{"id":3586,"date":"2025-12-31T06:54:03","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T06:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/terrarara.com.br\/en\/?page_id=3586"},"modified":"2025-12-31T06:54:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T06:54:03","slug":"a-estela-de-merneptah-e-a-antiga-mencao-a-israel","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/terrarara.com.br\/en\/?page_id=3586","title":{"rendered":"The Stele of Merneptah and the ancient mention of Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Merneptah Stele in the Kairo Museum. Image by Oltau via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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\r\n\t#Merneptah Stele<\/a><\/p>

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\r\n\tThe Merneptah Stele is one of the most important and talked about archaeological pieces when talking about the ancient history of Israel<\/strong><\/p>

It is a large slab of black granite, more than three meters high, found in 1896 in the funerary temple of Pharaoh Merneptah, in Egypt, by a famous archaeologist called Flinders Petrie.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nMerneptah was the son and successor of the even better known Ramses II and ruled Egypt around the end of the 13th century or beginning of the 12th century BC (according to the date most accepted by most scholars).<\/p>

\r\nThe inscription on the stone mainly celebrates his great military victory against the Libyans and their allies.<\/p>

\r\nBut it is in the last lines of the text that something very special appears: a list of conquests in the region of Canaan (the land that today roughly corresponds to Israel, Palestine, parts of Lebanon and Jordan), where the pharaoh claims to have defeated several cities and peoples.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nAmong the cities mentioned are Ashquelon, Gezer and Ianoam (probably a location in the north, possibly linked to the region of Bashan).<\/p>

\r\nAnd then comes the phrase that made the stele famous throughout the world: “Israel is devastated, stripped of its seed” (or, in another very common translation: “Israel is devastated, its grain no longer exists”).\r\n<\/p>

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Mention of Israel in the Merneptah Stele. Image via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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What makes this mention so significant is that it is the oldest known reference outside the Bible to the name “Israel”.<\/p>

\r\nAnd the most interesting thing: the Egyptian text does not speak of Israel as a simple city or a small isolated group.<\/p>

\r\nHieroglyphics use a special symbol that indicates a people or a nation (and not a fixed place like the other cities mentioned).<\/p>

\r\nThis shows that, at the time the stele was written, there was already a group called Israel living in the region of Canaan, with a certain organization and relevance enough to be mentioned in a list of enemies defeated by a pharaoh.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nFor those who follow the biblical story, this information is very important.<\/p>

\r\nIt demonstrates that, around 1200 BC (or a little earlier, depending on the chronology adopted), the people of Israel were already established in the promised land, and were no longer wandering the desert as nomads shortly after leaving Egypt.<\/p>

\r\nThis fits well with the traditional chronology of the Bible, which places the conquest of the land in the time of Joshua and the period of the judges shortly thereafter.\r\n<\/p>

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A ESTELA DO FARA\u00c3\u201c MERNEPT\u00c3\u0081 – Achado arqueol\u00c3\u00b3gico muito importante para os Crist\u00c3\u00a3os.

A Estela de Mernept\u00c3\u00a1 (ou Estela de Israel) \u00c3\u00a9 um mon\u00c3\u00b3lito eg\u00c3\u00adpcio de granito do s\u00c3\u00a9culo XIII a.C. (cerca de 1208 a.C.) que registra as vit\u00c3\u00b3rias militares do Fara\u00c3\u00b3 Mernept\u00c3\u00a1, sendo famosa por? pic.twitter.com\/0FiIdJSPBq<\/a><\/p>— Fiel ???????? (@FielGuerreiroD) December 30, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>