Monday, December 12, 2016

With whom was Abdi-hiba corresponding?


Image result

 

by

 

Damien F. Mackey

 

 

 

Abdi-hiba “also makes clear that it was not his “father or mother who put me in this place” (on the throne), but rather the “strong arm of the king”.”

 

The question is: which “king”?

 

 

 

The following would be a typical view of the El Amarna [EA] situation of Abdi-hiba of Jerusalem (“Urusalim”), that he was a C14th BC Canaanite king enthroned by a pharaoh (https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/places/related-articles/jerusalem-in-the-amarna-letters.aspx):

 

Jerusalem in the Amarna Letters by Christopher Rollston


 


The Amarna Letters are a group of inscribed clay tablets discovered around 1887 at Amarna, a site in Egypt on the east bank of the Nile about 190 miles south of Cairo. The city was founded by the Egyptian king (pharaoh) Amenhotep IV, who later became known as Akhenaten. Akhenaten was known as a heretic king; he worshiped only the Egyptian god Aten, perhaps becoming history’s first monotheist, and he apparently attempted (unsuccessfully) to impose this monotheism on Egyptian religion more broadly.

The tablets total almost 400 in number and are written (almost without exception) in Akkadian. Most of these letters come from vassal cities in Syria-Palestine, including Byblos, Tyre, Gezer, Hebron, Shechem (Nablus), Ashkelon, Megiddo, and Jerusalem, and contain diplomatic correspondence with officials in Babylonia, Assyria, Mitanni (an area of northern Syria and southeastern Anatolia), Alashia (Cyprus), and Hatti (central Anatolia). They date to the 14th century B.C.E., primarily to the reigns of the Egyptian kings Amenhotep III (reigned circa 1382–1344 B.C.E.) and Amenhotep IV (reigned circa 1352–1336 B.C.E.).

The letters from Jerusalem (written as “Urusalim” in the Amarna texts) are from a Canaanite ruler named Abdi-Heba. He states that he is a “soldier for the king, my lord” and requests that the Egyptian monarch send him a messenger and some military men to help resist his enemies. In multiple letters he states that he “falls at the feet of my lord the king, seven times and seven times,” a stock phrase and common ancient Near Eastern motif that conveys his faithfulness to his Egyptian suzerain. He also makes clear that it was not his “father or mother who put me in this place” (on the throne), but rather the “strong arm of the king.” Here Abdi-Heba reveals that he was not the heir to the throne but given the throne of Jerusalem by the Egyptian king himself. He goes on to state that for this reason he will always be a faithful vassal of his Egyptian lord, regardless of any accusation by an enemy to the contrary. Among the enemies he refers to in his correspondence are the “Apiru” (people living on the fringes of society in the second millennium B.C.E., sometimes serving as mercenaries) and the Kashites (a Hittite people from Anatolia).

The Amarna Letters from Jerusalem have attracted substantial attention because of their dialect. It is normally argued that they are quite different in terms of cuneiform signs used, orthography, and syntax from the rest of the letters from Canaanite cities¾more sophisticated in certain ways, which may indicate the scribal culture at Jerusalem was of a particularly high quality.

The Amarna Letters from Jerusalem are of interest for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that they come from Jerusalem a few centuries before King David would ostensibly vanquish the Canaanite (Jebusite) population of Jerusalem and make it his own capital (2 Samuel 5). Also, the correspondence with a Jerusalem ruler in the 14th century provides evidence for occupation in the city in a period (Late Bronze Age II) for which there is little archaeological evidence. Recently a fragment of an Akkadian tablet (now called “Jerusalem Tablet 1) was found in excavations at Jerusalem, and some scholars have claimed that this tablet contained some correspondence between a king of Jerusalem and a king of Egypt. But this tablet is ultimately too fragmentary to determine if it was a letter.  Among the most important things that these tablets demonstrate is that there was a vibrant and sophisticated scribal apparatus in Jerusalem during the Late Bronze Age.  This Canaanite city was certainly not a backwater, but precisely the reverse.

[End of quote]

 

In terms of the revised chronology, however, Abdi-hiba was instead a C9th BC Jewish king of Jerusalem – a name not known for the city during the C14th BC, when it was called Jebus.

And, in terms of the revised chronology that I follow specifically in the case of Abdi-hiba (following an early idea of Peter James), he was a biblical king, namely, Jehoram of Judah, son of the great king Jehoshaphat:

 

King Abdi-Hiba of Jerusalem Locked in as a ‘Pillar’ of Revised History

 

https://www.academia.edu/7772239/King_Abdi-Hiba_of_Jerusalem_Locked_in_as_a_Pillar_of_Revised_History

 

To establish who may have set Abdi-hiba on his royal throne, as indicated by him in EA 286:

 

Seeing that, as far as I am concerned, neither my father nor my mother put me in this place, but the strong arm of the king brought me into my father’s house, why should I of all people commit a crime against the king, my lord?

 

- and one presumes from the above that it could not have been king Jehoshaphat himself - might the better be determined by an examination of who was/were the recipient/s of his letters (EA 285-290).

 

EA Letters of Abdi-Hiba

 

“Abdi-Heba was the author of letters EA 285-290”


 

1.       EA 285—title: "The soldier-ruler of Jerusalem"

2.       EA 286—title: "A throne granted, not inherited"

3.       EA 287—title: "A very serious crime"'

4.       EA 288—title: "Benign neglect"

5.       EA 289—title: "A reckoning demanded"

6.       EA 290—title: "Three against one"'[9]

 

One is surprised to find upon perusing these letters of Abdi-hiba, that - despite Rollston’s presumption that Abdi-hiba’s “the king, my lord” was an “Egyptian monarch” - no Egyptian ruler appears to be specifically named in this set of letters. Moreover, “Egypt” itself may be referred to only once in this series (EA 285): “ … Addaya has taken the garrison that you sent in the charge of Haya, the son of Miyare; he has stationed it in his own house in Hazzatu and has sent 20 men to Egypt-(Miá¹£ri)”.

When we include the lack of any reference to Egypt in the three letters of Lab’ayu (252-254):

 

Is El Amarna's Lab'ayu Biblically Identifiable? Part One (b): Was Lab'ayu even writing to a Pharaoh?

 


 

and likewise in the two letters of the woman, Baalat Neše - ten letters in all - then we might be prompted to reconsider whether the extent of Egyptian involvement was as much as is generally claimed.

 

EA 285 is as follows:

 

To the king [my lord, thus hath spoken] Abdi-{iiba, thy
servant. [At] the feet [of the king, my lord], seven times
and seven times I fall. Behold, I am not a [loeal ruler] ;
an officer am I to the [king, my lord]. Why has the king
. . . not sent a messenger . . A Under sueh cireum-
stanees Eenjiamu has sent. . . . Let the king [hearken] to
Abdi-Juba, his servant! [Behold], there are no troops.
Let the king, my lord, send an officer, and let him take the
loeal rulers with him! The lands of the king . . . and
people . . . who are . . . and Addaya, the offieer of the
king, [has] their house. . . .
 
Let the king take heed for them, and let him send a
messenger quiekly When ... I die. . . .
 
Letter from Lachish (Constantinople, W. 21 9). 2
 
[To the] great, thus hath spoken Pabi, at thy feet I fall.
Thou must know that Shipti-Ba'al and Zimrida are eon-
spiring, and that Shipti-Ba'al hath spoken to Zimrida:
" My father of the eity, Yarami (?) has written to me — Give
me [six] bows, and three daggers, and three swords ! If I
go forth against the land of the king, and thou dost join me, I shall surely conquer. He who makes (?) this plan is Pabu. Send him before me. w Now I have sent Rapi-el. 
Ho will bring to the great man information about this
affair (?)

 

EA 286 is as follows:

 

--Say [t]o the king, my lord: Message of Abdi-Heba, your servant. I fall at the feet of my lord, the king, 7 times and 7 times.

(5-15)--What have I done to the king, my lord? They denounce me : ú-Å¡a-a-ru[2] (I am slandered) before the king, my lord,1 "Abdi-Heba has rebelled against the king, his lord." Seeing that, as far as I am concerned, neither my father nor my mother put me in this place, but the strong arm of the king2 brought me into my father's house, why should I of all people commit a crime against the king, my lord?

(16-21)--As truly as the king, my lord, lives,3 I say to the commissioner of the king, [my] lord, "Why do you love the 'Apiru but hate the mayors? Accordingly, I am slandered before the king, my lord.

(22-31)--Because I say4 "Lost are the lands of the king, my lord," accordingly I am slandered before the king, my lord. May the king, my lord, know that (though) the king, my lord stationed a garrison (here), Enhamu has taken i[t al]l away. [ ... ]

Reverse:

(32-43)--[Now], O king, my lord, [there is n]o garrison, [and so] may the king provide for his land. May the king [pro]vide for his land! All the [la]nds of the king, my lord, have deserted. Ili-Milku has caused the loss of all the land of the king, and so may the king, my lord, provide for his land. For my part, I say, "I would go in to the king, my lord, and visit the king, my lord," but the war against me is severe, and so I am not able to go in to the king, my lord.

(44-52)--And may it seem good in the sight of the king, [and] may he send a garrison so I may go in and visit the king, my lord. In truth,5 the king, my lord, lives: whenever the commissioners have come out, I would say (to them), "Lost are the lands of the king," but they did not listen to me. Lost are all the mayors; there is not a mayor remaining to the king, my lord.

(53-60)--May the king turn his attention to the archers so that archers of the king, my lord, come forth. The king has no lands. (That) 'Apiru6 has plundered all the lands of the king. If there are archers this year, the lands of the king, my lord, will remain. But if there are no archers, lost are the lands of the king, my lord.

(61-64)--[T]o the scribe of the king, my lord: Message of Abdi-Heba, your [ser]vant. Present eloquent words to the king, my lord. Lost are all the lands of the king, my lord.

 

EA 287 is as follows:

 

Say to the king, my lord: Message of Abdi-Heba, your servant. I fall at the feet of my lord 7 times and 7 times. Consider the entire affair. Milkilu and Tagi brought troops into Qiltu against me... ...May the king know (that) all the lands are at peace (with one another), but I am at war. May the king provide for his land. Consider the lands of Gazru, AÅ¡qaluna, and Lakisi. They have given them [my enemies] food, oil and any other requirement. So may the king provide for archers and send the archers against men that commit crimes against the king, my lord. If this year there are archers, then the lands and the hazzanu (client kings) will belong to the king, my lord. But if there are no archers, then the king will have neither lands nor hazzanu. Consider Jerusalem! This neither my father nor my mother gave to me. The strong hand (arm) of the king gave it to me. Consider the deed! This is the deed of Milkilu and the deed of the sons of Lab'ayu, who have given the land of the king to the 'Apiru. Consider, O king, my lord! I am in the right!....

 

EA 288 is as follows:

 

To the king, my lord, my sun, hath spoken thus Abdi-
hiba, thy servant. At the feet of the king, my lord, seven
times and seven times do I fall. Behold, the king, my
lord, hath set his name upon the East and upon the West.
It is a wickedness which they have wrought against me.
Behold, I am not a local ruler, I am an officer 2 of the king,
my lord. Behold, I am a shepherd of the king, and one
who brings tribute to the king. Neither my father, nor
my mother, [but] the mighty hand of the king, hath
established me in my father's house . . . came to me. . . .
I gave him ten slaves into his hand. When Shuta, the
officer of the king, came to me, I gave him twenty-one
maidservants and eighty (?) asiru . . . gave I into the
hand of Shtita, as a present for the king, my lord. Let
the king care for his land I The whole land of the king
will be lost. They have assumed hostilities against me (?)
As far as tho territory of Sheri, as far as Ginti-kirmil, it
goes well with all the local rulers (?), and hostility prevails
against mc. If one could see ! 3 But I do not see the eyes
of tho king, my lord, because hostility is established
against me. When there was a ship on the sea, and the
mighty hand of the king held Najjrima and Kapasi. But
now the habiru hold the cities of the king. There is no
local ruler left to the king, my lord ; all are lost. Behold,
Turbazu has been slain in the gate of Zilu ; yet tho king
docs nothing. Behold, Zimrida of Lachish, his servants
havo slaughtered him . . . the Habiru, Iaptiji-Adda, has
been slain in the gate of Zilu ; yet the king does nothing.
. . . l Let the king take care for his land, and let the king
give his attention in regard to troops for the land of
tribute (?) 1 For if no troops come in this year, all the
lands of the king, my lord, will be destroyed and in ruins.
They must not say before the king, my lord, that the land
of the king, my lord, is destroyed, and all the local rulers
are destroyed. If no troops arrive in this year, then let
the king send an officer to take mo to thee with my brothers, and wo will die with the king, my lord.

 

EA 289 is as follows:

 

Lines 1-4)--[Say t]o the king, my lord: Message of 'Abdi-Heba, your servant. I f[all] at the feet of my lord, the k[ing], 7 times and 7 times.

(5-10)Milkilu does not break away from the sons of Labaya and from the sons of Arsawa, as they desire the land of the king for themselves. As for a mayor who does such a deed, why does the king not (c)all him to account?

(11-17)--Such was the deed that Milkilu and Tagi did: they took Rubutu. And now as for Jerusalem-(URUUru-Salimki), if this land belongs to the king, why is it ((not)) of concern1 to the king like Hazzatu?

(18-24)--Ginti-kirmil belongs to Tagi, and men of Gintu are the garrison in Bitsanu.2 Are we to act like Labaya when he was giving the land of Å akmu to the Hapiru?

(25-36)--Milkilu has written to Tagi and the sons ((of Labaya)), "Be the both of you a protection.3 Grant all their demands to the men of Qiltu, and let us isolate Jerusalem."4 Addaya has taken the garrison that you sent in the charge of Haya, the son of Miyare; he has stationed it in his own house in Hazzatu and has sent 20 men to Egypt-(Miá¹£ri). May the king, my lord, know (that) no garrison of the king is with me.

(37-44)--Accordingly, as truly as the king lives, his irpi- official,5 Pu'uru, has left me and is in Hazzatu. (May the king call (this) to mind when be arrives.)6 And so may the king send 50 men as a garrison to protect the land. The entire land of the king has deser[ted].

(45-46)--Send Ye((eh))enhamu that he may know about the land of the king, [my lord].

(47-51)--To the scribe of the king, [my lord: M]essage of 'Abdi-Heba, [your] servant, Offer eloq[uent] words to the king: I am always, utterly yours.7 I am your servant.

EA 290 is as follows:

 

    Let it be known what Milkilu and Shuwardata did to the land of the king, my lord! They sent troops of Gezer, troops of Gath  . . .  the land of the king went over to the ‘Apiru.
      But now even a town near Jerusalem, Bit-Lahmi (Bethlehem) by name, a village which once belonged to the king, has fallen to the enemy . . . Let the king hear the words of your servant Abdi-Heba, and send archers to restore the imperial lands of the king! But if no archers are sent, the lands of the king will be taken by the 'Apiru people. This act was done by the hand of Milkilu and Shuwardata.

 

Good Correspondence Between EA and Revision

 

According to 2 Kings 8:16-17: “In the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years”.

In favour of Abdi-hiba as king Jehoram of Judah, and Lab’ayu as Ahab of Israel, is the fact that Lab’ayu is appropriately dead by the time of Abdi-hiba.

Thus EA 280:

 

Say to the king, my lord, my god, my Sun: Message of Shuwardata, your servant, the dirt at your feet. I fall at the feet of the king, my lord, my god, my Sun, 7 times and 7 times. The king, my lord, permitted me to wage war against Qeltu (Keilah). I waged war. It is now at peace with me; my city is restored to me. Why did Abdi-Heba write to the men of Qeltu, "Accept silver and follow me?"... Moreover, Labaya, who used to take our towns, is dead, but now another Labaya is Abdi-Heba, and he seizes our town. So, may the king take cognizance of his servant because of this deed...

 

Interestingly, Abdi-hiba is being designated here as ”another Labaya”.

And (EA 287) “the sons of Lab'ayu, are now active in place of their deceased father.

Jehoram of Judah, who, according to P. Mauro (The Wonders of Bible Chronology) was both prorex and corex during the latter part of his father Jehoshapat’s reign (and had three regnal beginnings), was also a contemporary, then, of the two sons of Ahab, Ahaziah and Jehoram – these being, according to my revision, the sons of Lab'ayu.  

 

Image result for smenkhkare damien f. mackey

No comments:

Post a Comment