habiru God,...". Significantly the Hapiru/Habiru Elohim had special mention, and although they are not identified by Name, they also could not be forgotten. (Rainey 2008) The same particularity has been found in Assyrian temples, in which the Habiru are mentioned among the deities. This mention of the Habiru among a list of deities shows explicitly that they were considered as having divine origins. (Gabreial, 2003)They were different from ordinary people, including rulers and magistrates. Several Assyrian omen texts were discovered in which it appears that the Habiru were associated with ominous celestial phenomena and with some unknown afflictions. They were thought to carry divine powers.
In Egypt
the Apir/Habiru name appears a number of places combined with a divine name;
the titles suggest specific identification as Apir deities. From Anatolia, to
the Mesopotamian Basin, to Egypt, the Habiru were regarded with special social
and religious status. Based on the historic evidence, an association of the Habiru
with divinity cannot be avoided. While the exact significance of each of these
references is unknown, it would not have been possible for the people who
lived, worked, and travelled with Habiri to ignore the divine association. That
factor must have been present in the mind of everyone; it was universally
recognized and accepted. They were of special genetic stock, a "Chosen
People". (Gabreial,
2003)
Egyptian texts
dated to be from 1450’s BCE called the Amarna Letters, written in cunaho form,
mention a nomadic people known as the Habiru or Apiru. These people were not an ethnic group they
were a wondering people. (Gabreial, 2003) The people
are thought to be like mercenaries working for the Egyptian Kingdom in these
texts; however a s a whole they are a people who have no land. The Habiru are a
people practiced in the art of war. They
are a people that specialize in war and making war. When putting this group
called the Habiru with the people we know as the Hebrew children the story of
Exodus and ones former and latter begin to come together. (Muffs, 1982)
Going back into
time 1450 BCE, the date of the Amarna letters, is also the time in which
Abraham is thought to be settled in Canaan.
Looking at the victory he pulled off with the rescue of Lot it seems to
make sense that he had to have had so kind of military training. Some Egyptian monuments mention an
enigmatic people: the "Apiru". In one of these was carved on the
stone walls a scene depicting men working at a wine press. Beneath the picture
was a title which ran: "Straining out wine by the Apiru". The
date of the monument is believed to be during the reign of queen Hatshepshut
and Tutmose III, about the year 2290 (1470 BCE.). Scholars immediately
recognized the similarity of the word "Apiru" to "Hebrew",
with a scene depicting manual labor, as described in Exodus for Hebrew people
under bondage in Egypt. However this
depiction of labor might not be one of slave work but what happened in the down
time of the Habiru not at war for Egypt. (Gabreial, 2003)
These
references to the Habiru in Egyptian documents and on monuments show their
presence in Egypt, and their social importance, for more than three centuries.
The same people are called elsewhere "Habiru" or "Habiri".
Er-Heba, the Egyptian ruler in Jerusalem, wrote a series of letters to the
king in whom he complained about the "Habiru". The Habiru were
plundering the lands of the king. Er-Heba wanted to know why the king was
leaving them behave in this way; why was he not sending archers to protect his,
the king's, properties. If he did not send military help the whole land would
be given to the Habiru. This is right
around the same time Joshua would have been conquering the land of Canaan. (Rainey
2008)
Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not
Joseph.
Exodus 1:8
The Hebrew People were not Slaves. Now of course this view of the Hebrews not being slaves contradicts Judea-Christian
beliefs but it does not contradict history. The Hebrew word for worker is ebid
(עבד.) (Kellie 2008) However, this
this word has many meanings and rarely means slave in the form we as westerns
think it to mean. In fact it is safe to
conclude that the Hebrew people were not slaves at all in Egypt. Now this is a
hard statement to make because outside of the bible there is no definitive text
saying they were slaves. But why would
Pharaoh be worried of slave people and how could they possibly defeat the
Egyptian army. However, we do have
Egyptian medical records showing the well treatment of the Hebrew people. So
here we are the Hebrew people are in Egypt and a Pharaoh that knows nothing
about Joseph comes to power. Now this
comes to serve more than one function in the narrative. It gives a reason why the Egyptians “increase
the work” for the Hebrews but it also serves to later give a reason to
leave. The Hebrew people see it as they
no longer remember our kin who sat second to Pharaoh and now we are not
appreciated. However we have reached the
reason for this paper. What were the
Hebrews doing in Egypt all this time? In
Exodus 1:9-10 we see Pharaoh for some unexplained reason worried about the
Hebrews betraying the Egyptian people.
Why? Where the logic in thinking
a people of mere slaves is could revolt against one of the greatest super
powers in the region at this time? And
why would he be worried that they join forces with any other peoples? Unless they were not slaves at all. (Gabreial, 2003)
Given the nature of the treaty that Egypt had
with the Habiru it would make sense that if the Hebrew people were the Habiru
their numbers increasing would be troublesome for Egyptians. For example they would know not only Egyptian
tactics and weaponry. Not to mention
they would have similar if not the same weaponry. Also since the work in the Kingdom has gotten
more rigorous this could possibly upset a people. So the Hebrews being the Habiru helps to
historically make sense of why Pharaoh would be concerned. Now the Hebrew
people or the Habiru are in the land of Goshen.
We know this from Egyptian texts as well as scripture. Military historians believe this would be
because they were serving as the first line of defense for the Egyptian nation
from invaders from the North. Now given
what we know about the Habiru they are mercenaries fighting for the interest
that best serves them. And according to
Egyptian documents at this time Egypt was their best interest. But why put them to labor? Well if they are growing too large for
control and they are you first line of defense and we know that they protect a
major line of invasion where they are home to now; controlling their numbers
and setting them to labor voce using them military makes more sense. Now this would not be slavery because they
would be free to go and the physical owing of persons was not practiced yet. (Kellie 2008) They wanted to leave simply because they were
just demoted from warrior to laborer.
Also we have yet another textual
problem that can be solved with the correlation between the Hebrew people and
them being the Habiru.
But God led the
people about, by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea; and the children of
Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt. Exodus 13:18
This
statement here alerts us that the Hebrew people were not mere slaves for how
did they leave armed. For slaves rarely
march out of anywhere armed. (Kellie 2008) But then another
textual problem arises Pharaoh changes his mind. Now Hebrew scripture says God hardened Pharaoh’s
heart. However, this to makes more sense
when you consider a later verse and make the connection that these people are
the Habiru. Exodus 12:35 says they
stripped the Egyptians of silver and Gold.
It is to no surprise that Pharaoh would be a little mad that his people
were stripped of possessions upon the exiting of a clan that was at one time an
ally. In turn Pharaoh sends out his army
to avenge the wrong that had been done. (Gabreial, 2003)
Now upon being chased out of
Egypt with the Egyptian’s close behind Moses confuses Pharaoh. How would a nation of slaves diverge the
Egyptian army? Now the scripture gives
the reason that Pharaoh misunderstands the light leading the Israelites as to
think that they are advance straight into is army. However, as the story goes it is a trick and
Moses is actually leading them away.
That saying the flame is behind the Israelites not in front of
them. This indeed proves a military
connection with the Hebrew people pushing the theory of the Habiru.
In this time there were not NVGs
or night vision goggles, armies used fire to lead them through the night
advancements. This is especially true
for the Egyptians who are thought to have authored night advancements. (Kellie 2008) The Habiru would have had known this working
with the Egyptians army and it seems here the Hebrew did as well.
Now we come to the crossing of
the reed seas or swap. Moses knew the
tide was out and therefore in this swap they would have been able to
cross. However, the mud would have
prevented the chariots of the Egyptian army from crossing. Hence putting the Hebrews further from the
Egyptians. If the Egyptians would have
wanted to still follow suit they would had to of traveled north to a crossing
by the delta; at the same time putting way to much distance between them and
the Hebrews/Habiru. (Gabreial,
2003)
After
close analysis of the Exodus experience alone it becomes quiet cleat that the
Habiru and the Hebrew people are one in the same. The tactics, the history and the unanswered
questions left by scripture all come to revelation when the Habiru are placed
in as the Hebrew people. Why were
the Hebrew people there in Egypt to begin with? Assuming the famine did not
last as long as many generations I would assert it is because they are the
nomadic people called the Habiru. Why
are they in Egypt? As a mercenary group paid to protect the Egyptian Kingdom
from invaders from the north they had it pretty good in Egypt and only left
because of the demotion to labor from warrior. (Gabreial, 2003) Why is the Pharaoh so concerned with
them and their rising numbers? The best
thing about an ally that knows you all too well is one that is not strong
enough to conquer you. With the rising
numbers mentioned in Exodus of the Hebrew people and their perceived identity
of being the Habiru; great numbers of warriors is not a good idea to have on
you main route into the kingdom. Were
they just mere slaves? After a reading of the text and the fact that the word
used in exodus does not mean slave; I assert no they were not. And how did a nation of slaves escape
Pharaoh’s great military and begin a conquest that resulted in nothing but
victories of humble beginnings? Because
they were the nation of the Habiru.
Gabreial, R. (2003). The
military history of ancient Egypt. Westport CT: Praeger
Kelle, B., Ames, F., & Niditch, S. (2008). Writing
and reading war: rhetoric, gender, and ethics in biblical and modern contexts.
Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature.
Rainey, A. (2008). Shasu or Habiru: who were the early
Israelites?. Biblical Archaeology Review, 34(6), 51-55.
Good, R. M. (1985). The just war in ancient
Israel. Journal Of Biblical Literature, 104(3), 385-400.
Muffs, Y. (1982). Abraham the noble warrior : patriarchal
politics and laws of war in ancient Israel. Journal Of Jewish
Studies, 33(1-2), 81-107.
Guillaume, A. (1946). The Habiru, the Hebrews, and the
Arabs. Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 7864-85.
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