Merneptah Stele

Overview

The Merneptah Stele, discovered in 1896 by British archaeologist Flinders Petrie at Thebes in Egypt, is a granite monument erected by the Egyptian pharaoh Merneptah to commemorate his military victories. The stele, dating to approximately 1208 BCE, bears an inscription that details Merneptah's conquests across the Near East, including a reference to a people called 'Israel' who were defeated in battle. This inscription represents the earliest known extra-biblical mention of the name 'Israel' and provides crucial archaeological evidence for the existence of a people or tribal confederation by that name in the region of Canaan during the Late Bronze Age. The significance of this discovery cannot be overstated, as it fundamentally alters our understanding of the timeline of Israelite emergence. Prior to this find, scholars debated whether the Israelites had established a distinct identity by the 13th century BCE; the Merneptah Stele provides definitive proof that a group identifying themselves as 'Israel' was present in the region and was perceived as a significant entity by the Egyptians. The inscription describes the Israelites as a 'people' rather than a kingdom, suggesting they were still in the process of forming a political identity. This discovery has had profound implications for biblical scholarship, providing external validation for the biblical narrative of Israel's entry into Canaan and supporting the historical grounding of the Exodus and Conquest traditions. The stele is now housed in the Cairo Egyptian Museum, where it remains a focal point for research on the origins of Israel and the complex geopolitical landscape of the ancient Near East.

Inscription