Merneptah
Son and successor of Ramesses II. A victory stele from his fifth year, found at Thebes, lists Israel among the peoples he claims to have subdued, the earliest known mention of Israel outside the Bible.
Merneptah was the thirteenth son of Ramesses II and followed him on the throne (Merneptah Stele museum record JE 31408). In his fifth year he turned back an invasion from Libya and had the victory celebrated in a long hymn (Merneptah Stele lines 1–26). The stele that carries it stood in his mortuary temple at Thebes, where it was found in 1896 (Petrie, Six Temples at Thebes p. 13). Its closing lines add a list of places and peoples that he claims to have subdued, among them Israel (Merneptah Stele line 27). See Israel Named on the Merneptah Stele.
The Bible does not name him. His reign is usually dated about 1213–1203 BC (so James K. Hoffmeier, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 50, 2007, p. 232); other reconstructions of Egyptian chronology differ by some years.
In the timeline
- about 1208 BC, estimated dateIsrael Named on the Merneptah Stele
A granite stele set up at Thebes for Pharaoh Merneptah celebrates his victory over Libya. Its closing lines name Israel, beside Ashkelon, Gezer and Yanoam, among the defeated. It is the earliest known mention of Israel outside the Bible.
Primary sources
The Merneptah Stele (Israel Stela)
- Merneptah Stele museum record JE 31408globalegyptianmuseum.org
- Merneptah Stele lines 1–26archive.org
- Merneptah Stele line 27archive.org