Habiru/Sources
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This page lists the sources used in compiling the Hapiru article.
Secondary sources for the Hapiru article
Source: George Roux, Ancient Iraq, third edition 1992 ISBN 014012523X
P 239-240
The historical character of the Patriarchal period was further reinforced - so it was thought some years ago - by the mention in cuneiform and hieroglyphic texts dating mostly from the fifteenth and fourteenth centuries BC of a category of people, generally grouped in bellicose bands, called habiru(c) (or `apiru in Egyptian), a name which sounded remarkably like biblical 'Ibri, the Hebrews. There was at last the long-awaited appearance in non-hebraical sources of Abraham's kin!
Unfortunately, recent and thorough reappraisals of these sources have shown beyond any doubt that the Habiru have nothing in common with the Hebrews but a similitude of name. They were neither a people nor a tribe, but a class of society made up of refugees, of 'displaced persons' as we would now say, who frequently turned into outlaws 25
P 466, notes to chapter 14
25. J. BOTTERO, Le Problemes des Habiru a la 4eme Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Paris, 1954. M. GREENBERG, The Hab/piru, New Haven, 1955. See also: J. BOTTERO, 'Habiru', RLA IV (1972), pp 14-27.
Comments on this source
Roux's Ancient Iraq is a general guide to Mesopotamian history, from the pre-historic period up to the Persian Empire. According to the reviews on Amazon, Roux is actually an amateur who wrote the three editions in his retirement. It was required reading in my Akkadian class in college. Benwbrum 18:14, 19 Feb 2004 (UTC)
Source: Daniel C. Snell, Life in the Ancient Near East, Yale, 1997. ISBN 0300066155
P. 68
On the fringes of most of the writing civilizations a social group called the `apiru or habiru or hapiru consisted of stateless persons who had withdrawn from peasant and city life and made their livings as robbers and mercenaries.6 The term apparently means "dusty" or "crosser" and refers to desert travelers, and it is used as a designation for a social class of dissatisfied former city dwellers who had taken to a life of brigandage, preying on kings ruling small cities and their commerce.
Interest in the term hapiru has derived from the possibility that it is related to the word for Hebrew, `ibri[second I is long -BWB] in Hebrew. The term does not refer to a self-conscious ethnic group. For one thing, the term is attested even as early as the Old Assyrian trade in the 1900s B.C.E. Although one can conceive of the later Hebrews as originating from among such groups, it does not seem that there was a direct connection.7
P. 183 (Notes to page 68)
6. A helpful summary is M. Greenberg, Hab/piru.
7. On the term and its apparent Hebrew analogue, see M. Greenberg, The Hab/piru, and G. Buccellati, "`Apiru and Munnabtutu - The Stateless of the First Cosmopolitan Age," JNES 32 (1977): 145-47.
Source: Wolfram von Soden, The Ancient Orient: An Introduction to the study of the Ancient Near East, Grand Rapids, 1994. ISBN 0802801420
(Translation of Einfuehrung in die Altorientalistik, Darmstadt, 1985.)
Page 78
There were different designations for groups of foreign origin who were not fully assimilated, which naturally often formed elements of unrest. Such was the case as early as the Old Babylonian and even before, but above all in the Amarna Age in Syria and Nuzi. Among these terms, the word hapiru, the basic meaning of which still has not been clarified, has been frequently discussed. This word appeaqrs in ancient Egyptian and in Ugaritic as `pr, and sounds similar to Hebrew `ibri, although hapiru is certainly not to be equated with `ibri. It is impossible to speak in only a few sentences about these and similar, less widespread group designations, since these frequetnly denote different types of groups, depending on the place and time.20 Most importantly, however, the fate of Syrian city-states was decisively determined in part by the non- or only partially integrated fringe groups such as the Hapiru.
Page 78, Footnote 20
20. C.f. J. Bottero, "Habiru," RLA IV (1972): 14-27; O. Loretz, Habiru-Hebraeer. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fuer die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 160 (1984); M. Greenberg, The Hab/piru (New Haven, 155[sic]). The cuneiform writings permit readings with b and p; in Egypt and Ugarit the term was written `pr.
Comments on this source
I haven't read all of this book. The quotation is from Chapter VI State and Society, 4. Society and Social Groups, c. Sedentary and Nonsedentary (Nomads and Seminomads. The text preceding the quote deals with defining nomadism and seminomadism, the Martu/Amurru in the Old Babylonian period, the mushkenum. The text following the quote in this section discusses the practice of deportation from 1300 on. Benwbrum 00:01, 20 Feb 2004 (UTC)
Source: Robert Drews, The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe CA. 1200 B.C., Princeton, 1993. ISBN 0691025916
Page 13
When Ugarit was destroyed some hundred tablets were being baked in the oven, and so from this site we have documents written on the very eve of its destruction. One of these tablets "from the oven" - a letter from a certain Ydn to "the king, his master" - mentions prm (hapiru), and requests that the king "equip 150 ships."19
19. RS 18.148 = no. 62 (pp. 88-89), vol 5.
Page 151
Among foreign professionals, the lowest level seems to have been that of the hapiru (or `prw), free-lancers who were hired merely for a season or campaign. Egyptian, Ugaritic, and Hittite texts all make mention of hapiru, both as hired troops and as troublesome elements against whom action had to be taken. The "Hebrew" traditions in early Israel indicate that many of the hapiru who fought for the pharaoh were hired from the less settled populations in the southern Levant. Etymologically, the word hapiru seems to have had no specifically military connotation, meaning some thin glike "vagrants", or "those who have crossed boundaries," and clearly not all hapiru were warriors.49 But in the Late Bronze Age many hapiru were associated with mercenary military service, and apparently they were hired for hand-to-hand rather than for long-range combat. The Sumerian ideogram that is often used alongside or in place of the word hapiru is SA.GAZ, which seems originally to have meant "he who commits aggression," or "one who knocks down," or even "killer."50 The hapiru, or SA.GAZ, seem to have fought in conjunction with chariots but were not themselves charioteers or chariot archers.51
A preferable source of seasoned infantrymen for temporary service was a vassal state or a province on the frontier. As indicated above, the Hittite kings (who rarely hired hapiru) seem to have assembled the considerable infantry needed for a major campaign by requiring every subject district to send to the Great King a certain number of troops. ....
49. Of a score of studies on the hapiru the most recent is by Nadav Na'aman, "Hapiru and Hebrews: The Transfer of a Social Term to the literary Scene," JNES 45 (1986): 271-88; see also H Cazelles, "The Hebrews", in D Wiseman, ed., Peoples of Old Testament Times (Oxford, 1973), 1-28.
50. Mary Gray, "The Hapiru-Hebrew Problem in the Light of the Source Material Available at Present," Hebrew Union College Annual 29 (1958): 137ff.
51. W. Helck, Die Beziehungen Aegyptens zu Vorderasien im 3. und 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr. (Wiesbaden, 1962), 522-31, proposed that the terms maryannu and `prw stood respectively for chariotry and infantry professionals.
Page 220
In the interior, centers such as Deir `Alla (Succoth), Lachish, and Hazor were most likely sacked by "Israelites," seminomadic tribesmen who for generations had scraped out an existence in the hill country flanking the valleys of the Jordan and its tributaries, and in the desert fringe to the east. until teh Catastrophe, the best that either Philistines or Israelites could hope for was service as ne`arim or hapiru in the employ of a petty king. But now they were in a position to kill the king, loot his palace and his city, and burn them to the ground. Not all the Canaanite cities between the Jordan and the Mediterranean were razed. Shechem was spared by the Israelite tribesmen, the Israelites foreswearing hostilities against the city, and the Shechemites granting to those Israelites who submitted to circumcision the rights of connubium and of participation in the venerable cult on Mt. Gerizim. Gibeon was also spared, having come to terms with the invaders: in return for their lives, the Gibeonites were said to have pledged themselves and their descendants to serve their conquerors as hewers of wood and drawers of water.
Comments on this source
Bronze Age is an attempt by Drews to explain the Catastrophe around 1200 B.C. This is the same event that draws speculation about Sea Peoples and such. Part one lays out the evidence and acquaints the reader with the standard picture of the pre-1200 Near East and with the chronology of the collapse of kingdoms after that. Part Two lays out previously advanced views of the Catastrophe's cause, including chapters titled "Earthquakes", "Migrations", "Ironworking", "Drought", "Systems Collapse", and "Raiders". Part Three advances Drews' theory that the Catastrophe was the result of changes in military tactics that shifted the balance of military power from well-organized/well-funded armies of chariots to poorly-funded armies of javelin throwers.
The three quotes above come from radically different contexts within Drews' book. Page 13 is in the middle of part one, and is laying out the accepted view of the evidence. Page 151 is in the middle of supporting statements for his own hypothesis, and also represents accepted scholarship. However, this is a description of a synthesis of the evidence, rather than a presentation of the evidence itself. Page 220 occurs in Drews's conclusion, which is a speculative narrative account of what the Catastrophe might have been like, using his own hypothesis as an assumption and re-interpreting the evidence in light of that. In particular, page 220 makes no claim to identify hapiru with the Israelites, as Drews is using the terms "Israelite" and "Philistine" in this context as convenient labels for socio-economic groups within his narrative. Benwbrum 00:44, 20 Feb 2004 (UTC)
Source: Robert Drews, The Coming of the Greeks: Indo-European Conquests in the Aegean and the Near East, Princeton, 1988. ISBN 069103592X
Pages 69-70
The most likely explanation of the pankus is that is was a convocation of the Great King's vassals, each of whom had at his command a small troop of soldiers. Although some historians have imagined the army of the Hittite king as a militia of the "Hittite nation," perhaps similar to Alaric's Visigoths, it was in fact drawn from various language groups, and many of the most important units were "mercenary" (we can not even be certain that the majority of the troops serving in this Hittite monarchy spoke Hittite). Thus in the Hittite Law Code there appear "the Manda Warriors" and "the Sala warriors" alongside various local units.31 It is becoming clear that in the second millennium a generic term for "mercenary soldiers" was the word hapiru or the Sumerogram SA.GAZ. The hapirus (or SA.GAZ) appear in fourteen documents from the period of the Hittite Empire and have recently turned up in two texts from the Old Kingdom.32 In these two texts, which Heinrich Otten dates to the seventeenth or sixteenth century, "the troops from Hatti and the SA.GAZ troops" appear almost as a formula, and it appears that the king's relationship to the mercenaries was no different from his relationship to the militias conscripted from the towns of Hatti.33 Both the SA.GAZ units and the units from Hatti were personally bound to the king, and he to them, by formidable oaths. The military oath was taken by all commanders, whether of local levies or of professional troops, and invited upon the oath-breaker (whether king or vassal) a long and horrible catalog of divine punishments.34
Footnotes to pages 69-70
31. See E. Neufeld, The Hittite Laws (London: Luzac & Co., 1951), 18 (Section 54 of the code), and commentary on page 168.
32. H. Otten, "Zwei althethitische Belege zu den Hapiru (SA.GAZ)," ZA 52 (1957): 216-23
33. Of the SA.GAZ in the period of the Hittite Old Kingdom, Otten concludes ("Zwei althethitische Belege," 223): "Ihre militaerische Dienstleistung is offenkundig. Deutlich wird jetzt, dass die diesbezueglichen Belege sich auf die Zeit des Alten Reiches, also auf die Periode der Konsolidierung des hethitischen Staates in Anatolien vor 1500 v. Chr (17./16. Jh.) konzentrieren. Neu tritt dabei ihre rechtliche Stellung zum Hofe hervor, indem der Koenig sich eidlich zur Einhaltung von Abmachungen verpflichtet, wobei die Hapiri anderen militaerischen Formationen und Chargen offensichtlich gleichgestellt werden. Das zeigt eine soziale Lage dieser Hapiri auf, wie sie bisher den Texten nicht zu entnehmen war."
34. In the form that it has come down to us, the oath dates from the fifteenth century B.C. See N. Oettinger, Die militaerishce [sic] Eid der Hethiter (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1976).
Comments on this source
Primary sources for the Hapiru article
The following quotes all come from Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, James B. Pritchard, Ed. Second Edition. Princeton, 1955.
Source: The Taking of Joppa, ANET P22
Text
Now after an hour they were drunken, and Thoth said to [the Enemy of Joppa: "I'll deliver] myself, along with (my) wife and children, (into) your own town.3 Have the ma[ryanu] bring in [the horses and give] them feed, or an apir4 may pass by ... them." So they guarded the horses and gave them feed.
Footnotes
3. The inclusion of wife and children makes it reasonable to assume that Thoth was offering to go over to the side of Joppa.
4. The `Apiru were foreigners, some of whom served the Egyptians at the time. For the probable connection of the term `Apiru with the term appearing in cuneiform as Habiru, the latter being the assumed origin of the word "Hebrew", see J. A. Wilson, in AJSL, XLIX (1933), 275-80. Habiru was not an ethnic, and the present `Apir was not a Hebrew as far as we have any evidence. cf. p. 247, n.47.
Comments on this source
This is an Egyptian account of acts by a General Thoth under Thut-mose III. The fragmentary account above is followed by Thoth's conquest of Joppa.
Source: Treaty Between Mursilis and Duppi-Tessub of Amurru (ANET Page 205)
Text
Hantidassus of Hurma, Abaras of Samuhas, Katahhas of Ankuwa, the Queen of Katapa, Ammammas of Tahurpa, Hallaras of Dunna, Huwassanas of Hupisna, Tapisuwa of Ishupitta, the "Lady" of Landa, Kunniyawannis of Landa, NIN.PISAN.PISAN of Kinza, Mount Lablana,18 Mount Sariyana,19 Mount Pisaisa, the Lulahhi gods (and) the Hapiri20 gods, Ereskigal, the gods and goddesses of the Hatti land, the gods and goddesses of Amurru land, all the olden gods, Naras, Napsaras, Minki, Tuhusi, Ammunki, Ammizadu, Allalu, Anu, Antu, Apantu, Ellil, Ninlil, the mountains, the rivers, the springs, the great Sea, heaven and earth, the winds (and) the clouds - let these be witnesses to this treaty and to the oath.
Footnotes
18. The Lebanon
19. The Hermon.
20. Much discussed in connection with the question as to whether the Hapiru (widely quoted as Habiru), who are ubiquitous in cuneiform texts of the times, are to be equated with the Hebrews.
Comments on this source
This occurs in the middle of a long listing of gods to bear witness to the treaty. It is preceded by a long list of other gods included in the invocation and is followed by a "If Dubbi-Tessub breaks the treaty, may the gods punish him, and if he keeps it may these gods protect him" formula, which concludes the treaty. The obligations of each party are specified in the text of the treaty before the invocation. Benwbrum 05:34, 20 Feb 2004 (UTC)
Source: God List, Blessings and Curses of the Treaty between Suppiluliumas and Mattiwaza (ANET P206)
Text
Hallaras of Dunna, Huwassanas of Hupisna, the "Lady" of Landa, Kunniyawannis of Landa, the Lulahhi gods (and) the Hapiri gods 4 all the gods and goddesses of the Hatti land, the gods and goddesses of the country of Kizzuwatna, Ereskigal, Nara, Namsara, Minku, Amminku, Tussi, Ammizadu, Alalu, Anu, Antu, Ellil, Ninlil, Belat-Ekalli, the mountains, the rivers, the Tigris (and) the Euphrates, heaven and earth, the winds (and) the clouds;
Footnote
4. Much discussed in connection with the question as to whether the Hapiru, ubiquitous in cuneiform texts of the times, are to be equated with the Hebrews.
Comments on this source
The quote appears in a long list of gods, and is followed by the threat/promise of divine retribution/reward for "Mattiwaza, the prince, and the sons of the Hurri country" if they keep or break the oath.
Source: The Asiatic Campaigning of Amen-Hotep II ANET P. 247
Text
His majesty reached the town of Memphis, his heart appeased over all countries, with all lands beneath his soles. List of the plunder which his majesty carried off: princes of Retenu: 12746; brothers of princes: 179; Apiru:47 3,600; living Shasu: 15200; Kharu: 36,300; living Neges: 15,070; the adherents thereof: 30,652; total: 89,600 men;48; similarly their goods, without their limit; all (kinds of) cattle, without their limit; chariots of silver and gold: 60; painted chariots of wood: 1032; in addition to all their weapons of warfare, being 13,050;49 through the strength of his august father, his beloved, who is thy50 magical protection, Amon, who decreed to him valor.
Footnotes
46. Or 217 or 144.
47. The appearance of the Apiru (cf. pp. 22, 255, 261) in a list of Asiatic captives is unusual. They are listed as the third element in a list, preceded by princes and princes' brothers(?), followed by three terms having geographic connotation --- Shasu, the Bedouin, especially the to the south of Palestine; Kharu "Horites," the settled people of Palestine-Syria; and Neges, perhaps "Nukhashshe," the people of northern Syria -- and termineated by an expression of attribution, here translated: "the adherents(?) thereof," with a miscarved hr sign, but perhaps to be read: "the families thereof," with the word abet "family." The Apiru are notably greater in number than the princes and princes' brothers; they are notably fewer in number than the three regional listees or the retainers (or families). It is quite clear that the Egyptians recognized the Apiru as a distinct entity from other peoples, clearly countable. See also A. H. Gardiner, Ancient Egyptian Onomastica, I, 184*.
48.
49.
50.
Comments on this Source
This was taken from two stele -- one at Memphis, and one at Karnak. Translation is by John A. Wilson (credited on p. 227).
Source: Beth-Shan Stelae of Seti I and Ramses II (ANET Page 255)
Text
On this day,1 lo [one came to tell] his [majesty]: The Apiru2 of Mount Yarmuta,3 with Teyer . . ., [have ari]sen in attack upon the Asiatics of Rehem. Then [his majesty] said: How can these wretched Asiatics think [of taking] their [arms] for further disorder? . . . Then his majesty commanded a certain number of people from his [infantry and his] numerous chariotry that their faces turn back to the foreign country Djahi.4 The space of two days elapsed, [and they returned in triumph from] the country Ye . . ., having [their] levy [consisting of] living [captives] as plunder . . . .
Footnotes
1. On a date lost at the beginning of the stela.
2. The Apiru are probably etymologically related to the Habiru. See p. 247, n. 47.
3. cf. Josh. 21:29. Identified by Albright as at or near Belvoir (Kokab el-Hawa), a dozen kilometers north of Beth-Shan.
4. Unfortunately a vague term for Syria-Palestine, and not to be taken for precise location. The military action must have been inthe vicinity of Beth-Shan and Yarmuta.
Comments on this source
The text is from a basalt stela and records events from the reign of Seti I. Translation is by John A. Wilson.
Source: The Lists of Ramses III (ANET Page 261)
Text
(XXX 2) I made for the a fresh foundation from the many classes whose sons I carried off to thy house, (named) "Taking the Others".8
(XXXI 8) Warriors, sons of (foreign) princes, maryanu, apiru9, and people settled who are in this place: 2093 persons.7
Footnotes
7. Amon, Mut, and Khonsu formed the Theban triad of gods. The 2607 foreigners are part of a total of 86486 persons added to the Theban estates under Ramses III. The 2093 foreigners are part of a total of 12,364 persons added to the Heliopolitan estates. The 205 foreigners are part of a total of 3079 persons added to the Memphite estates. In these lists of temple serfs, the word tep "head," is regularly used for the Egyptian serfs. In the case of the Theban and Memphite lists, the word sep "case", is used for foreign serfs.
8. It is not absolutely certain that these were foreigners. "Others" may mean "outsiders, foreigners," or it may mean "the common people, the rabble."
9. The term maryanu was used for Asiatic warriors in this period. cf. p. 22, n.2. The term `apiru has been argued to mean "aliens," particularly applicable to foreign slave labor, perhaps the same word as Habiru, and thus etymologically related to "Hebrew" -- but not implying that these captives were Israelites. See p. 247, n.47 above.
Comments on this source
These items are from a list of properties bequeathed upon the Egyptian temples by Ramses III. The selection in ANET is only of gifts related to Ramses' activities abroad. Subject headings are A. Activity on the Mediterranean, B. Temple of Amon in Asia, C. Towns of Amon's Estate, D. Serfs of the Temples, E. Temple Cattle, F. Temple Grain, G. Temple Oil, H. Temple Cedar, and I. Summary of Northern Wars. Sections C-H are each divided into Theban, Heliopolitan, and Memphite sections. The quotation is from D, Serfs of the Temples, Heliopolitan Section.
This source was also translated by John A. Wilson
Source: A letter from Mari (ANET Page 483)
Text
The next day word of the enemy came as follows: "Yapah-Adad has made ready the settlement Zallul on this side of the bank of the Euphrates River, and with two thousand troops of the Hapiru of the land, 9 is dwelling in that city."
Footnotes
9. On the Hapiru (Habiru) or `Apiru in the Mari texts see especially E. Dhorme, RHR, CXVIII, pp. 170-187.
Comments on this source
This is a letter from the Royal Archives of Mari, excavatd from the palace of Zimri-Lim (late 18th century BC). It was translated by W. F. Albright, in collaboration with George E. Mendenhall.
The author continues his letter after the quote by explaining his response to the news by fortifying a town nearby Zallul, the mobilization of both lands, and the author's hesitation to attack a well-fortified position. Benwbrum 00:55, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC)
Source: EA, No. 25410 (ANET Page 486)
Text
To the king, my lord and my Sun-god: Thus Lab'ayu, thy servant and the dirt on which thou dost tread. At the feet of the king, my lord, and my Sun-god, seven times and seven times I fall.
I have heard the words which the king wrote to me and who am I that the king should lose his land because of me? Behold, I am a faithful servant of the king, and I do not withhold my tribute, and I do not refuse the requests of my commissioner. Now they wickedly slander me, but let the king, my lord, not impute rebellion to me!
Further, my crime is that I entered Gezer and said publicly: "Shall the king take my property and not likewise the property of Milkilu?" I know the deeds which Milkilu has done against me.
Further, the king wrote concerning my son. I did not know that my son associates with the `Apiru, and I have verily delivered him into the hand of Addaya.
Footnotes
10. In this letter Lab'ayu protests his innocence of all charges against him and assures the king (Amen-hotep III) that he is more loyal than the neighbors who complain against him.
Comments on this source
This letter is from the Tell el-Amarna collection. The quotation is from the beginning of the letter to the sentence mentioning the Habiru. It completes with another plea for Lab'ayu's loyalty expressing that he would yield his wife or his life upon the king's command. It, along with the other Amarna letters quoted here, was translated by W. F. Albright and George E. Mendenhall, witha few corrections by W. L Moran, S. J.Benwbrum 05:07, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC)
Source: EA, No. 17113 (ANET Page 486)
Text
Let the king know that powerful is the hostility against me and against Shuwardata. Let the king, my lord, protect his land from the hand of the `Apiru. If not, (then) let the king, my lord, send chariots to fetch us, lest our servants smite us.
Footnotes
12. Milkilu (Heb. Malchiel) was prince of Gezer. For Yanhamu see the previous letter.
13. For Milkilu see the previous letter. Shuwardata (with an Indo-Aryan name) was prince of the Hebron region in the southern hill-country, and frequently appears in association with Milkilu. The `Apiru (formerly called Habiru) were a strong semi-nomadic people, or rather class of population in Syria and Palestine. While there is much reason to identify them with the Hebrews of the Patriarchal Age, the combination still remains uncertain and cannot be made the basis for any historical inferences.
Comments on this source
Source: Selected Letters from Tell el-Amarna (ANET, 3rd ed. P486-490)
Text
EA, No. 271 [Milkilu, prince of Gezer to the Pharaoh]13
In a list of enemies poised against him, Milkilu writes: "Let the king, my lord, protect his land from the hand of the 'Apiru. if not (then) let the king, my lord, send chariots to fetch us, lest our servants smite us."
RA, 19, p.106 [Shuwardata to the Pharaoh]16
"Let the king, my lord, learn that the chief of the 'Apiru has risen (in arms) against the lands which the god of the king, my lord, gave me; (16) but I have smitten him. Also let the king, my lord, know that all my brethern have abandoned me, and (20) it is I and 'Abdu-Heba (who) fight against the chief of the 'Apiru. And Zurata, prince of the Accho, and Indaruta, prince of Achshaph, it is they (who) hastened (25) with fifty chariots -- for I had been robbed (by the 'Apiru) -- to my help; but behold they are fighting against me, so let it be agreeable to the king, my lord, and {30) let him send Yanhamu, and let us make war in earnest, and let the lands of the king, my lord, be restored to their (former) limits!"
EA, No.286 ['Abdu-Heba, prince of Jerusalem, to the Pharaoh]17
"What have I done to the king, my lord,? They blame me before the king, my lord, (saying): '`Abdu-Heba has rebelled against the king, his lord.' Behold, as for me, (it was) not my father (10) and not my mother (who) set me in this place; the arm of the mighty king brought me into the house of my father! Why should I commit (15) transgression against the king, my lord? As long as the king, my lord, lives, I will say to the commissioner of the king, my lord, 'Why do ye favor the 'Apiru and oppose the governors?' -- And thus (21) I am blamed in the presence of the king, my lord. Because it is said, 'Lost are the lands of the king, my lord,' thus am I blamed to the king, my lord!"
EA, No.287 ['Abdu-Heba, prince of Jerusalem, to the Pharaoh]18
"Behold, this deed is the deed of Milkilu (30) and the deed of the sons of Lab'ayu who have given the land of the king to the 'Apiru. Behold, O king, my lord, I am right!"
EA, No.288 ['Abdu-Heba, prince of Jerusalem, to the Pharaoh]19
"The land of the king is lost; in its entirely (25) it is taken from me; there is war against me, as far as the lands of Seir (and) as far as Gath-carmel! all the governors are at peace, but there is war against me. I have become like an 'Apiru (30) and do not see the two eyes of the king, my lord, for there is war against me. I have become like a ship in the midst of the sea! The arm of the might king (35) conquers the land of Naharaim and the land of Cush, but now the 'Apiru capture the cities of the king. There is not a single governor (remaining) (40) to the king, my lord -- all have perished! Behold, Turbazu has been slain in the (very) gate of Sile, (yet) the king holds his peace. Behold Zimreda, the townsmen of Lachish have smitten him, slaves who have become 'Apiru. (45) Yaptih-Hadad has been slain [in] the very gate of Sile, (yet) the king holds his peace. [Wherefore] does not [the king] call them to account?"
EA, No.289 ['Abdu-Heba, prince of Jerusalem, to the Pharaoh]20
"Behold this land belongs to the king, or why like the town of Gaza is it loyal to the king? Behold the land of the town of Gath-carmel, it belongs to Tagu, and the men of Gath (20) have a garrison in Beth-Shan. Or shall we do like Lab'ayu, who gave the land of Shechem to the 'Apiru? (25) Milkilu has written to Tagu and the sons of (Lab'ayu), (saying) 'Ye are (members of) my house. Yield all of their demands to the men of Keilah, and let us break our alliance (with) Jerusalem!'"
EA, No.290 ['Abdu-Heba, prince of Jerusalem, to the Pharaoh]21
"[To] the king, my lord, say: Thus ['Abdu]-Heba, thy servant. At the two feet of the [king,] my lord, seven times and seven times I fall. (5) Behold the deed which Milkilu and Shuwardata did to the land of the king, my lord! They rushed troops of Gezer, troops of Gath (10) and troops of Keilah; they took the land of Rubutu; the land of the king went over to the 'Apiru people. But now even (15) a town of the land of Jersualem, Bit-Lahmi by name, a town belonging to the king, has gone over to the side of the peple of Keilah. let my king harken to 'Abdu-Heba, thy servant, (20) and let him send archers to recover the royal land for the king! But if there are no archers, the land will pass over to the 'Apiru people. (25) This was done at the command of Milkilu [and at] the command of Shuwardata (?)... So let my king (30) take care of [his] land!"
EA, No.298 [Yapakhu, prince of Gezer, to the Pharaoh]24
"Let the king my lord know that my younger brother is estranged from me, and has entered (25)
Muhhazu, and has given his two hands to the chief of the 'Apiru. And now the [land of ... ]anna is hostile to me."
Footnotes
13. The 'Apiru (formerly called Habiru) were a strong semi-nomatic people, or rather class of population in Syria and Palestine. While there is much reason to identify them with the Hebrews of the Patriarchal Age, the combination still remains uncertain and cannot be made the basis for any historcial inference.
16. This letter, from the beginning of Akh-en-Aton's reign, is an extraordinarily illuminating illustration of the situation in Palestine at that time. Just who this redoubtable 'Apiru prince was we do not learn, since the proud feudal princes disdained to even mention names of the semi-nomadic 'Apiru. However, he was sufficiently dangerous to unite the arch-foes, 'Abdu-Heba and Shuwardata, and to induce them to offer fifty chariots (a very considerable offer for Palestinian cheiftains) to the princes of Accho and Achshaph in the plain of Acre, far to the north. One suspects that Milkilu of Gezer and Lab'ayu of Shechem, whoa re not even mentioned, at all, were -- either or both -- involved with them, the 'Apiru.
17. This letter is characteristic of the continuous requests of 'Abdu-Heba, prince of Jerusalem, for Egyptian assistance in his chronic struggle with the 'Apiru. However, it seems certain from other letters that he was inclined to lump his enemies among the "governors" (i.e. the native princes) with the 'Apiru.
18. In this letter the prince of Jerusalem complains about a number of events which recur in other letters.
19. This letter continues the previous letter, and incidentally paints a vivid picture of the anarchic condition of the country early in the reign of Akh-en-Aton. The references to "the (very) gate of Sile (Zilu)" mean that the outrages against the pax Aegyptica extend to the frontiers of Egypt itself, near modern Qantarah.
20.
21. In lines 15ff there is an almost certain reference to the town of Bethlehem, which thus appears for the first time in history. Keilah may have been the home of Shuwardata, prince of the Hebron district.
24. cf. the preceding note. [Which states "Yapakhu was prince of Gezer after the death of Milkilu."]
Comments on this source
W.F. Albright translated these letters in collaboration with George E. Mendenhall; W.L. Moran, S.J. made a few corrections for the 3rd edition.
I have silently pruned some material from the footnotes that refer to the text I did not copy here; not all of the letters on these pages mention the 'Apiru/Habiru. -- llywrch 08:57, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC)
Source: The Statue of Idrimi (ANET, 3rd ed. P557)
"(So) I took with me my horse, my chariot and, my groom, went away and crossed over into the desert country and even entered into the region of the Sutian warriors. I stayed with them (once) overnight in my ... chariot, but the next day I moved on and went to the land of Canaan. I stayed in Ammia in the land of Canaan; in Ammia lived (also) natives of Halab, of the country of Mushkishkhi,of the country Ni' and also warriors from the country Ama'e. They discovered that I was the son of their overlord and gathered around me. There I grew up and stayed for a long time. For seven years I lived among the Hapiru-people. (Then) I released birds2 (to observe their flight) and looked into (the entrails of) lambs (and found) that after seven years Adad had become favorable to me. So I built boats, made ... soldiers board them, approached the country."
Footnotes
2. The use of birds for divination is characteristic of "Western" practices, see my Ancient Mesopotamia, p.209f.
Comments on this source
This inscription was found in 1939 at Atchana in Syria, but not published (by Sidney Smith, The Statue of Idrimi) until 1949 due to the war. This translation is the work of A. Leo Oppenheim, who notes that he translated the ideogram dIM as "Adad". I know from other references that Idrimi was a king in Mitanni.
The quotation above is Idrimi's narrative of the years between his departure from Emar, where he, his mother & his brothers lived in exile with his mother's family, until he returned to Alalakh to become its king. -- llywrch 08:57, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC)